Evaluation of Strengthening Applications for Old Railway Bridges in Egypt

Egyptian railway transportation network is one of the oldest networks worldwide. Recently, an extensive assessment campaign has been initiated for a group of railway steel bridges in Egypt. In many cases, major repair and rehabilitation activities were observed due to accidents that may have happened to the structure such as: fire, derailment, or collision. The strengthening and rehabilitation of the considered bridges usually include - but not limited to - adding steel plates or replacing damaged members. The current study focuses on evaluating the different repair procedures applied on several aging steel railway bridges in Egypt. Field tests and analytical models are used to deduce deviations from the expected behaviour and pinpoint possible defects. The previous performed strengthening and rehabilitation applications are determined. Hence, their effect on the steel bridge behaviour is assessed.