Structural identification of masonry arch bridges

Masonry bridges play a crucial role mainly in the European rail and road network but also in other countries, such as Japan and India, they can are among the most important infrastructures of the transportation systems. Thus, a rational approach is needed for their assessment which reliability is strictly related to the structural models and to the constitutive models, and related mechanical parameters, used for the materials. How reliability can be achieved and corroborated is still an open issue. In this paper, procedures for both material and bridge testing are discussed aiming at a general procedure for the identification of the mechanical properties of materials and of the structure. Two case studies are presented and discussed: the Tanaro Bridge in Italy and the Rakanji Bridge in Japan. Data from material testing are used to set up FEM models; dynamic tests on the bridges are then used to corroborate the reliability of the structural model. In the case of the Rakanji Bridge, the numerical model has been also updated on the base of the experimental dynamic response.