Effects of heavy axle loads on bridge bracing members

摘要

Demands for increasing speeds and axle loads have increased the maintenance requirements of steel bridge braces. Today, repair of braces can make up a major portion of a steel bridge maintenance budget. The load environment has prompted a review of the current design criteria for steel bridge braces subjected to heavy-axle-load (HAL) traffic. FAST experiments are conducted in a full-scale operating environment, under carefully controlled conditions. Such conditions are not generally found in revenue service and would be impractical to implement for extended periods of time.