Title:
Measurement of Horizontal Bridge Movements Due to Temperature, Wind, and Traffic Loadings
Author(s):
J. F. W. Muller-Rochholz, M. Fiebrich, and, M. Breitbach
Publication:
Symposium Paper
Volume:
94
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
409-418
Keywords:
bridge bearings; deformation; measurement; moving loads; rotation; temperature; transducers; Structural Research
DOI:
10.14359/1666
Date:
9/1/1986
Abstract:
A long-term research program was initiated at the RWTH Aachen in the Federal Republic of Germany to obtain information on real service-life displacements of a bridge with respect to its bearings. Computer-controlled measurement devices were installed in steel, concrete, and composite bridges to measure the time history of bridge movements and to calculate the rate of movement. The paper describes the bridge (a 400 m steel bridge contacting a 400 m concrete bridge), the measuring devices (transducers and data-logging system), the evaluation method, and the results of the research in progress. The research shows that traffic-induced displacements under constant environmental conditions may be up to 40 times as large for the steel bridge as for the concrete bridge. The steel bridge may have temperature-induced movements that are twice as large as the concrete structure. Accumulated daily displacement curves for the bearing and rotation of the bridge cross section are also given. The final results of this research will provide realistic and reliable displacement spectra for the approval tests of bridge bearings.