This two day conference will provide guidelines on good practice in maintenance testing and service behaviour monitoring of individual ground anchorages and anchored structures. It will seek to illustrate the performance of anchorages in practice via case histories, together with recent developments in non-destructive testing and corrosion protection.

Millions of ground anchorages have been installed over the past 80 years with relatively few recorded failures. However, as permanent anchorages in service become older, the subject is of growing importance, particularly for anchorages installed over 30 years ago: many of which have been designed with corrosion protection considered inadequate by today’s standards.

Water levels reached 150-year highs in 2002 with associated flooding across Central and Eastern Europe, so the importance of anchored river and seawalls can not be overemphasised. Winter storms are now judged by the insurance industry to represent the largest potential event loss in Europe. Elsewhere in the world, the highest potential losses are associated with earthquakes and typhoons, where anchored slopes are vital in resisting landslides and rock avalanches.

Routine programmes of inspection and monitoring can extend the service life of the anchored structures that represent key elements of a country’s infrastructure. Where inspection highlights unacceptable tendon corrosion or over-stressing, the results provide early warning of the need for precautionary or remedial measures in order to safeguard the integrity of the anchored structure.

In spite of these benefits, sufficient attention is not currently paid to routine maintenance inspections and service behaviour monitoring. The potential consequences should not be ignored.

Registration required:

Yes

Free:

No