Bridges

This paper describes the use of Acoustic Emission (AE) technology to establish the structural health and integrity of each centre beam in the single support bar design of the Modular Bridge Expansion Joint (MBEJ) at Mooney Mooney Creek Bridge and Karuah Bridge. The methodology and procedures used are fully described and this application to MBEJs is believed to be original. The report also details how the results from the AE survey have been successfully implemented by the RTA into pro-active inspection and maintenance as part of a condition based maintenance strategy that will reduce the through life cost of MBEJ ownership whilst also improving road user safety. This paper also introduces two new phenomena observed during the AE survey of the MBEJs namely the premature excitation of the piezo-electric sensors used by the AE monitoring system and the modal energy waves travelling and reverberating along the length of the centre beams of the single support bar MBEJs.