| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
More and more old bridges are emerged since the transportation web is reaching to a saturation level. In the past, we put emphasis on building new bridges, but now the focus has been turned to how to maintain the old ones. The function and service quality of the bridges are going down, not only because those bridges have been used for a certain period of time, but also catastrophes, such as typhoon, earthquake, flood and damages by human beings like steeling sand, stones or using inadequate materials, which are all the factors that put bridges safety at risk. If we don’t take up proper management strategy at this crucial moment, enormous losses will be inevitable.
Now we realize the importance of bridge maintenance, but we can not see any organization which can take full responsibility and do the country-wide planning with a grand perspective. In view of the seriousness of the problem, Consecutive Yuan authorized Transportation Department and National Central University to develop a project called “ Bridge Management Systems in Taiwan”, hoping to supply a system which can be put into use throughout the country. Meanwhile, a consulting company is assigned to compile and publish “Road Maintenance” brochures in the early 2003. These brochures are passed out to related departments.
Due to the huge quantity of bridges in our country, we need to rely on computer technology to get an overall understanding and maintenance budget of the deterioration of the bridges. This research is based on the operation system of THB and those bridges taken charged by THB. The study begins at analyzing current bridge maintenance system and then seek for methods to enhance bridge inspection effectiveness. Furthermore, this research also hopes to remedy the bridge visual inspection by non-destructive inspection. There are several issues are included in this research: First, submit constructive opinions on reflection of present situation and how to improve it. Second, make practical budget estimate and arrangement for bridge maintenance. Third, design a bridge verification system under current quality control structure and draw up a quantized evaluation form through questionaires and AHP analysis to assess and maintain performance. At last, take precautions at each step in the bridges’ life cycle according to the results produced in the previous stages.
To sum up, this study aims at promoting maintenance effectiveness of the bridges in order to prolong the bridges’ life. Hopefully, it can also be served as a reference for related researches later on. | en_US |