FEHRLopedia

This report summarises different condition and the structural safety assessment methods for the highway structures developed worldwide, but with the main focus on European Countries.

The condition assessment (CA) is the process where, starting from the results of the inspection, the final result is the determination of the functional capability and the physical condition of bridge components, including the extent of deterioration and other defects. The condition assessment can be either qualitative, in the form of definition, or quantitative, in the form so-called “condition rating”, a value that indicates the global state of conservation of the bridges and their ranking according to its value.

The structural safety assessment is the process where starting from the actual resistance of the structure (updated with the results of inspection and the testing) and the actual loading, the remaining safety (measured in terms of partial safety factors, reliability index, and probability of failure or similar) is derived. This report presents a literature review of the methods applied in different countries or proposed by several International Bodies.