Stress Evaluation of Welded Steel Bridges on Coal-Haul Routes

摘要

Certain roads in Kentucky are designated as 'extended-weight coal haul routes.'On those roads, coal transporters are allowed to employ coal trucks loaded far in excess of legal limits in force on normal roads throughout the state. The objective of this study is to measure live-load stresses on welded steel bridges on extended-weight coal haul routes. Fatigue analyses are performed on strain (stress) data derived from field stress measurements. Those are performed to determine whether the magnitude of those stresses and frequency of their occurrence are sufficient to pose fatigue problems presently or over the anticipated service lives of those bridges (i.e., 75 years). Live-load stress data obtained from bridges not possessing fatigue-prone weld details may be of benefit to bridge designers.