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Dynamic Testing for a Steel Truss Bridge for the Long Term Bridge Performance Program

Under the direction of the Federal Highway Administration the Long Term Bridge Performance Program (LTBP) selected Minnesota Bridge number 5718 as a pilot bridge for evaluation. This program focuses on the monitoring of bridges for a 20-year period to understand the structural behavior over time due to the various loads and weathering. In monitoring this bridge a better understanding can be acquired for the maintenance issues related to the nation's deteriorating bridge infrastructure.
Bridge Number 5718, which is located just outside of Sandstone Minnesota, is a steel truss bridge that spans the Kettle River. Constant monitoring of the bridge along with periodic testing of the bridge will allow for the collection of data over a 20-year period. The focus of this work is to establish a baseline for the bridges characteristics through nondestructive dynamic testing. Later tests will be compared to these results and changes can then be tracked.
In order to perform the required testing, two electromagnetic shakers were used to produce the excitation. The bridge was also outfitted with an array of velocity transducers to allow for the response to be recorded. The data was then used to extract the resonant frequencies, mode shapes, and damping ratios. A modal assurance criterion was also performed to solidify the findings. These parameters define the structural identity of the bridge. Through performing these tests the database that is being collected under the Long Term Bridge Performance Program will be used to better the overall health and safety of the nation's bridges.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-1890
Date01 May 2011
CreatorsSantos, Cody Joshua
PublisherDigitalCommons@USU
Source SetsUtah State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceAll Graduate Theses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu).

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