Life-Cycle Cost Analyses of a New Steel for Bridges

This technical note presents the computations, results, and conclusions of an analytical investigation for comparing the life-cycle cost (LCC) of a steel bridge component made of a new maintenance-free steel and the LCC of the same steel bridge component made of conventional painted carbon steel with maintenance (repainting). An approach for the LCC analysis is presented both deterministically, where different painting scenarios are considered, and probabilistically, where the uncertainties in the input variables are properly considered. Under reasonable cost assumptions, it is demonstrated that the new steel, although initially more expensive, is indeed cost-effective after approximately 15 years. The LCC-effectiveness of the new steel increases over the service life of the bridge component.