Development of a bridge maintenance system for prestressed concrete bridges using 3D digital twin model

Abstract

Preventive maintenance is increasingly becoming an essential strategy in the bridge industry owing to its proactive advantage of maintaining the structural sustainability during its entire service life. Several in-use bridges lack an appropriate regular maintenance solution, leading to extra cost during the operation stage. This paper proposes a new generation of the bridge maintenance system by using a digital twin model concept for more reliable decision-making. A detailed solution is proposed in this work to enhance the bridge maintenance process using a parallel solution: a maintenance information management system based on a 3D information model in conjunction with a digital inspection system using image processing. Three-dimensional digital models are required to utilise information from the entire lifecycle of a project, including design and construction, operation, and maintenance, by continuously exchanging and updating data from each stakeholder. For the maintenance of prestressed concrete bridges, the twin models are defined and their uses are presented.

Keywords:

• Maintenance
• prestressed concrete bridges
• bridge management system
• digital twin
• 3D
• information model
• image processing
• 3D-scanning
• deterioration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant (18SCIP-B128570-02) from the Smart Civil Infrastructure Research Program funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) of the Korean government and the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA) and was supported by the Chung-Ang University Research Scholarship Grants in 2012.