Engineering Commons^™

A Practical Framework For Component-Level Structural Health Monitoring Of The Gerald Desmond Bridge, Mehran Rahmani, Vesna Terzic, Andrea Calabrese, Brittany Cambell

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Bridges serve as critical transportation infrastructure, but traditional maintenance inspection to ensure their safety is time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive, especially for larger and more complex structures. This study presents a practical framework for the instrumentation, data acquisition, and remote condition assessment of the Gerald Desmond Bridge, California’s largest cable-stayed bridge. The framework aims to establish a foundation for real-time or near real-time remote health monitoring of the bridge’s critical elements. The study highlights the advantages of remote monitoring in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and early detection of damage.

Steel Bridge Coating Inventory For 2022, Christopher Goff, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has replaced the lead-based coatings on many of its steel bridges over the past 30 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, inorganic zinc primers with vinyl topcoats were the go-to option for coating replacement projects. Since 2000, the typical choice for these projects has been organic zinc primers that are part of a two- or three-coat system. Some of these coatings have localized failures in high-stress areas. KYTC’s current inventory of steel bridges numbers over 1,100 structures. Accounting for expected service lives, to properly maintain protective coatings on these bridges will require the Cabinet to …

Analyzing Vulnerabilities In The Northwest Arkansas Highway Network Using Mathematical Optimization, Brandon Jerome

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The highway and bridge network is a critical infrastructure that allows for the free transportation of citizens and enables truck-borne freight transportation. Disruption of this system could be caused by a terrorist attack, natural disaster, growth of population, required repairs and upgrades, or collapse caused by old age or malfunction. In the event of a disruption cities and regions can experience increased traffic and supply chain shortages, thus causing cascading effects throughout surrounding areas. With this motivation, we develop a network interdiction optimization model to identify a limited subset of roads that, if disrupted, causes the greatest increase in the …

Comparative Analysis Of Bridge Abutment Types, David Fell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project was developed to serve as a brief overview of design practices and considerations in the selection of highway bridge abutment types. This involved a review of literature in the form of reviewing national design guides and department of transportation (DOT) requirements from both US DOTs and international DOTs. The abutment types covered in this research included conventional reinforced concrete abutments with bearings, integral abutments, and semi-integral abutments. This research focused solely on highway bridge abutments, particularly on Ohio Department of Transportation design requirements due to their extensive use of semi-integral abutments. Superstructure elements and geometric requirements are primary …

Assessment Of Deteriorated Structural Concrete To Provide Durable Repairs, Theodore Hopwood, Christopher Goff, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Most of the structural elements on Kentucky bridges are made of reinforced concrete. Many of these elements deteriorate as a result of corrosion of the reinforcing steel caused by carbonation and — primarily — applications of chlorides by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). Corrosion of reinforcing steel is reviewed along with assessment procedures that leverage nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods and related laboratory and field tests. Several maintenance procedures are discussed, including the application of sealers and coatings, patch and major concrete repairs, and electrochemical methods. Incorporating NDE and test results into maintenance procedure selection is discussed. Recommendations are provided on …

Reliability Of Sfrp-Strengthened Rc Bridge Columns Subjected To Blast Loads, Ahmad Alsendi, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

The reliability of reinforced concrete bridge columns strengthened with externally bonded, steel-fiber reinforced polymer fabric subjected to blast loads was investigated. Columns were modeled with a nonlinear finite element approach that considers material damage, fracture, and separation. Different concrete strengths, longitudinal reinforcement ratios, and gravity and blast load levels were considered, while uncertainties in material strength and stiffness parameters, as well as load characteristics, were incorporated in the probabilistic analysis. It was found that the use of SFRP can allow significant increases in blast load while maintaining the same level of column reliability.

Low-Cost Modal Identification Sensors For Bridge Field Testing, Daniel Linzell, Saaed Eftekhar Azam, Samira Ardani, Ahmed E Rageh

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This report provides a framework for experimental load rating of bridges via inclusion of low-cost dynamic sensors and dynamic tests. Currently 25% of the bridges in Nebraska are posted for live load. According to the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) in 2012, 93% of all postings in the US were based analytical load ratings, 7% were posted using field evaluation and engineering judgement, and 1% were posted using experimental load rating methods.

Instrumentation costs and traffic interruptions can be problematic when load testing is necessary to accurately assess in-situ bridge live load capacity. Recent advances in (i) sensing technology and (ii) …

Determination Of Steels In Kentucky Bridges, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Christopher Goff, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) maintains over two hundred steel bridges constructed with types of steel which are unknown. Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers have developed a procedure for determining steel tensile properties (0.2% yield strength and ultimate tensile strength) which can be used to help identify unknown steels. The procedure involves extracting small coupons from the lower flanges of steel deck girder bridges. Coupons are then machined into sub-sized tensile testing specimens and suitable shapes for chemical analyses. Sub-sized tensile tests returned values generally comparable to those provided in mill certifications of steels purchased for laboratory trials. Several analytical …

Current State And Prospects Of Construction Of High-Speed Railway Overpasses In Seismic Conditions Of The Republic Of Uzbekistan, Ulugbek Zabixullayevich Shermuxamedov, Saidxon Salixanovich Salixanov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

The article deals with the issues of seismic stability of high-speed railway overpasses in the Republic of Uzbekistan, taking into account the experience of their design and construction in developed foreign countries. A review of technical solutions to ensure the seismic stability of overpasses and bridges located on high-speed and high-speed Railways in the world and in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Features of ensuring seismic stability of bridges and overpasses on high-speed lines are given.

Quantitative Resistance Assessment Of Sfrp-Strengthened Rc Bridge Columns Subjected To Blast Loads, Ahmad Alsendi, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

The blast resistance of a typical reinforced concrete bridge pier column design was modeled with a nonlinear finite element approach that considers material damage, fracture, and separation. While varying concrete strength, amount of longitudinal reinforcing steel, and gravity load, the effect of applying an externally bonded steel fiber reinforced polymer (SFRP) wrapping was assessed. The presented approach uniquely quantifies column blast resistance in terms of charge weight. It was found that blast capacity was roughly linearly related to concrete strength and steel reinforcement ratio, the former of which is most influential. It was further found that a single layer of …

Civil Engineering Research In Ireland 2020: Conference Proceedings, Kieran Ruane, Vesna Jaksic, Bidisha Ghosh, Magdalena Hajdukiewicz, Ciaran Hanley, Niall Holmes, Jennifer Keenahan, Zili Li, Patrick Mcgetrick, Ted Mckenna, Mary Moloney, Vikram Pakrashi, Niamh Power

Books

Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2020: Conference Proceedings.

Application Of Modern, Effective Materials In Rail Road Reinforced Bridge Elements, U.Z. Shermuxamedov, F.Z. Zokirov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

The article is about reducing the construction costs of railroad bridges and the effective use modern building materials. The article compares the technical characteristics of composite fittings and metal fittings and their proportionality. Indeed, recourse saving of metal and composite fittings, as well as factors of localization of construction is compared

Method Of Calculation Of Self-Stressed Concrete Slabs Supported Along The Contour, S.S. Salixanov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

The paper presents the developed method for calculating the contour-supported slab of self-stressed concrete. Reinforced concrete slab on the tension cement replaces the traditional construction of the bridge. In this article, in order to exclude reinforcement, the problem of determining the stress-strain state of self-stressed concrete slabs supported along the contour is considered. The values of stresses in the upper and lower faces of the concrete slab, as well as the bending moment in the middle section of the slab

Identification Of Bridges With Fracture-Prone Details, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Rick Younce, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Welded steel girder bridges can contain details that can high welding and service stresses and are termed constraintinduced fractures (CIF). The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has steel bridges with weld details known to cause CIFs whose girders have experienced fracture events. The Cabinet’s bridge inventory was reviewed and additional candidate bridges with potential CIF details were identified. A review of bridge plans and pictures along with followup field investigations pinpointed bridges with CIF details that warrant up-close (i.e., arm’s length) inspections. Several uninspected bridges were identified as candidates for inspection to determine if they contain CIF details. Guidance is provided to …

Civil Engineering Design Of Cornhusker Council's Outdoor Education Center, Kelly Weiler

Honors Theses

A team of geotechnical, structural, hydraulic, environmental, and transportation experts collaborated to provide engineering solutions to the Cornhusker Council in an effort to solve the current problems facing their Outdoor Education Center. This results of this project provided the structural design of three bridges on the property, transportation plans for two parking lots and roadway design, geotechnical recommendations for soil testing and erosion prevention, and an environmental and hydraulic analysis of the property. A major challenge in the design of this project is the consideration of the dangers and regulations that accompany the floodway and floodplain regions on site. Various …

Proposed Testing Of Concrete Sealers, Danny Wells, Sudhir Palle, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Technical Assistance Report

Chlorides, in sufficient concentrations, will cause corrosion of steel reinforcement in bridge decks. Previous studies have shown that de-icing chemicals and practices used by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) can result in problematic levels of chloride at steel reinforcing depths in a relatively short amount of time. With the advent of liquid applied pre-treatment deicing chemicals, testing performed in Kentucky indicate chloride levels in bridge decks at a depth of two inches have increased significantly.

Chlorides, in sufficient concentrations, will cause corrosion of steel reinforcement in bridge decks. Previous studies have shown that de-icing chemicals and practices used by the …

Improved Bridge Joint Materials And Design Details, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Christopher W. Van Dyke, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Expansion joints accommodate bridge movements that result from factors such as thermal expansion and contraction, concrete shrinkage, creep effects, live loading, settlement of the foundation and substructure, and environmental stressors. Expansion joints fall into two categories — open joints and closed joints. Open joints contain gaps that facilitate the passage of water and debris runoff through bridge joints. Flexible or stiff troughs are generally installed beneath open joints to direct runoff away from bridge elements. Closed joints produce a watertight seal that inhibits water, debris, and deicing materials from passing through bridge joints and remaining in contact with underlying bridge …

Bridge End Settlement Evaluation And Prediction, Jiwen Zhang, Timothy R. Taylor, Roy E. Sturgill

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A bridge approach is usually built to provide a smooth and safe transition for vehicles from the roadway pavement to the bridge structure. However, differential settlement between the roadway pavement that rests on embankment fill and the bridge abutment built on more rigid foundation often creates a bump in the roadway. Previous work examined this issue at a microscopic level and presented new methods for eliminating or minimizing the effects at specific locations.

This research studies the problem at a macroscopic level by determining methods to predict settlement severity; this assists designers in developing remediation plans during project development to …

Evaluation Of The Use Of Painted And Unpainted Weathering Steel On Bridges, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle, Bobby W. Meade, Rick Younce

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

KTC researchers studied the use of unpainted weathering steel on bridges, using findings of inspections performed on Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) bridges constructed with both painted and unpainted weathering steel as well as laboratory testing. Laboratory tests were conducted on test panels of conventional and weathering grades of steel to determine the performance of barrier and zinc-based coatings over abrasive-blasted substrates of those steel types in both the new and corroded conditions. The report provides the following recommendations for the use of painted and unpainted weathering steel on Kentucky bridges based upon both the field and laboratory findings:

• KYTC should …

Evaluation Of Deterioration Of Structural Concrete Due To Chloride Intrusion And Other Damaging Mechanisms, Sudhir Palle, Brian K. Howell, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Bobby W. Meade

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky's bridges continue to age and experience distress. The intrusion of chlorides into concrete remains the primary mechanism for deterioration. It leads to reinforcing steel corrosion that damages the adjoining concrete structure. This study found problematic chloride concentrations in Kentucky concrete bridge elements (decks, pier caps, abutments). Chloride levels have been found at concentrations sufficient to initiate reinforcing steel corrosion. In some cases, chloride concentrations were sufficient to cause accelerated corrosion and produce major section loss of reinforcing steel. Advanced stages of corrosion such as these typically require costly repairs and maintenance to extend the service life of bridges.

Field …

Preliminary Seismic Evaluation And Ranking Of Bridges Along I-24 In Western Kentucky, Wael Zatar, Issam Harik, Peng Yuan, Ching Choo

Issam E. Harik

This study represents one of the Seismic Evaluation of I-24 Bridges investigative series. The focus is on preliminary seismic evaluation and ranking of bridges according to their seismic vulnerability. Bridges along I-24 are considered in this investigation. The ranking will assist in identifying and prioritizing bridges for secondary evaluation, retrofit measure, or other course of action. The rating system described herein is based on a methodology provided by the FHWA Retrofitting Manual for highway bridges. One hundred and twenty seven (127) highway bridges were evaluated and rated in this process for projected 50-year and 250-year seismic events. The Tennessee River …

Preliminary Seismic Evaluation And Ranking Of Bridges On And Over The Parkways In Western Kentucky, Jian Xie, Issam Harik, Tong Zhao, Jindong Hu

Issam E. Harik

Five parkways in Western Kentucky are located in the region that is greatly influenced by the New Madrid and Wabash Valley Seismic Zones. This report executes a preliminary screening process, known also as the Seismic Rating System, for bridges on and over parkways in Western Kentucky to identify the seismic vulnerable bridges.

The ranking of bridges derived from this rating system is based on: structural vulnerability, seismic and geotechnical hazards, and bridge importance. There are 349 bridges were ranked with the Seismic Inventory of Bridges (SIB), a user-oriented database program developed according to the Seismic Retrofitting Manual. The bridge ranks …

Seismic Evaluation And Ranking Of Bridge Embankments Along I-24 In Western Kentucky, Wael Zatar, Issam E. Harik, Peng Yuan, Ching Chiaw Choo

Issam E. Harik

This study represents one of the Seismic Evaluation of I-24 Bridges investigative series. The focus is on slope or embankment stability and liquefaction potential of embankments of bridges along I-24 in Western Kentucky. A rating system is derived to assist in identifying and prioritizing bridge embankments that are susceptible to failure during to projected seismic events. Embankments of one hundred and twenty seven (127) bridges along I-24 in Western Kentucky are evaluated for 50-year and 250-year seismic events. Fifty-two (52) of the 127 embankments were rated as ‘critical’ for the 50-year event, and 60 were rated as ‘critical’ for the …

Site Investigation Of Bridges Along I-24 In Western Kentucky, Wael Zatar, Issam E. Harik, Peng Yuan

Issam E. Harik

Determination of the seismic risk of the I-24 bridges requires evaluating the current condition of all individual elements of the bridges. All bridges along the I-24 were visually inspected, pictured, and the records were stored in a database. Data of the visual inspection and the pictures were combined to form the completed site inspection forms of the I-24 bridges. Main visually observed deficiencies of the bridge elements were pointed out. The site inspection forms of all bridges on/over the I-24 in western Kentucky are used together with the bridge inventory to obtain different statistical figures regarding the characteristics of the …

Seismic Evaluation Of The Cumberland River Bridges On I-24 In Western Kentucky, Wael Zatar, Wei-Xin Ren, Issam Harik

Issam E. Harik

The main objective of this study is to assess the structural integrity of the I-24 parallel bridges at the Cumberland River crossing in western Kentucky. Due to its importance, the bridge is evaluated for the 250-year event and the maximum credible 500-year event. The scope of the work included: 1) Field testing of the main bridge; 2) Finite element modeling and calibration; 3) Time-history seismic response analysis for the main spans; and 4) Seismic evaluation for both the main and the approach spans. The seismic analysis for the 250-year event indicates that the main spans of the bridge can resist …

Site Investigation Of Bridges On And Over The Parkways In Western Kentucky, Jindong Hu, Tong Zhao, Issam Harik, Jian Xie

Issam E. Harik

Determination of the seismic risk of the bridges on and over the parkways in Western Kentucky requires evaluating the current condition of the individual elements of the bridges. Except for culverts, all bridges were visually inspected, photographed and the records were stored in a database. Data of the visual inspection and the photographs were combined to form the completed site inspection forms. Any visually observed deficiencies of the bridge elements were recorded.

A Compact Disc (CD) that includes pictures of the bridges is attached to this report. The site inspection forms of all bridges on and over the parkways in …

Preventive Maintenance Program For Bridges, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Jared Fairchild, Bobby W. Meade, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) bridge inventory is rapidly aging. As such, the Cabinet needs to identify and implement relevant preventative maintenance (PM) actions to extend the useful service lives of those structures. Maintenance actions, costs, and application interval/repair durability information have been obtained for both cyclical and condition - based bridge PM. Additionally, information rehabilitation actions were acquired from a regional DOT survey and from other literature. As part of this study, the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers monitored a KYTC bridge washing project to assess its level of effectiveness and to identify potential improvements. Based upon these tasks, …

Characterization Of Bridge Deck Runoff, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Elizabeth G. Jones, Renys Barrios

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

In this study, time-weighted composite samples of bridge runoff and hourly traffic data were collected at four sampling locations in Nebraska. Total suspended solids (TSS) and hexane extractable material (HEM) had the highest concentrations during the first rainfall event of the year, while other constituent concentrations peaked during the third rainfall event of the year. In general, constituent concentrations were highest in the spring, and then decreased throughout the summer and fall. Average concentrations of TDS, TSS, chloride, iron, and lead measured in this study were higher than those found in the previous NDOR study at the same sampling locations. …

Multiple Reference Impact Testing Of Bridges Using A Network Of Low-Cost Dynamic Exciters, James David Lindsey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multiple Reference Impact Testing (MRIT) is a form of Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) that can be used to identify the dynamic properties of full-scale bridges. These dynamic properties include natural frequencies, mode shapes, damping ratios, modal scaling and modal flexibility. Since these system properties that are directly related to the mass and stiffness characteristics of a structure, impact test measurements can be used to quantitatively characterize condition of a structure. Over time, changes in the properties can be monitored and evaluated as indicators of damage or deterioration. Instrumented hammers and drop masses are typically used to perform MRIT by providing …

Sealants, Treatments And Deicing Salt Practices To Limit Bridge Deck Corrosion And Experimental Deck Sealants And Pier Cap Coating On Interstate 471, Danny Wells, Sudhir Palle, Bobby W. Meade, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This project evaluated the ability of concrete sealants to impede the ingress of chloride ions into concrete bridge decks. Laboratory testing evaluated 24 concrete-penetrating sealants and four film-forming products. The products were selected based on survey results from adjacent state transportation agencies. KTC assisted the KYTC in developing Special Notes for applying four experimental sealants to two bridges (B00056L & B00056R) located on Interstate 471, over 6th Street in New Port, Kentucky. The sealants chosen for the field-testing were intended to reduce the ingress of chloride ions when deicing materials are applied to road surfaces. Pre- and post-application friction test …