Keynote at EWGAE 2024

On September 20, 2024, Dr.-Ing Chongjie Kang, representing SPP 100+, gave a keynote presentation on "Digital Twin in Bridge Maintenance" at the 36th European Working Group on Acoustic Emission (EWGAE 2024).

Abstract of the presentation:

Bridges are essential components of infrastructure, responsible for continuous traffic and ensuring safety. However, the deterioration of bridges is rapidly increasing worldwide, leading to various maintenance problems. In Germany, according to statistics from the Federal Highway Research Institute in 2024, more than 50% of bridge surfaces on federal highways were older than 30 years, and more than 30% of all bridge surfaces were not in good structural condition. The need for bridge maintenance is expected to increase significantly, particularly with regard to extending the service life of bridge structures in order to save material and other resources. To achieve this, much more information is required at a much earlier stage than is usual today. Ideally, all the necessary but heterogeneous information should be systematically handled, linked and presented centrally. To address this, digital methods, in particular the whole concept of digital twins, are increasingly being researched and implemented in the construction industry. They have considerable potential to support the maintenance and extension of the service life of existing structures. This paper will first introduce the concept and key components of a bridge digital twin. Subsequently, several pilot projects, including the SmartBridge Hamburg, the Nibelungen Bridge in Worms and the OpenLAB - IDA-KI research bridge in Bautzen, will be explained in detail. The objectives and functions of the bridge digital twins, the associated data monitoring systems, the data processing methods and visualization strategies are explained in detail. Finally, the most important experiences and future challenges are summarized.

Many thanks for the invitation and go to the organization team and session chair Prof. Dr. Markus Sause for this successful event. We would also like to thank the participants for the very successful exchange.