Transfer from defective bridge information model to defect analysis model based on industry foundation classes

Bridges, as an important part in modern infrastructure networks, suffer from increasingly severe aging issues in recent years. Road agencies and authorities conduct regular inspections for their bridges and identify defects and deteriorations for condition assessment. Such defect information cannot be efficiently used for analysis in the structural domain. This study proposes an Industry Foundation Classes-based method to allow for the transfer from a defective bridge information model to a defect analysis model. The architectural model of bridge is first converted into analytical model and then the impacts of defects on structural properties are quantified with a stiffness reduction coefficient. Case studies are conducted to validate the applicability of the proposed method for defect analysis and a range of coefficients are tested on an illustrative case bridge. The results prove that the proposed method can generate instructive and informative knowledge on the safety and reliability of the entire structure. This study narrows the gap between the empirical condition assessment scheme and the numerical structural analysis scheme for bridge management and manages to make full use of inspection-related information within Building Information Modelling (BIM) environment.