Monitoring of the Chillon viaduct after strengthening with UHPFRC

Located at the shore of Geneva Lake, in Switzerland, the Chillon viaducts are two parallel structures consisted of post-tensioned concrete box girders, with a total length of 2 kilometers and 100m spans. Built in 1969, the bridges currently accommodate a traffic load of 50.000 vehicles per day, thereby holding a key role both in terms of historic value as well as socio-economic significance. Although several improvements have been carried out in the past two decades, recent inspections has demonstrated an alkali-aggregate reaction in the concrete deck slab reducing its strength. In order to strengthen the concrete deck and slow down further AAR, a layer of 40 mm of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced cement-based Composite (UHPFRC) (incorporating rebars) was cast over the slabs, acting as a waterproof membrane and providing significant increase in resistance via the UHPFRC - RC composite action, in particular of the deck slab. Two years after completing the works, a Structural Monitoring campaign was installed on the deck slab in one representative span, based on accelerometers, strain gauges, thermal and humidity sensors. This campaign seeks to reveal information on the behavior of UHPFRC-concrete composite systems, such as increase in stiffness, fatigue strength, durability and long-term performance. Consequently, the campaigns is expected to last for at least three years. A first insight of the analyzed results from the initial months of measurements is presented herein, along with future improvements or necessary changes on the deployment.