TRB Pubsindex
Text Size:

Title:

LABORATORY TESTING OF LOW-VOLUME ROAD BRIDGE ALTERNATIVE

Accession Number:

00756083

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Find a library where document is available


Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309064694

Abstract:

In Iowa there are over 20,000 bridges on the secondary road system. The majority of these bridges are under the jurisdiction of county engineers with limited budgets; therefore many county engineers design and construct their own short-span bridges with their own labor force. The objective of this research is to perform laboratory testing on a bridge alternative that counties can design and construct. This concept involves the fabrication of precast units composed of two steel beams connected by a thin concrete deck. The concrete deck thickness is limited so that the units can be fabricated at one location and then transported to the bridge site. The number of units required is obviously a function of the width of bridge desired. After the precast units have been connected, an additional concrete deck is placed. The concrete surface of the units is scarified so that the two layers of concrete are bonded together, thus providing the required deck thickness. Since this bridge replacement system is primarily intended for use on low-volume roads, the precast units could be constructed with new or used steel beams. The laboratory testing program consisted of a series of small-scale tests on different types of precast deck connections, "handling strength" tests of the precast units, a series of tests on the model bridge with only the precast portion of the deck in place, and a series of tests on the fully constructed model bridge. For the bridge model tested [L=9750 mm (32 ft), W=6400 mm (21 ft)], five precast connectors gave the desired lateral load distribution; the addition of the cast-in-place deck significantly improved the load distribution characteristics of the bridge system. The units developed and tested result in a simple-span bridge for low-volume roads that is relatively easy to construct.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1624, Structural Analysis and Design: Bridges, Culverts, and Pipes.

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Phares, B M
Wipf, T J
Klaiber, F W

Pagination:

p. 148-159

Publication Date:

1998

Serial:

Transportation Research Record

Issue Number: 1624
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0361-1981

ISBN:

0309064694

Features:

Figures (11) ; Photos (1) ; References (3)

Uncontrolled Terms:

Geographic Terms:

Subject Areas:

Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls; I53: Construction of Bridges and Retaining Walls

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Nov 3 1998 12:00AM

More Articles from this Serial Issue: