PSI - Issue 81

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ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 81 (2026) 151–155

© 2026 The Authors. Copy from the contract: Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of DMDP 2025 organizers Keywords: concrete arch bridge, crack strengthening, injection technology, finite element method, stress intensity factor, structural integrity. 1. Introduction Historic arch bridges often suffer from cracking and material degradation due to environmental exposure, repeated traffic loading, and age-related deterioration, see Fig. 1. Abstract This paper presents a numerical investigation into the effectiveness of injection-based strengthening for a cracked concrete arch bridge. The analysis was conducted using a detailed finite element model within the SALOME-MECA environment, leveraging the Code_Aster solver. The primary objective was a comprehensive assessment of the structure’s stress state and the corresponding Stress Intensity Facto rs (SIFs). Initially, a global finite element analysis of the cracked arch determined the maximum Tresca shear stresses and identified the critical orientation planes and locations. Following this, a specific structural element was isolated, and a semi-elliptical crack with a skew surface was modelled at the critical location to simulate a dominant shear mechanism. The Mode II SIF ( K II ) was subsequently calculated at the deepest point of this crack to quantify the severity of the damage. The repair process was then simulated by modelling the crack as being filled with a strengthening injection material. A comparative calculation demonstrated a significant reduction in the SIF, thereby quantifying the repair's effectiveness. Finally, the numerically calculated K II value was benchmarked against an approximate analytical formula derived for the identical filled crack configuration and loading conditions. A strong correlation and good agreement were observed between the two methods, with relative errors less than 5%. This consistency validates the use of the simplified analytical formula as a viable and time-efficient alternative to complex numerical calculations. The obtained results confirm the adequacy of the proposed injection technology for restoring the structural capacity of the concrete arch bridge. VIII International Conference “In -service Damage of Materials: Diagnostics and Prediction ” (DMDP 2025) Evaluation of Injection-Based Strengthening of a Cracked Concrete Arch Bridge Denys Rudavskyi a, *, Viktor Sylovanyuk b , Valerii Marukha b a Lviv Polytechnic National University, 12 Stepan Bandera Street, Lviv, 79013, Ukraine b Karpenko Physico-Mechanical Institute of the NAS of Ukraine, 5 Naukova Street, Lviv, 79060, Ukraine

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +380-93-740-8871 E-mail address: rudavskyy@gmail.com

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Copy from the contract: Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of DMDP 2025 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.03.027