As part of the EU project Assets4Rail, the AIT team led by project manager Marian Ralbovsky developed a probabilistic method for the fatigue assessment of steel bridges taking into account actual train loads.
In the process, various data sources such as traffic management data, operating data, timetables, but also historical data (e.g. macroeconomic key figures) are combined in order to thus draw conclusions about the remaining service life of railway steel bridges. Measured axle loads can also be used to achieve significant improvements over current conservative standard models, which facilitates the planning of necessary maintenance.
This new tool developed by AIT received very positive feedback from representatives of the railway infrastructure operators and members of the Shift2Rail committee. In future, necessary measures should be initiated and prioritised in good time in order to extend the lifespan of the structures in the best case and thus save both costs and CO2 emissions.
Further information about Assets4Rail: http://www.assets4rail.eu/