DYNAMIC LOAD TESTING OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

Between 1958 and 1981 the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) performed dynamic load tests on 226 beam and slab-type highway bridges; most of them were concrete structures. Test procedures as well as measurement and data processing techniques are briefly described. As a certain degree of standardization was maintained over the years, it was possible to draw some general conclusions from the summarized test results. In particular, the relationship between fundamental frequency and maximum span is discussed as well as the measured damping values. Additionally it is shown that a highway bridge exhibits a pronounced dynamic response only if (a) its fundamental frequency lies in the same region as one of the two vehicle modes of concern and (b) the vehicle speed and pavement roughness are tuned to each other so that the corresponding vibrations of the vehicle will be excited. As a consequence, it has been proposed to define the dynamic load allowance for highway bridge traffic loads as a function of the bridge's fundamental frequency in the new Swiss Code. Taking advantage of the rapid development in the field of electronics, new data acquisition and processing methods have been introduced at EMPA in the last few years. The synchronous measurement and recording of the test vehicle's dynamic wheel loads and the bridge response is now possible as well as subsequent digital signal analysis. (Author)

Media Info

  • Media Type: Print
  • Features: Figures; Photos; References;
  • Pagination: pp 141-148
  • Monograph Title: Second bridge engineering conference. volumes 1 and 2
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00390823
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 03090036593
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Dec 30 1984 12:00AM