Simplified Design Procedure for End-Plates and Base-Plates of Cantilevered211 Traffic Structures

摘要

Although end-plates and base-plates are routinely used in cantilevered structures211u001esupporting traffic signs, signals, and lights, no standard procedure has been 211u001eestablished for the design of these plates. In this report, a simplified 211u001eprocedure is developed for design of end-plates and base-plates of these 211u001estructures, and also for base-plates of span-wire-mounted traffic-signal 211u001estructures. The proposed procedure is based on beam-and-plate bending and torsion 211u001etheories, and is intended for routine application by practicing engineers when 211u001edesigning plates of square configurations. Plate thicknesses and stresses 211u001eobtained using this procedure compared well with those estimated using finite-211u001eelement-analysis, and also supported earlier conclusions reached through physical 211u001etesting. In all, 35 base-plates from five major manufacturers of traffic poles 211u001eused in New York State were analyzed in the study. A spreadsheet program 211u001eimplementing the proposed procedure was also developed as an efficient tool for 211u001eengineers designing these items. Using this tool will not only expedite the 211u001edesign process, but also facilitate optimizing plate sizes, because various 211u001edesign alternatives can be easily investigated and the optimal alternative 211u001erationally selected.