BRIDGE LOAD RATING USING AN INTEGRATED LOAD TESTING AND FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS APPROACH: A CASE STUDY

摘要

Bridge load rating is the primary decision tool that is currently in use to evaluate and predictrnbridge performance under various loading conditions. Traditional bridge rating calculations involverncalculating the load carrying capacity of the structural elements based on design plans, field inspectionrnreports, and engineering judgment. Experience shows that bridge performance is always under-estimatedrnusing this simplified approach and in many cases results in placing unnecessary load restrictions onrnbridges. Bridge diagnostic load testing has been widely recognized as a more reliable and accuraternmethod for bridge rating. However, the time and cost involved in conducting bridge load testing has beenrna major impediment to employing this valuable tool on a large scale. Bridge owners can typically onlyrnafford to perform load testing for major bridges and under critical circumstances. The need for more costeffectivernand easy-to-implement methods to perform bridge load testing and rating analysis is well evident.rnIn this paper, the use of an integrated system to conduct bridge load testing, finite elementrnanalysis, and rating is demonstrated. The system consists of load testing instrumentation and datarnacquisition hardware as well as four software components to perform structural analysis and ratingrncalculations. A case study of a prestressed concrete bridge is presented to demonstrate the seamlessrnintegration of the load testing and analysis processes.