Head of the project: doc. Ing. Odrobiňák Jaroslav, PhD.

Research team: Ing. Florková Zuzana, PhD., prof. Ing. Vičan Josef, CSc., prof. Ing. Moravčík Martin, PhD., Ing. Gocál Jozef, PhD., Ing. Hlinka Richard, PhD., doc. Ing. Koteš Peter, PhD., Ing. Bujňáková Petra, PhD., Ing. Farbák Matúš, PhD., Ing. Šedivý Štefan, PhD.     

Duration: January 2021 – December 2022

Professionals who work with bridges must be consistent in all activities related to the design, implementation and management of bridges from the initial intention to the end of their useful life. Despite the efforts during the design and construction of bridge structures, various damages and malfunctions appear during their exploitation. Initially, small defects gradually grow into defects significantly affecting the capacity and, in the worst case, also the safety of transport. In addition to the natural changes in the material, its hidden structural defects and increasing traffic intensities, the main factors affecting the condition of bridges are mainly the degradation processes taking place in the structural elements, which are caused by the environmental load from the surrounding environment. In this regard, there is a real need for more attention to be paid to this issue, because, in addition to the comfort and safety of passengers and goods, it significantly affects a number of processes associated with the activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which deal with diverse and at the same time extremely responsible activities in bridge construction. The presented project focuses on deterioration and breakdowns of transport infrastructure objects, which are caused by the environmental load characteristic of the common cross-border region. Its purpose is a targeted mapping of the most important degradation processes and the faults caused by them, from their causes, through diagnostics, the impact on the current load capacity of bridges and its development, to the expected consequences for the future and the possibilities of appropriate reconstruction or protection, or recommendations for the very design of new bridge structures. The outputs will be transformed into a methodology that will be usable in the activity of SMEs in this field of construction.