DEFECTS AND MONITORING OF PC TRACK BEAMS USED IN MONORAIL

The straddle monorail in Chongqing is the first one in China, and it is now playing an important role in public transportation system. But the prestressed concrete (PC) track beams are facing destroying effects not only from car loads, but also from the environment and natural disasters, and all these factors will cause structural defects. Based on a large amount of references and materials, the defective symptoms of the existing PC track beams, including concrete deterioration, deficiency of protection, cracking, reinforcement steel corrosion and prestressing tendons fail, are summarized firstly. Then the corresponding monitoring methods and technologies are presented. The results of the research can be a reference for the structural health monitoring and assessment of PC track beams.