Probabilistic risk analysis of local verification of Load Model 1 in Eurocode for soil-steel composite bridges in Sweden

Background: Bridges must be designed to ensure safety for all users. At the same time, the design should be performed with an appropriate risk level. In Sweden, soil-steel composite bridges (SSCB) are the most common bridge type. For SSCB, local verification of Load Model 1 in Eurocode is most often governing the design. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the local verification of LM1 load case could be modified without decreasing the desired risk level in Eurocode. Methods: Weight in motion measurements from real traffic were extrapolated with Rice formula. Monte Carlo simulations were used to simulate the 1000-year return period event to obtain the acceptable risk level as prescribed in Eurocode. Results: The results show that the local verification of LM1 is conservative, considering the acceptable risk level in Eurocode. With a modified implementation of local verification, this paper shows that a potential saving of up to 14% in terms of economic cost and CO2-equivalents is possible. Conclusions: A modified implementation of local verification of LM1 in Eurocode for SSCB is proposed, which could represent a substantial reduction of the climate impact associated to the construction of new SSCB in Sweden.