TU Dresden INSTITUT FÜR MASSIVBAU

openLAB Endures: Three-Phase Damage Tests on Field 1

From 24 to 26 September 2025, the openLAB research bridge in Bautzen was subjected to a coordinated three-day experimental campaign on Field 1 to investigate damage detection under realistic failure mechanisms. Field 1 of the bridge was deliberately constructed with typical damage from existing concrete structures, distributed across three girders: 

  • Coupling joint problematic (Girder 1.1)

  • Stress-corrosion cracking (Girder 1.2)

  • Reduced shear capacity (Girder 1.3)

Figure1. openLAB overview and tested field Image: Herbers et al. (2024)

Day 1 (2025-09-24) involved a static load test on girder 1.1 using hydraulic jacks, bringing the element to its ultimate load capacity to study coupling-joint behavior.
Day 2 (2025-09-25) focused on girder 1.2, where two upper and two lower prestressing strands were cut to simulate stress-corrosion failure while monitoring strain-field development.
Day 3 (2025-09-26) used hydraulic jacks again to provoke and record shear-diagonal cracking in girder 1.3.

Figure 2. a) Static loading of the bridge using hydraulic jacks
Figure 2. b)Trolley-based load application in multiple bridge positions

Throughout all three test days, the collaborating partners deployed a broad range of advanced monitoring sensors to capture each damage scenario with high resolution. Data processing is currently underway, and the full dataset will be made openly available for further research and validation.