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Madison, WI 53726-2398
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Title: Construction of a Field Test Bridge for Evaluating Deck Design Details

Source: FPL DIP-2009-001

Author(s): Iowa State University and FPL

Publication Year: 2009  View PDF »

Related Publications: view

Category: Demonstration in Progress

Abstract: When properly designed and protected from elements such as water, insects, and fire, timber is a structurally capable, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing material suitable for many structural applications. However, when not properly designed or protected, timber structures become susceptible to deterioration, which may result in decreased structural capacity. As a result of accelerated and repeated deterioration of wearing surfaces on timber bridges (for example, transverse cracking along deck panel joints), the perception of these structures has consistently remained less than acceptable, despite their excellent structural performance. The unacceptable performance of timber bridge wearing surfaces, typically constructed of asphalt, has raised concerns regarding performance of the underlying superstructure and its effect on the wearing surface performance. For timber bridges to be an acceptable and competitive design alternative for bridge owners and designers, timber bridges and their wearing surfaces must be designed so that deterioration and maintenance are minimized.

Keywords: timber; deck; wearing surface; differential deflection; design; details

File size: 721 kb(s)

Date posted: 08/26/2009

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