Development of a Large Database of Italian Bridge Bearings: Preliminary Analysis of Collected Data and Typical Defects

This paper presents the development and analysis of a bridge bearing database consistent with the 2020 Italian Guidelines (LG2020), currently enforced by the Italian law for risk classification and management of existing bridges. The database was developed by putting together the contribution of 24 research teams from 18 Italian universities in the framework of a research project foreseen by the agreement between the High Council of Public Works (CSLP, part of the Italian Ministry of Transportation) and the research consortium ReLUIS (Network of Italian Earthquake and Structural Engineering University Laboratories). This research project aimed to apply LG2020 to a set of about 600 bridges distributed across the Italian country, in order to find possible issues and propose modifications and integrations. The database includes almost 12,000 bearing defect forms related to a portfolio of 255 existing bridges located across the entire country. This paper reports a preliminary analysis of the dataset to provide an overview of the bearings installed in a significant bridge portfolio, referring to major highways and state roads. After a brief state of the art about the main bearing types installed on the bridges, along with inspection procedures, the paper describes the database structure, showing preliminary analyses related to bearing types and defects. The results show the prevalence of elastomeric pads, representing more than 55% of the inspected bearings. The remaining bearings are pot, low-friction with steel–Teflon surfaces and older-type steel devices. Lastly, the study provides information about typical defects for each type of bearing, while also underscoring some issues related to the current version of the LG2020 bearing inspection form.

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Publication Details

Journal
Infrastructures
Published
2025-03-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures10030069
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Concrete Corrosion and Durability
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.91
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Development of a Large Database of Italian Bridge Bearings: Preliminary Analysis of Collected Data and Typical Defects

Giuseppe Santarsiero, Marco Zucca, Antonio Bilotta, Daniele Losanno et al.
2 citations
Infrastructures
Concrete Corrosion and Durability
1.91
article

Development of a Large Database of Italian Bridge Bearings: Preliminary Analysis of Collected Data and Typical Defects

Giuseppe Santarsiero, Marco Zucca, Antonio Bilotta, Daniele Losanno, Marco Savoia, Anna Saetta, Nicola Nisticò, Mauro Sassu, Fabio Biondini, Maurizio Orlando, Sergio Lagomarsino, Daniele Zonta, Giuseppe Maddaloni, Angelo Masi, Marisa Pecce, Giorgio Serino, Luisa Bertó, Giovanni Menichini, Enrico Cardillo, Marco di Prisco, Stefania Degli Abbati, Pier Paolo Rossi, Paolo Riva, Fabrizio Palmisano, Mattia Calò, Gennaro Magliulo, Giuseppe Carlo Marano, Andrea Floridia, Beatrice Belletti, Francesca da Porto, Eugenio Chioccarelli, Alberto Meda, Maria Pina Limongelli, Ruggero Macaluso, Giacomo Morano
article en
2 citations

Abstract

This paper presents the development and analysis of a bridge bearing database consistent with the 2020 Italian Guidelines (LG2020), currently enforced by the Italian law for risk classification and management of existing bridges. The database was developed by putting together the contribution of 24 research teams from 18 Italian universities in the framework of a research project foreseen by the agreement between the High Council of Public Works (CSLP, part of the Italian Ministry of Transportation) and the research consortium ReLUIS (Network of Italian Earthquake and Structural Engineering University Laboratories). This research project aimed to apply LG2020 to a set of about 600 bridges distributed across the Italian country, in order to find possible issues and propose modifications and integrations. The database includes almost 12,000 bearing defect forms related to a portfolio of 255 existing bridges located across the entire country. This paper reports a preliminary analysis of the dataset to provide an overview of the bearings installed in a significant bridge portfolio, referring to major highways and state roads. After a brief state of the art about the main bearing types installed on the bridges, along with inspection procedures, the paper describes the database structure, showing preliminary analyses related to bearing types and defects. The results show the prevalence of elastomeric pads, representing more than 55% of the inspected bearings. The remaining bearings are pot, low-friction with steel–Teflon surfaces and older-type steel devices. Lastly, the study provides information about typical defects for each type of bearing, while also underscoring some issues related to the current version of the LG2020 bearing inspection form.

InfrastructuresVol. 10(3)
University of Bergamo (IT), University of Rome Tor Vergata (IT), Università Iuav di Venezia (IT), University of Parma (IT), University of Padua (IT), University of Sannio (IT), University of Cagliari (IT), Politecnico di Torino (IT), University of Trento (IT), University of Basilicata (IT), Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori di Pavia (IT), University of Catania (IT), University of Florence (IT), University of Reggio Calabria (IT), University of Naples Federico II (IT), University of Genoa (IT), Sapienza University of Rome (IT), University of Bologna (IT), Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Concrete Corrosion and Durability
1.91
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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