Engineering Commons^™

Durability And Fatigue Behavior Of Cip Concrete Connections For Accelerated Bridge Construction, Peng Zhu

Doctoral Dissertations

Continuous longitudinal and transverse U-bar joint connections between flanges of the decked bulb-Ts (DBTs) or between precast panels for accelerated bridge construction are investigated. The procedure for selecting durable closure pour (CP) materials for the connections is discussed firstly. The accelerated construction is quantified as two categories: overnight cure and 7-day cure of CP materials. Candidate materials are selected first based on literature review as well as tests of compressive strength and flow and workability. Then, performance criteria for selecting durable CP materials for both categories are developed based on durability tests of selected candidate materials. These durability tests include …

Fatigue Strength Of Steel Bridge Members With Intersecting Welds, David T. Delong, Mark D. Bowman

JTRP Technical Reports

The brittle fracture of the Hoan Bridge in December 2000 highlighted the fracture susceptibility of details containing intersecting welds in steel bridges. Though it is now known that details with intersecting welds should be avoided, many existing bridges in Indiana contain details with intersecting welds. Little experimental data on the fatigue performance of these details exists.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fatigue strength of several details commonly found in steel bridges in Indiana that contain intersecting welds. Large-scale experimental fatigue testing were performed using nine steel beams to study the behavior of three basic types of …

Factors Affecting Asphalt Pavement Density And The Effect On Long Term Pavement Performance, Jonathan Fisher, Clark Graves, Phillip Blankenship, Salman Hakimzadeh-Khoee, R. Michael Anderson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Center, the Asphalt Institute, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet worked together in order to identify factors that affect asphalt pavement density, and to then evaluate their effect on long term pavement performance.

By determining which variables are most influential to pavement performance (i.e. roller pattern, temperature when rolled, etc.), and then monitoring the attention given to those variables, Kentucky would be able to increase the service life of asphalt roadways by at least 25%, therefore saving as much as $30 million annually on a resurfacing budget of $129.2 million (2007), while still maintaining the current roadway level …

Perpetual Pavement Analysis For The Marquette Interchange Instrumentation Project, Nicholas James Hornyak

Dissertations (1934 -)

With the emergence of the mechanistic-empirical pavement design process, development of pavements rely on the structural response and fatigue characteristics of pavement materials due to traffic loads. In the past, pavement design has been almost entirely based on empirical data. One area of interest in designing hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements is the fatigue life of the pavement, which has been shown to be dependent on the horizontal strain in the pavement.

This research is focused on measuring the structural response of a pavement located within the Marquette Interchange Project in order to analyze fatigue behavior with great detail. Virtually all …

Real-Time Health Monitoring System For Mast-Arm Sign Support Structures, Andrew David Smith

Master's Theses (2009 -)

There has been an ongoing study conducted by Marquette University and supported by the Wisconsin Highway Research Program that is seeking to understand the risk of fatigue-induced fracture in the connections of mast-arm sign support structures. This study has been brought on by recent problems encountered with the connections contained in, and the in-service performance of, several cantilevered mast-arm sign support structures. A resulting recommendation of phase one in this effort was to monitoring an in-service cantilevered mast-arm sign support structure.

The health monitoring system developed in this thesis effort includes a grouping of strain gages (full-bridge arrangements) positioned around …

Nondestructive Testing Of Defective Astm A 514 Steel On The I ‐ 275 Combs‐Hehl Twin Bridges Over The Ohio River In Campbell County, Kentucky, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Three defective ASTM A 514 steel splice plates were discovered on the I-275 Combs-Hehl twin bridges over the Ohio River. A follow-on in-depth field inspection of 1,356 A 514 steel plates on the bridges revealed 14 additional defective gusset and splice plates. The A 514 steel was improperly heat-treated resulting in a brittle crack-prone microstructure. Ultrasonic and impact hardness tests were used to identify the defective steel. Subsequently, the defective steel plates were either removed or lapped with additional steel plates.

Development Of Innovative Load Transfer Mechanism To Reduce Hurricane-Induced Failures In New And Existing Residential Construction, Sheikh Saad Ahmed

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Implicit in current design practice of minimum uplift capacity, is the assumption that the connection's capacity is proportional to the number of fasteners per connection joint. This assumption may overestimate the capacity of joints by a factor of two or more and maybe the cause of connection failures in extreme wind events. The current research serves to modify the current practice by proposing a realistic relationship between the number of fasteners and the capacity of the joint. The research is also aimed at further development of non-intrusive continuous load path (CLP) connection system using Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) and …

Investigation Of The Behavior Of Open Cell Aluminum Foam, Patrick J. Veale

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The study investigates the behavior open cell aluminum foam in scenarios applicable to potential use in structural applications. Behavior was examined through mechanical testing, computer modeling and analytic expressions. Existing assumptions about the foam characteristics that define the elastic properties were expanded to include contributions of axial and shear deformations in addition to bending and were rewritten in terms of the axial and bending stiffness ratios of ligaments. Compressive and tensile tests were performed to gain a measure of the elastic properties of the foam as well as the behavior and failure mechanisms in both loading conditions. The materials used …

Biomechanical Evaluation Of Modified Track Shoes, Marlon Alberetos Greensword

LSU Master's Theses

Track and field runners, especially sprinters and mid-distance runners, face many problems due to walking in spike shoes. Due to the fact that track and field spike shoes are designed specifically for running, the runner’s feet remain in an uncomfortable, flexed position when walking between workouts and races. Problems caused by the dangerous foot-positioning include, but are not limited to, the following: back pain, shin splints, bone spurs, blisters, and overall decreased level of running performance. Over time, runners wearing improper footwear for walking may face chronic injuries such as plantar fasciitis, shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, chondromalacia, and iliotibial band …