THE 7th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

"CIVIL ENGINEERING - SCIENCE AND PRACTICE"

GNP 2020 – Kolašin, Montenegro, 10-14 March 2020

Željka Radovanović1

SOME ASPECT OF BRIDGES DURATION IN EUROCODES

Abstract
Durability of bridges is influenced by the following factors: design and detailing; specification
of materials used in construction and quality of construction. The control of items is achieved
through the use of accepted standards and procedure. In the standards for concrete structures
design, the following requests are related to the aspect of durability: reinforcement cover,
cement content, minimum class of the concrete, crack width limitation and minimal quantity of
reinforcement in concrete cross section. One very important segment for bridges durability is
quality of waterproofing and control of the works, but this issue is not covered by standards.
Therefore, many countries this and other issues defined more precisely within the national
technical specifications.
In order to reduce the costs of the bridges maintaining and to ensure the projected service life,
it is very important to provide an adequate reinforcement cover, to limit the width of cracks, as
well as to design and construct bridge with characteristic concrete strength which is not below
the values that are given in the corresponding standards. The part of Eurocode which defines
the reinforcement cover of concrete did not define this issue easily and user friendly, and it
would be very good to define this in examples books and in the Montenegrin technical
specification for bridges. Some example how it is done in other country is presented in this
paper.
Key words
Bridges, duration, reinforcement cover, exposure classes, environmental condition, cracks

1
PhD in civ.eng, Assistant professor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Montenegro, Džordža Vašingtona b.b,
81000 Podgorica, Crna Gora, zeljkar@ucg.ac.me, radovanovic@t-com.me

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1. INTRODUCTION

Durability is the ability of material or structures to resist, for a certain period of time and
with regular maintenance, all the effects to which they are subjected so that no significant change
occurs in their serviceability. The design of the structures corresponds to the indicative design life
during which structures must remain durable. The design life for bridges is 100 years.
Table 1. Indicative design working life, [1]
Design working Indicative design
Examples
life category working life (years)
1 10 Temporary structures
2 10 to 25 Replaceable structural parts, bearings
3 15 to 30 Agricultural and similar structures
4 50 Building structures and other common structures
Monumental building structures, bridges and
5 100
other civil engineering structures

It is interesting that in TII Publication – Design for Durability by Transport Infrastructure

Ireland, which is responsible for managing and improving the Ireland’s national road and light rail
networks, is specified some more detailed and stricter condition, [2]:
“The design life for all structures shall be 120 years unless otherwise stated below:
1) The design life for replaceable structural parts (i.e. bearings, waterproofing systems,
expansion joints, parapets and safety barriers) shall be 50 years;
2) The design life for short term structures (i.e. CCTV masts / high mast lighting and bridge
gantries / access systems) shall be 50 years;
3) The design life for temporary structures shall be 10 years.”
Durability of bridges is influenced by the following factors: design and detailing;
specification of materials used in construction and quality of construction. The control of items is
achieved through the use of accepted standards and procedure. In the standards for concrete
structures design the following request are in related to aspect of durability: reinforcement cover,
cement content, minimum class of the concrete, crack width limitation and minimal quantity of
reinforcement in concrete cross section. One very important segment for bridges durability is
quality of waterproofing and control of the works but this issue is not covering with standard.
Therefore, many country this and other issues defined more precisely during the national technical
specification.

2. REINFORCEMENT COVER

The thickness of the reinforcement cover is distance between the reinforcement surface
closest to the concrete surface, it is nominal reinforcement cover, cnom. The nominal reinforcement
cover must be written on the drawings. The cnom, nominal protection layer is defined as minimum
cmin reinforcement cover which is increased by the tolerance, deviation in construction, Δcdev.

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cnom = cmin + Δcdev (1)

The value of protective layer depends on: environment condition, construction classes, steel
type, diameter of reinforcement and method of construction. A minimal cover reinforcement must
be provided for: secure transmission of adhesion forces between concrete and reinforcement,
corrosion protection of reinforcement and adequate resistance to fire.

{
cmin = max cmin,b ;cmin,dur + Dcdur ,g - Dcdur ,st - Dcdur ,add ;10mm} (2)

cmin,b min protective cover with respect adhesion conditions,

cmin,dur min protective layer with respect environmental conditions
Δcdur,γ additional element of security, Δcdur,γ = 0mm
Δcdur,st the additional reduction of minimal reinforcement cover when stainless steel is
used, Δcdur,st = 0mm
Δcdur,add reduction of reinforcement cover when additional protection is taken as Δcdur,add =
0mm.
cmin,b for the single bars is equal to diameter of the bar, ϕ, but for the bars in the bundle
the cmin,b is equal to replacing diameter ϕn.

2.1 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS - MINIMAL COVER, CMIN,DUR

The structural class for design working life of structures for bridges, according to MEST
EN 1990-1, [1], is 100 years and this corresponding with structural class S5. In some countries is
recommending to take working life of bridges from 120 years, and that structural class is S6.
Table 2. Values of minimum cover, cmin,dur, [2]
Environmental Requirement for cmin,dur (mm)
Structural Exposure Classes
Class X0 XC1 XC2/XC3 XC4 XD1/XS1 XD2/XS2 XD3/XS3
S1 10 10 10 15 20 25 30
S2 10 10 15 20 25 30 35
S3 10 10 20 25 30 35 40
S4 10 15 25 30 35 40 45
S5 15 20 30 35 40 45 50
S6 20 25 35 40 45 50 55

The exposure classes depending on environmental conditions are:

- Class XO is used where in environment is without danger of corrosion and other aggressive
effects;
- Class XC is corrosion due to carbonization which has four subclasses: XC1 (dry or constantly wet
environment), XC2 (dry and rarely humid environment), XC3 (moderate humid environment),
XC4 (cyclic humid and dry);
- Class XD is corrosion due to chloride which has three subclasses: XD1 (moderate humid), XD2
(wet, rarely dry), XD3 (cyclic wet and dry);

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- Class XS is corrosion due action of chloride from sea water which has three subclasses: XS1
(exposed to salt from air but without direct contact with sea water), XS2 (element of the structure
is always under the sea), XS3 (zone under the action of high and low tide);
- Class XF is corrosion due action of freezing / melting and has four subclasses: XF1 (moderate
saturated with water, without salt for defrosting), XF2 (moderate saturated with water, with salt for
defrosting), XF3 (very saturated with water without salt for defrosting), XF4 (very saturated with
water, with salt for defrosting or with sea water);
- Class XA is chemical aggression on concrete which was applied for the part of the structures
under the soil usually, and has three subclasses: XA1 (small aggression chemical environment,
accordance with EN 206-1, table 2), XA2 (moderate aggressive chemical environment), XA3 (very
aggressive chemical environment).
It is clear that application of this regulation must be used in accordance of the purpose of
the structure’s using and location of same structural element. This scope is not clearly explained in
the Eurocode. Some examples how applied above presented requirement, for the concrete surface
in the bridges, is presented in the figures 1 - 2, [2]. The example of the cross section of the bridge
are done for the territory of Ireland.
Montenegro, like many other countries needs technical specification for bridges. Also, we
should has made manuals for Eurocode applying. In this document it was important to prepared
examples of bridge’s cross section in accordance with location of the bridges, in different climatic
zone and in different environment condition.

Figure 1. Exposure classes in the intermediate support of the bridge, [2]

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Figure 2. Exposure classes in the abutment of the bridge, [2]

2.2 TOLERANCE DUE TO BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION, ΔCDEV

The required minimal reinforcement cover must be increased by the absolute value of the
tolerated deviation during the bridge construction due to the reinforcement cover should be
reduced. Recommended values is 10 mm. In the standard there is more additional explanation
regarding it, but it is not presented in this paper.

3. CEMENT AND MINIMUM CLASS OF THE CONCRETE

The strength of the concrete under the compression, at age of the concrete t, depends on the
type of cement, environment temperature and care conditions of the concrete. The cement is
classified in the three classes (R, N and S). In accordance with EN 1992-1-1cement type: CEM
42.5R, CEM 52.5N and CEM 52.5 R belong to class R; the cement type: CEM 32.5, CEM 42.5N
and CEM 32.5 R belong to class S. In the standard EN 1992-2, Design of concrete structures -
Concrete bridges, recommended characteristic minimal and maximal strength is C30/37 and
C70/85 respectively. In some country is defined the minimal characteristic strength of concrete for
different types of bridge’s elements.
In the Structures Design Manual for Highways and Railways published by Government of
Special Administrative Region Hong Kong, [3], for the concrete under normal circumstances the
maximum cement content shall be limited to not more than 450kg/m3. “For high strength concrete
(grade 60 or above) the total cementitious contents shall be controlled to avoid large heat of
hydration as well as large shrinkage and creep strains. The concrete strength grades to be used shall
be limited to a minimum grade of Grade 30 and a maximum grade of Grade 85 which correspond
to the Cmin of C25/30 and Cmax of C70/85. Concrete for the carriageway and superstructures
including concrete parapets shall be of Grade 40 or stronger. Concrete for pre-stressing shall be

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Grade 45 or stronger. In using concrete of high strength grade, stronger than Grade 60, for
prestressing work, strict control shall be exercised with adequate provisions, [3].”
In TII Publication – Design for Durability by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, [2], is
defined following:
1) Superstructure concrete - C32/40;
2) Footway, infill concrete - C25/30;
3) Substructure concrete above base level - C32/40;
4) Substructure concrete foundation - C32/40;
5) Pre-cast concrete - C40/50.
In some countries cumulative presentation of request for the quality of the concrete in
connection of the exposure classes is presented in the tables, which is part of the technical
specification. The maximum water/cement ratio used in the design for structural concrete with steel
reinforcement shall be taken in accordance with the requirements set out in Table 1-3, [2]. The
design for all concrete mixes for buried components shall ensure durability taking into account the
chemical composition of the soil and groundwater in addition to the stated strength requirements.
Table 1. Cmin,dur for exposure class XC, [2]

Table 2. Cmin,dur for exposure class, XS, [2]

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Table 3. Cmin,dur for exposure class, XD, [2]

4. CRACK WIDTH LIMITATION

Longitudinal cracks due to exceeding critical stresses values, if are not taken proper
measures, can lead to a loss of durability. The most effective measure to ensure durability is to
increase the thickness of the reinforcement, provide cross-section weighting by stirrups and limit
compression stress in concrete in zones exposed to action of environment which is classified in the
expose classes XD, XF and XS. The values of compressive stresses should not be more than 60%
of the characteristic value of compressive strength of concrete, fck. Maximal enlargement of
compressive stresses under this limit is possible if we applied the cross section weighting, but not
more than 10%. The calculated width of the cracks in the bridges is limited in relation to wmax. Due
to random nature of the phenomenon of cracks formation the actual width of cracks cannot be
predicted.
Table 4. Recommended values for wmax and essential rules for combinations, [6]

Exposure classes Reinforced concrete and pre- Pre-stressed elements with

stressed cable elements adhesion cables
without adhesion to concrete
Quasi-constant load Frequent combination of
combination loads
X0, XC1 0.2a 0.1
XC2, XC3, XC4 0.2 0.1b
XD1, XD2, XS1, XS2, XS3 decompression
Note a: For exposure classes X0, XC1, crack width does not have affection on durability and its limitation should
generally provide an acceptable structural appearance. If there are no conditions in connection with appearance this
limitation can be mitigated.
Note b: For these exposure classes decompression for a quasi-constant load combination should be checked, also.

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However, if the widths of the cracks were calculated in accordance with the models given in
standard MEST EN 1992-2, [5], is limited to the values given in the table 4 of the structure
durability should not be damaged.
The decompression restriction requires that all concrete be within a certain distance, of the
adhesion cables or in the case of cables in the pipes, should remain pre-stressed under certain load.
The recommended value of 100mm is adopted for the value of cable distance from concrete
surface.

5. CONCLUSION

In order to reduce the costs of the bridges maintaining and to ensure the projected service
life, it is very important to provide an adequate reinforcement cover, to limit the width of cracks, as
well as design and constructed bridge with characteristic concrete strength which is not below the
values that are given in the corresponding standards. The part of Eurocode which define the
reinforcement cover of concrete did not define this issue easily and user friendly, and it would be
very good to define this in the examples books and in the Montenegrin technical specification for
bridges. Some example how it is done in some country is presented in this paper.

LITERATURE

[1] MEST EN 1990: 2013, Eurokod 0 – osnove projektovanja konstrukcija, 120p

[2] Transport Infrastructure Ireland: "Design for Durability", DN-STR-03012, 2016, 36p
[3] Government of Special Administrative Region Hong Kong: ”Structures Design Manual for Highways
and Railways” published 2013, 275p
[4] MEST EN 1992-1-1: 2017, Eurokod 2 – Projektovanje betonskih konstrukcija, Dio 1-1: Opšta
pravila i pravila za zgrade, 252p
[5] MEST EN 1992-2: 2018, Eurokod 2 – Projektovanje betonskih konstrukcija – Betonski mostovi –
Pravila projektovanja i izrada detalja, 106p
[6] MEST EN 1992-2 NA 2018, Eurokod 2 – Projektovanje betonskih konstrukcija – Betonski mostovi –
Pravila projektovanja i izrada detalja - Nacionalni aneks, 18p

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