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My colleagues and I published two papers in the recent ACI SP-323 "Evaluation of Concrete Bridge Behavior through Load Testing – International Perspectives", of which Dr. Pinar Okumus and myself were coeditors. The two papers are: SP-323—1: ASSESSMENT OF SLAB BRIDGES THROUGH PROOF LOADING IN THE NETHERLANDS Eva O. L. Lantsoght, Cor van der Veen, Ane de Boer and Dick A. Hordijk Abstract A large subset of the Dutch bridge stock consists of reinforced concrete slab bridges, for which assessment often results in low ratings. To prioritize the efforts of the bridge owner, more suitable assessment methods for slab bridges are necessary. Research efforts over the past years resulted in the development of several methods, at levels requiring increasing costs, time, and effort for increasing accuracy. The last option, when an analytical assessment is not possible due to uncertainties, is to use proof load testing to evaluate the bridge directly. To develop recommendations for the proo...

Together with Miguel Abambres , Tiago Ribeiro , and Ana Sousa I've recently published a preprint titled "Research Counts, Not the Journal". As we're exploring post-publication peer review and the use of preprints, working only open access and bypassing for-profit publishers, this paper is on OSF Preprints and open for discussion on ResearchGate . I'd be grateful if you find a moment to read the paper and share your thoughts with us on its contents! Here's the abstract of the paper: If there is one thing every bibliometrician agrees, is that you should never use the journal impact factor (JIF) to evaluate research performance for an article or an individual-that is a mortal sin'. Few sentences could define so precisely the uses and misuses of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) better than Anthony van Raan's. This manuscript presents a critical overview on the international use, by governments and institutions, of the JIF and/or journal indexing informatio...

Together with Miguel Abambres , Tiago Ribeiro , and Ana Sousa I've recently published a preprint titled "Ineffective Obsessions in Brazilian Academia and Proposals Towards Meritocracy". As we're exploring post-publication peer review and the use of preprints, working only open access and bypassing for-profit publishers, this paper is on OSF Preprints and open for discussion on ResearchGate . I'd be grateful if you find a moment to read the paper and share your thoughts with us on its contents! Here's the abstract of the paper: Albeit its constitutional claim for quality, Brazilian academia has largely been referred to as unmeritocratic and academic hiring is still inward-oriented. Lattes platform, a public curricular information system, reflects elements of this protectionism. This article assesses two ‘obsessions’ in Brazilian academia: (i) the ‘mandatory’ Lattes CV, and (ii) the candidates’ assessment criteria in public tenders for faculty positions. Severa...

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer , your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands. These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands. If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic! As a post doctoral researcher, you can be hired on a project for 1 or 2 years, on a topic that is different from the topic you worked on during your PhD years. It may feel daunting to start all over again, and do it in less than half of the time you needed to do your PhD. As I've worked on a number of different topics during my post-doc years in Delft (including my "new" research line on load testing), I'm here to demystify the process. First of all: remember that you ar...

My coauthors and I recently published a paper "Modelling of the proof load test on viaduct De Beek" for the Euro-C conference that was held in Bad Hofgastein in Austria. The paper discusses how finite element models of a bridge that was load tested can be updated with the results of the bridge test, and how this influences the assessment of the bridge. The abstract is: In a proof load test, a load corresponding to the factored live load is applied to a bridge, to directly demonstrate that a bridge fulfils the code requirements. The case of viaduct De Beek, a four-span reinforced concrete slab bridge that did not fulfil the requirements for bending moment after an inspection survey is studied. The middle spans, located above highway lanes, which could not be tested in the field, are the criti-cal spans of this structure. Therefore, the observations from the field are used to check the finite element model, and improve the rating of the critical middle spans. The proposed metho...

My coauthors and I recently published a paper titled "Long-term material and structural behavior of high-strength concrete cantilever bridge: Results of 20 years monitoring" in Structural Concrete. In this paper, we report the results of material and structural behavior based on twenty years of measurements on the Second Stichtse Bridge. This bridge was the first highstrenght prestressed concrete bridge built with the balanced cantilever method in the Netherlands. Of course, I did not carry out the measurements over the last 20 years - I only got involved with the project in the summer of 2017. My colleagues have worked on the measurements and the analysis of the behavior of this bridge for more than twenty years, and it was very interesting to work with them and learn from their experience. The abstract is as follows: In 1997, the Second Stichtse Bridge was built in the Netherlands using the balanced cantilever method. The use of high-strength concrete was proposed. At that ...

At IABSE 2017 , my colleague presented two papers of our research. I didn't travel to IABSE, because the conference fell right in the middle of my maternity leave. The first paper is titled "Proof load testing of the viaduct De Beek" and the abstract is as follows: Proof load testing can be a suitable method to show that a bridge can carry the required loads from the code without distress. This paper addresses the preparation, execution, and analysis of a proof load test on a four-span reinforced concrete solid slab bridge, viaduct de Beek. The bridge has one lane in each direction, but was restricted to a single lane, since an assessment showed that the capacity is not sufficient to allow both lanes. For this proof load test, the bridge was heavily equipped with sensors, so that early signs of distress can be seen. The difficulty in this test was that, for safety reasons, only the first span could be tested, but that the lowest ratings were found in the second span. A di...

I recenlty published a chapter titled "Field assessment of a concrete bridge" in the book " Eco-efficient Repair and Rehabilitation of Concrete Infrastructures ", edited by Fernando Pacheco-Torgal, Robert Melchers, Nele de Belie, Xianming Shi, Kim Van Tittelboom, and Andres Saez Perez. This book is part of the Woodhead Publishing series in Civil and Structural Engineering . The description of the book is as follows: Eco-efficient Repair and Rehabilitation of Concrete Infrastructures provides an updated state-of-the-art review on eco-efficient repair and rehabilitation of concrete infrastructure. The first section focuses on deterioration assessment methods, and includes chapters on stress wave assessment, ground-penetrating radar, monitoring of corrosion, SHM using acoustic emission and optical fiber sensors. Other sections discuss the development and application of several new innovative repair and rehabilitation materials, including geopolymer concrete, sulfoalumi...

Before I start to tell you my story about how I combine research and breastfeeding my baby girl, I need to tell you that it is my deepest wish that all parents are respected for whatever choice they make to feed their child. Breastfeeding, exclusive pumping, donor milk, formula… if your choice is what you want, it is the right thing to do for you and your family. In my opinion, choices empower families, and there is no “one size fits all” solution. I hope that in the future policy makers will enable a wide range of choices to accommodate the different needs of different families. With that said, my goal from the beginning was to breastfeed my baby. I had no idea what this would actually be like, and how this would work out practically as I’d return to work. I’ve been blessed to have great support in the hospital and at home with a midwife to start with breastfeeding, and I was lucky that my husband could bring me the pump I needed when he went on a trip to the USA. I fully realize that...

Today, I'm hosting Dr. Rasheda Weaver, who shares with us what she learned about writing during her PhD. Rasheda L. Weaver, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Community Entrepreneurship at the University of Vermont where she teaches classes and conducts research on social enterprises, businesses that seek to combat social problems. She conducted the first large-scale study of the social, economic, and legal activities on social enterprises in the United States. You can email her at Rasheda.weaver@uvm.edu and follow her on Twitter @RLWeaverPhD. After graduating with a PhD in Public Affairs from Rutgers University in May 2017, I wanted to take some time to reflect, discuss, and share some of the lessons that I learned about writing for peer-reviewed journals throughout my doctoral program. The lessons are organized below by the following three themes: 1) The Writing Process, 2) Organization and Interpretation, and 3) Peer-Reviewed Publications and the Job Search. The Writing Process * ...

In previous posts in this short series of entering motherhood as a research, I described the challenges I faced during my pregnancy. Even though I had a textbook-perfect pregnancy, and quick and painless labor and delivery, I had my share of struggles: I was so tired during my pregnancy, and it took me some effort to accept that I would not be seen lifting heavy barbells while being very pregnant - which had always been what I expected from myself. Just like I had some misconceptions about pregnancy, I did not know what to expect for my maternity leave. I had 12 weeks of maternity leave, and they flew by. The first weeks I spent in my home country, arranging my daughter's paperwork, before returning to Ecuador for the remainder of my leave. My expectation was that, since I wouldn't be that tired anymore, I'd be able to resume workouts right when my gyn/ob gave me the green light. I did not expect that I'd be planning (well, planning is not a good word here, as there was...

This post starts where my previous post about my academic work throughout my pregnancy ends. For your reference, I also wrote a post with some advice related to doing academic work while being pregnant, and here you can read my reply to a reader who worried when would be the right time to have a child if you want an academic career . As I am writing this post, my wonderful little baby is already four months old - and I finally manage to write about the third trimester of my pregnancy. I was planning to write this post towards the end of my pregnancy, and since everybody told me that a first child usually comes past his/her expected date, I thought I still had plenty of time. When I went for my checkup at 39 weeks of pregnancy (on a Thursday), and she was still in breech, the doctor said I would have to go in for a scheduled c-section next Wednesday. He told me to confirm on Sunday, as my husband would be arriving from Ecuador on Saturday. Breech delivery is forbidden for a first chil...

I recently gave a presentation at the ACI Fall Convention in Anaheim, CA about our research on proof load testing of slab bridges. If all goes well, the paper will be published in an ACI SP. Below, you can find the slides of this presentation: Assessment of slab bridges through proof loading in the Netherlands from Eva Lantsoght

My colleagues and myself recently published a paper in the Journal of Bridge Engineering, titled "Pilot Proof-Load Test on Viaduct De Beek: Case Study". The paper reports on the proof load test on viaduct De Beek which our research group carried out in November 2015. I couldn't join my colleagues in the field at that time, but in the summer of 2016, I helped finalizing the analysis report of the test. The abstract is as follows: For existing bridges, proof-load testing can be a suitable assessment method. This paper addresses the evaluation of a posted reinforced concrete slab bridge over a highway through proof-load testing, detailing the preparation, execution, and analysis of the test. As the target proof-load and the required measurements for proof-load testing currently are not well-defined in the existing codes, this pilot case was used to develop and evaluate proposed recommendations for proof-load testing for a future guideline on proof-load testing for the Nether...

My colleagues and I recently published a paper titled "Plastic model for asymmetrically loaded reinforced concrete slabs" in a Special Publication of the ACI, ACI-SP 321 "Recent Developments in Two-Way Slabs: Design, Analysis, Construction, and Evaluation". This SP is the result of a session held at the ACI Fall Convention in 2015. You can purchase the SP through the ACI website. The abstract of our paper is as follows: Most methods for the design and analysis of reinforced concrete slabs for punching are based on experiments on slab-column connections, reflecting the situation in building slabs. Slab-column connections with unbalanced moments have also been studied in the past. Experiments indicate that the accuracy of models for asymmetrically loaded slabs is lower than for symmetrically loaded slabs. In this paper, the difference in accuracy between test predictions for symmetrically and asymmetrically loaded slabs is tackled. A plastic model, the Extended Strip ...

My co-authors and myself recently published a paper in Structure and Infrastructure Engineering about the load test on viaduct Zijlweg. The paper is titled "Towards standardisation of proof load testing: pilot test on viaduct Zijlweg". You can access the paper through this link . The abstract is as follows: Proof load tests of bridges can be very useful for structures with a lack of information, or for structures of which the effect of material degradation is difficult to assess. Contrary to diagnostic load testing, proof load testing is not well-defined in current standards in terms of required load and analysis of measurements. The risk related to the high loads used in proof load testing requires standardisation for these tests. The paper highlights important considerations for proof load testing that may lead to the development of guidelines in the Netherlands, by illustrating a pilot study on the viaduct Zijlweg in the Netherlands. This reinforced concrete bridge rates t...

I recently presented a poster about our research on load testing in Delft at the ACI Spring Convention in Detroit, MI. Poster presentations are not something I'm quite used to. I've written about my experience presenting a poster for the first time (in 2012) , and since presenting that poster , I've only given lectern sessions. Besides that, I've made two posters for the research school of building and construction of the Netherlands, for their book of research projects, way back in 2009 and 2010. The poster sessions was well attended, and I enjoyed the direction interaction with the audience. As such, I'd vote in favor of adding more poster presentations to the conferences in my field (as long as we can consider them as equal to lectern sessions, instead of considering them as a little "less" valuable). You can find the poster here (you can scroll through it): Beam experiments to investigate loading protocol and stop criteria for load testing from Ev...

My coauthors and myself recently published a paper titled "Beam Experiments on Acceptance Criteria for Bridge Load Tests" in the ACI Structural Journal. You can access this paper through the ACI website . The abstract is as follows: Loading protocols and acceptance criteria are available in the literature for load tests on buildings. For bridges, proof load tests are interesting when crucial information about the structure is missing, or when the uncertainties about the structural response are large. The acceptance criteria can then be applied to evaluate if further loading is acceptable, or could lead to permanent damage to the structure. To develop loading protocols and acceptance criteria for proof loading of reinforced concrete bridges, beam experiments were analysed. In these experiments, different loading speeds, constant load level times, numbers of loading cycles, and required number of load levels were evaluated. The result of these experiments is the development of ...

My colleagues and I recently published a paper in the proceedings of the ESREL (European Safety and Reliability Conference), held in June in Portorož, Slovenia. My colleague presented the paper, as I was too far advanced in pregnancy to be allowed on a flight. The abstract of the paper is: Proof load tests can be used for a field assessment of the bridge under study. This paper addresses the determination of the reliability index of an existing bridge by means of proof loading through the case study viaduct De Beek. The information of this bridge is used to determine the updated reliability index after proof load testing. A sensitivity study is carried out to identify the effect of the assumptions with regard to the coefficient of variation on the resistance and load effects. In the current practice of proof load testing with vehicles, it can typically only be demonstrated that a certain vehicle type can cross the bridge safely. The results in this paper provide a new insight on the up...

At the fib symposium 2017, I presented a paper titled "Determination of loading protocol and stop criteria for proof loading with beam tests". The abstract of the paper is as follows: Proof loading of existing bridges is an interesting option when insufficient information about a bridge is available. To safely carry out a proof loading test, high loads are placed on the bridge. To avoid permanent damage to the structure, a controlled loading protocol needs to be described, and the measurements need to be closely monitored to identify the onset of distress. The criteria from existing codes and guidelines to evaluate the measurements, called stop criteria, are not universally applicable. To develop recommendations for proof loading of reinforced concrete solid slab bridges, beam experiments were analysed. The beams were heavily instrumented to evaluate the existing stop criteria, and possibly develop new stop criteria. The result of these experiments is the development of a sta...