THE ROAD TEST BRIDGES- HISTORY AND OBJECTIVES

THE AASHO ROAD TEST PROJECT INCLUDED SEVERAL BRIDGE SPANS TO BE USED FOR CASE STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS OF REPEATED OVERLOADS ON THE SERVICE LIFE OF HIGHWAY BRIDGE STRUCTURES. BRIDGE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES WERE TO DETERMINE THE SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS OF SPECIFIED VEHICLE AXLE LOADS AND GROSS VEHICLE LOADS WHEN APPLIED AT KNOWN FREQUENCY ON BRIDGES OF KNOWN DESIGN AND CHARACTERISTICS. THE BRIDGES INCLUDED STEEL I- BEAM DESIGN, CONVENTIONAL REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN, AND PRESTRESSED CONCRETE DESIGN. THE PRINCIPLE OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH WAS TO GATHER DATA ON FATIGUE AND OVERSTRESS EFFECTS. THE PROGRAM INCLUDED 3 DIFFERENT MODIFICATIONS OF ROLLED WIDE-FLANGE STEEL BEAMS; PRESTRESSED, I-BEAMS, BOTH PRETENSIONED AND POST-TENSIONED; AND CONVENTIONAL REINFORCED CONCRETE T-BEAMS. THERE WERE 8 STEEL BEAM STRUCTURES. THREE OF THESE WERE NONCOMPOSITE WITH COVER PLATES VARYING IN LENGTH FROM 19 FT. TO 20 FT. 6 INCHES. ONE WAS DESIGNED TO DEVELOP A STRESS OF 20,000 PSI AND 2 TO DEVELOP A STRESS OF 35,000 PSI UNDER THE LOADS TO WHICH THEY WERE SUBJECTED. THREE STEEL BEAM SPANS WERE NONCOMPOSITE WITHOUT COVER PLATES, 2 AT 35,000 PSI STRESS LEVEL AND ONE AT 27,000 PSI STRESS LEVEL. THE TWO COMPOSITE SPANS BOTH HAD COVER PLATES, ONE SPAN STRESSED TO 35,000 PSI AND ONE TO 27,000 PSI. EARLY IN THE TEST PROGRAM 4 OF THE STEEL BRIDGES DESIGNED FOR A STRESS LEVEL OF 35,000 PSI FAILED BY YIELDING. TWO OF THESE STRUCTURES WERE REPLACED WITH NONCOMPOSITE STEEL SPANS DESIGNED AT THE 27,000 PSI STRESS LEVEL. VEHICLES ESPECIALLY INSTRUMENTED TO RECORD AXLE LOAD, VEHICLE VIBRATION, SPEED, AND OTHER VARIABLES WERE USED. THE STRUCTURES WERE INSTRUMENTED TO MEASURE BOTH PERMANENT AND TRANSIENT STRAINS. DATA WERE RECORDED BY ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT. ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr73/73-001.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • pp 16-18 Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Research Board

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  Transportation Research Board

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• Authors:
  • Paxson, G S
• Conference:
  • Highway Research Board Conference on the AASHO Road Test
  • Location: St Louis MO, United States
  • Date: 1962-5-16 to 1962-5-18
• Publication Date: 1962

Media Info

• Monograph Title: THE AASHO ROAD TEST - PROCEEDINGS OF A CONFERENCE HELD MAY 16-18, 1962, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 73
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accelerated tests; Axle load force; Beams; Bridge superstructures; Composite materials; Concrete; Highway bridges; I beams; Load tests; Measuring instruments; Motion; Motor vehicles; Oversize loads; Posttensioning; Prestressed concrete; Prestressing; Pretensioning; Reinforced concrete; Repeated loads; Steel; Yield strength
• Identifier Terms: AASHO Road Test
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bridge spans; Composite beams; Concrete beams; Moving vehicles; Overloads
• Old TRIS Terms: Prestressed beams
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00209218
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 26 1970 12:00AM