Publications de Eugen Brühwiler

Transforming the Static System of Prestressed Concrete Bridges Using UHPFRC

he rehabilitation of existing bridges should always be the first investigated solution because it usually reduces construction costs, environmental impacts, and traffic disruption. Nonetheless, bridges are too often replaced due to the lack of effective st ...

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)2025

Deciphering tensile fatigue behavior of UHPFRC using magnetoscopy, DIC and acoustic emission

Eugen Brühwiler, Alain Nussbaumer, Jian Zhan

To explore the governing mechanism underlying the tensile fatigue behavior of Ultra-high Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites (UHPFRC), this study tested eight specimens using four advanced non-destructive measurement techniques. First, mag ...

2025

Framework to engineer existing bridges for sustainability, validated by applications

Eugen Brühwiler

A framework to engineer existing structures, in particular bridges, and novel engineering methods and technologies are presented to extend the service duration of existing bridges while meeting the requirements of modern use. Accurate determination of brid ...

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD2025

Ertüchtigung von Stahlbetonbrücken mit UHFB – Erfahrungen aus 400+ Anwendungen = [Renewal of reinforced concrete bridges by means of UHPFRC - Experiences from 400+ applications]

Eugen Brühwiler

Renewal of reinforced concrete bridges by means of UHPFRC – Experiences from 400+ applications. Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious composite UHPFRC is a novel building material that is characterized by high mechanical strength and durabil ...

2025

Use of UHPFRC in Fixed Railway Track Construction: Conceptual Design and Validation

Eugen Brühwiler, Antonina Hochuli

This paper outlines concepts using ultrahigh-performance fiber-reinforced composite (UHPFRC) to address structural deficiencies in modern fixed railway track systems of concrete, focusing on enhancing structural safety, durability, and fatigue resistance. ...

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)2025

Combining passive and active ultrasonic stress wave monitoring for the characterization of the early-age properties of a UHPFRC beam

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola

This article focuses on the characterization of the early-age properties of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite (UHPFRC), which is becoming popular for designing lightweight and durable structures. Due to the large proportion of ...

2025

About the process of technology transfer from research to engineering practice

Eugen Brühwiler

The transfer of technology from research to structural engineering and construction practice is illustrated using two cases of the implementation of innovative engineering methods and technologies in the renewal and 'upcycling' of existing bridges, namely ...

Informa UK Limited2025

High cycle tensile fatigue behavior of steel rebar reinforced - UHPFRC at high R-ratio

Eugen Brühwiler, Alain Nussbaumer, Jian Zhan

This paper investigates the high cycle tensile fatigue behavior of steel rebar reinforced − UHPFRC elements, at a fatigue load ratio, i.e., R-ratio of 0.3, representative for structural applications. Prior to testing, magnetoscopy is conducted on each spec ...

2025

Exploration of the fracture mechanism of UHPFRC by acoustic emission, DIC and magnetoscopy testing

Eugen Brühwiler, Jian Zhan

This paper investigates the fracture mechanism of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (UHPFRC) using acoustic emission (AE), digital image correlation (DIC), and magnetoscopy testing. Four specimens undergo uniaxial tensile load ...

2025

A global framework for data-informed bridge examination

Eugen Brühwiler, Philippe Schiltz, Numa Joy Bertola

Examining the performance of an existing bridge requires information on several aspects, such as design choices, material properties, and ongoing degradation processes. It often happens that some critical information is not available. The traditional appro ...

2024

Combined Passive and Active Ultrasonic Stress Wave Monitoring of Concrete Structures: An Overview of Data Analysis Techniques and Their Applications and Limitations

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola

Combined passive ultrasonic (US) stress wave [better known as acoustic emission (AE)] and active US stress wave monitoring has been shown to provide a more holistic picture of ongoing fracture processes, damage progression, as well as slowly occurring agin ...

NDT.net2024

Early detection of structural damage in UHPFRC structures through the combination of acoustic emission and ultrasonic stress wave monitoring

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola, Thomas Schumacher

Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite (UHPFRC) offers several advantages compared to concrete, notably due to the strain hardening behavior under tensile actions. Structures made of this composite material are lightweight and highl ...

2024

Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Deflection of R-UHPFRC Beams Subjected to Loading-Unloading

Eugen Brühwiler, Bartlomiej Wojciech Sawicki

Under service conditions, R-UHPFRC (Reinforced Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious composite) beams exhibit residual deflection after loading-unloading. This is due to the tensile strain hardening behavior of UHPFRC. The precise calculatio ...

Springer2024

Computational engine for finite element digital twins of structural dynamics via motion data

Eugen Brühwiler

Typical structural health monitoring systems employ limited numbers of sensors capable of measuring discrete local behaviours. However, practical challenges arise as these sensor arrays cannot cover all local areas of interest. To address this challenge, t ...

2024

Sustainable salvation of deficient RC bridges by means of the UHPFRC Technology

Eugen Brühwiler

Structural application of impermeable, tensile strain hardening UHPFRC (Ultra-High-Performance Fibre-Reinforced-Cementitious Composite) follows two fundamental concepts: 1) Rehabilitation and strengthening of existing bridges by adding a layer of UHPFRC, a ...

International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE)2024

Influence of fiber orientation on the high cycle tensile fatigue resistance of Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious

Eugen Brühwiler, Alain Nussbaumer, Jian Zhan

This paper quantitatively studies the influence of fiber orientation on the high cycle tensile fatigue resistance of ultra-high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites (UHPFRC) within and beyond elastic domain. Eight tensile fatigue tests and ...

2024

UHPFRC technology for the extension of the service duration of bridges

Eugen Brühwiler

UHPFRC (Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composite), complemented by reinforcement steel bars, is used for the rehabilitation and strengthening of existing bridges by adding a layer of UHPFRC, often on top of the bridge deck slab in rei ...

CRC Press/Balkema2024

Determining structural properties of a prestressed concrete bridge through the combination of static and dynamic load testing

Eugen Brühwiler, Yves Sylvain Gilles Reuland, Numa Joy Bertola

Examining structural safety requires hypotheses on several properties of the bridge structure, such as material properties, boundary conditions, and self-weight. The traditional approach relies on conservative assumptions for each structural property, foll ...

2024

Combining monitoring information and UHPFRC strengthening to extend bridge service duration

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola

As many bridges are approaching the end of their supposedly theoretical service duration, finding novel technical solutions to extend their service duration is crucial, also for reasons of sustainability. In this article, two strategies (structural perform ...

CRC Press2024

Evaluation des ponts routiers existants avec un modèle de charge de trafic actualisé

Eugen Brühwiler, Alain Nussbaumer, Dimitrios Papastergiou, Numa Joy Bertola, Matthew James Sjaarda, Paola Costanza Miglietta

Office fédéral des routes OFROU2024