REPORT ON INVESTIGATION OF ORTHOTROPIC PLATE BRIDGES

THE STATE OF STRUCTURAL DESIGN KNOWLEDGE ON ORTHOTROPIC STEEL PLATE DECK BRIDGES WAS INVESTIGATED BY A LITERATURE SEARCH, PERSONAL VISITS TO ORGANIZATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DESIGN OF ORTHOTROPIC PLATE BRIDGES AND THEORETICAL INVESTIGATIONS. THE DESIGNS OF ALL THE MAJOR NORTH AMERICAN BRIDGES WERE FOUND TO BE SIMILAR WITH RESPECT TO THE DECK. DESIGNS ARE NEARLY STANDARDIZED WITH CLOSED RIBS OF APPROXIMATELY 12-INCH DEPTH AND 24-INCH SPACING. THE DECK PLATE THICKNESS VARIES SOMEWHAT FROM ABOUT 7/16 INCH TO 3/4 INCH, AND FLOOR BEAM SPACING HAS GENERALLY BEEN 15 FEET. THE SAN MATEO-HAYWARD BRIDGE IS AN EXCEPTION TO THESE DIMENSIONS. LIMITED INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON THE STRUCTURAL ACTION OF ORTHOTROPIC PLATE BRIDGES. MOST OF THE WORK DONE HAS BEEN IN DEVELOPING MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF THE BRIDGE. SEVERAL MODELS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND THEIR STRESSES DETERMINED USUALLY WITH THE AID OF A DIGITAL COMPUTER. A PROBLEM IN THE DESIGN OF STEEL DECK BRIDGES IS THE RELATIONSHIP OF BENDING STRESSES TO MEMBRANE STRESSES IN THE DECK PLATE AND THE MOST JUDICIOUS CHOICE OF LOAD LIMIT ON THE DECK. DESIGN PROCEDURES USE THE ELASTIC ALLOWABLE- STRESS APPROACH WITH A SOMEWHAT ARBITRARY LIMIT OF THE DEFLECTION. WELDING THE LONGITUDINAL RIB TO THE DECK PLATE IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT OPERATIONS IN FABRICATING THE STEEL DECK PLATE BRIDGE. THE STANDARD METHOD OF CONNECTION IS A BEVEL WELD, A CLOSE FIT OF THE RIB AND THE PLATE IS THEN NECESSARY. DUE TO SLIGHT WAVES IN THE DECK PLATE AND THE RIBS, A CLOSE FIT THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE RIB IS DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE. THE APPENDIX PRESENTS A SYNOPSIS OF CONTRIBUTORY ARTICLES TO THE STATE OF THE ART ENCOUNTERED.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Bull No 7, PP II-16, 1 TAB
• Corporate Authors:

  American Iron and Steel Institute

  1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 1300
  Washington, DC  United States  20036-4700
• Authors:
  • Firmage, D A
• Publication Date: 1968-2

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bending; Bending stress; Bridge decks; Bridge design; Bridges; Digital computers; Mathematical models; Metal bridges; Orthotropic; Planing; Reviews; Steel bridges; Steel plates; Stresses; Structural design; Weldments
• Old TRIS Terms: Beveling
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00208500
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 22 1994 12:00AM