Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Structural Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Conference papers

Assessment

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Structural Engineering

The Effect Of Truck Permitting Policy On Us Bridge Loading, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Cathal Leahy Jun 2013

The Effect Of Truck Permitting Policy On Us Bridge Loading, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Cathal Leahy

Conference papers

No abstract provided.


Reliability-Based Bridge Assessment Using Enhanced Monte Carlo To Simulate Extreme Traffic Loading, Bernard Enright, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien Jun 2013

Reliability-Based Bridge Assessment Using Enhanced Monte Carlo To Simulate Extreme Traffic Loading, Bernard Enright, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien

Conference papers

A framework is presented for the assessment of the safety of a bridge deck under actual traffic loading using an enhanced Monte Carlo method which attempts to reduce computational cost while preserving the advantages of more conventional, computationally intensive, simulation. To generate the bridge loading scenarios, an extensive Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) database is used to calibrate a sophisticated simulation model of two-directional traffic. Traffic and vehicle characteristics are generated from statistical distributions derived from measured traffic data. Two examples are used in this study to assess the usefulness and accuracy of the enhanced method. In the first, a simple example is …


The Effect Of Lane Changing On Long-Span Highway Bridge Traffic Loading, Bernard Enright, Colm Carey, Colin C. Caprani Jan 2012

The Effect Of Lane Changing On Long-Span Highway Bridge Traffic Loading, Bernard Enright, Colm Carey, Colin C. Caprani

Conference papers

Maximum loading on long-span bridges typically occurs in congested traffic conditions. As traffic becomes congested car drivers may change lane, increasing the tendency for trucks to travel in platoons. For long-span bridges this phenomenon may increase the regularity and severity of bridge repair programs, with potential significant associated costs. This research investigates the effect of lane changing by car drivers on bridge loading. A Monte Carlo simulation model in which individual car drivers probabilistically decide, based on a lane-changing bias probability, whether or not to change lane has been developed. The sensitivity of bridge loading to this factor is investigated …


Nonlinear Response Of Structures To Characteristic Loading Scenarios, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Emma Sheils Jan 2012

Nonlinear Response Of Structures To Characteristic Loading Scenarios, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Emma Sheils

Conference papers

To assess the safety of an existing bridge, the traffic loads to which it may be subjected in its lifetime need to be accurately quantified. In this paper the 75 year characteristic maximum traffic load effects are found using a carefully calibrated traffic load simulation model. To generate the bridge loading scenarios, an extensive weigh in motion (WIM) database, from three different European countries, is used. Statistical distributions for vehicle weights, inter-vehicle gaps and other characteristics are derived from the measurements, and are used as the basis for Monte Carlo simulations of traffic representing many years. An advantage of this …


Probabilistic Study Of Lifetime Load Effect Distribution Of Bridges, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Colin C. Caprani, Emma Sheils, Simon Wilson Jan 2012

Probabilistic Study Of Lifetime Load Effect Distribution Of Bridges, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Colin C. Caprani, Emma Sheils, Simon Wilson

Conference papers

Assessment of highway bridge safety requires a prediction of the probability of occurrence of extreme load effects during the remaining life of the structure. While the assessment of the strength of an existing bridge is relatively well understood, the traffic loading it is subject to, has received less attention in the literature. The recorded traffic data are often limited to a number of days or weeks due to the cost of data collection. Studies in the literature have used many different methods to predict the lifetime maximum bridge load effect using a small amount of data, including fitting block maximum …


Estimation Of Lifetime Maximum Distributions Of Bridge Traffic Load Effects, Eugene J. Obrien, Donya Hajializadeh, Emma Sheils, Bernard Enright Jan 2012

Estimation Of Lifetime Maximum Distributions Of Bridge Traffic Load Effects, Eugene J. Obrien, Donya Hajializadeh, Emma Sheils, Bernard Enright

Conference papers

This paper considers the problem of assessing traffic loading on road bridges. A database of European WIM data is used to determine accurate annual maximum distributions of load effect. These in turn are used to find the probability of failure for a number of load effects. Using the probability of failure as the benchmark, traditional measures of safety – factor of safety and reliability index – are reviewed. Both are found to give inconsistent results, i.e., a given factor of safety or reliability index actually corresponds to a range of different probabilities of failure.


Lane Changing Control To Reduce Traffic Load Effect On Long-Span Bridges, Colin C. Caprani, Bernard Enright, Colm Carey Jan 2012

Lane Changing Control To Reduce Traffic Load Effect On Long-Span Bridges, Colin C. Caprani, Bernard Enright, Colm Carey

Conference papers

Long span bridges are critical parts of a nation’s infrastructure network and congested traffic loading is the governing form of traffic loading. Groups of trucks travelling in conveys are created when fast-er moving vehicles, such as cars, change lane. In this research the authors investigate how the control of these lane-changing events can help reduce the traffic load effects on long span bridges. Real traffic data is used to simulate a traffic stream on a virtual road and bridge using a microsimulation model. Various lane-changing restrictions are examined and compared to the typical case of free lane changing. It is …