SHM of a severely cracked masonry arch bridge in India: Experimental campaign and adaptive NURBS limit analysis numerical investigation

The paper presents some SHM results belonging to a wide experimental campaign conducted on a multi-arch masonry bridge located near Mumbai (India), exhibiting a large longitudinal crack on one of the arches and the corresponding advanced numerical evaluations carried out with a NURBS kinematic limit analysis approach, used to assess the stability of the arch subjected to the passage of heavy traffic loads. The masonry bridge is a three-arch structure built during the mid-19th century by British engineers to connect Bombay with the inland of the Indian subcontinent. At present, it is characterized by a heavy state of degradation especially in one of the arches that requires an immediate evaluation of the safety under the passage of traffic loads and possible ideas of interventions to strengthen the structure, in order to avoid the propagation of deep cracks along the longitudinal direction. The adopted SHM includes the crack growth monitoring and tilting of the spandrels under the application of two different heavy loads (a water tank truck and a hydra crane) located in different positions of the arch. Numerical modelling is carried out with a full 3D approach with NURBS finite elements in limit analysis that takes into account the pre-existing crack opening and predicts with great accuracy the ultimate loads in different scenarios and the corresponding active failure mechanisms. From experimental monitoring and numerical simulations results, it is concluded that the bridge is still safe under the passage of traffic loads, but approaches the ultimate limit state for some specific configurations of the loads applied. A refurbishment is therefore needed to avoid any further propagation of the cracks up to collapse.