Björn Paulsson

Assessment of European railway bridges for future traffic demands and longer lives – EC project “Sustainable Bridges”

A European Integrated Research Project has recently been started within the 6th Framework Program of the European Commission. The project aims at improved methods for the upgrading of existing railway bridges within the European railway network. The main objectives of the project are to increase the transport capacity by allowing higher axle loads and by increasing the maximum speeds. Other objectives are to increase the residual lifetime of existing bridges and to enhance management, strengthening and repair systems. The overall goal is to enable the delivery of improved capacity without compromising the safety and economy of the working railway. A consortium consisting of railway bridge owners, consultants, contractors, research institutes and universities will carry out the project, having a gross budget of more than 10 million Euros. Funding from the European Commission covers a major portion of the four-year project costs.

Assessment of the Strengthening of an RC Railway Bridge with CFRP Utilizing a Full-Scale Failure Test and Finite-Element Analysis

A finite element (FE) model was calibrated using the data obtained from a full-scale test to failure of a 50 year old reinforced concrete (RC) railway bridge. The model was then used to assess the ...

Tested versus code capacity of existing bridges : Three examples

This paper presents the results from three tests to failure of different types of bridges: a two span reinforced concrete railway trough bridge; a five-span prestessed concrete beam bridge; and a o ...

Extend the life of existing railway bridges – Results from EU FP7 project MAINLINE

There is a need to extend the life and capacity of many existing bridges. One of the objects of the EU FP7 Project MAINLINE, 2011-2014, was to facilitate this. Guidelines for assessment and strengt ...

Extended Life of Railway Bridges. Results from EC-FP7-project MAINLINE

There is a need to extend the life of many existing railway bridges. To facilitate this is one of the objects of the EC-FP7-Project MAINLINE, covering a period from 2011 to 2014. Three case studies ...

Assessment and condition monitoring of a concrete railway bridge in Kiruna,Sweden

A two-span railway concrete trough bridge over Luossajokk in Kiruna in northern Sweden has been studied. The owner wanted to increase the axle loads from 250 to 300 kN in order to reduce freight co ...