Accelerated Traffic Load Testing of Seismic Expansion Joints for the New San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

A relatively unique opportunity was recently identified for accelerated traffic load testing of a bridge expansion joint designed to withstand severe seismic activity. This study was part of the construction of the new East Span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and assessed whether the expansion joints (which were designed to function in harmony with the bridge decks in the event of a high magnitude earthquake) linking the Self-anchored Span with the Transition and Skyway spans would withstand traffic loading. A test structure incorporating one of the joints was constructed close to the actual bridge and tested with the California Department of Transportation/University of California Pavement Research Center Heavy Vehicle Simulator in a series of phases. On completion of three months of testing, no structural damage was recorded by any of the Linear Variable Differential Transducers (LVDTs) or strain gauges installed on the steel plates, steel frames, bolts, or washers. There was also no visible damage on any of these components. Excessive overloading caused some damage to the Trelleborg unit towards the end of the test. Based on the results of this limited testing, it was concluded that the expansion joint would perform adequately under typical Bay Bridge traffic. The distress observed to the Trelleborg unit under the high loads in the last phase of testing is unlikely to occur under normal traffic. The findings from this study indicate that the Caltrans seismic expansion joint tested will be appropriate for typical Bay Bridge traffic. These joints will be used in the new bridge, due to be opened in 2013. The study also concluded that accelerated pavement testing can be effectively used for testing bridge deck components to provide rapid answers for design and construction teams.

• Record URL:
  http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/pdf/10.1201/b13000-46
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780415621380
• Corporate Authors:

  CRC Press

  6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW, Suite 300
  Boca Raton, FL  United States  33487
• Authors:
  • Jones, David
  • 0000-0002-2938-076X
  • Wu, R Z
  • Holland, T J
• Conference:
  • 4th International Conference on Accelerated Pavement Testing
  • Location: Davis CA, United States
  • Date: 2012-9-19 to 2012-9-21
• Publication Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 355-364
• Monograph Title: Advances in Pavement Design through Full-scale Accelerated Pavement Testing

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge design; Earthquake resistant design; Expansion joints; Load tests; Structural tests
• Identifier Terms: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01468542
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• ISBN: 9780415621380
• Files: TLIB, TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 4 2013 9:05AM