STRUCTURAL IDENTIFICATION OF A STEEL STRINGER BRIDGE

The concept of structural identification may help improve an understanding of the actual load-carrying mechanisms of bridges by integrating experimentation with analysis. A process of comprehensive structural identification incorporating dynamic and static tests for a 3-D finite element modeling of a three-span steel stringer bridge with continuous integral abutment is described. Researchers were able to conceptualize, then instrument and reliably measure, a number of critical local response mechanisms. These mechanisms were then incorporated in the analytical model, with resulting excellent correlation with the experiment. Bridge-rating factors, obtained by idealized models, increased by several times when the identified analytical model was used for rating. Field experimentation in the context of structural identification research greatly enhanced the reliability of the experiments and increased the benefit-to-cost ratio of the research.