Testing of a steel-free concrete bridge

SUMMARY OF RESULTS From these tests the following useful information was ob-tained: The maximum measured strain during the testing was 305 μ, which is less than 20% of the yield strain of grade 350 A steel (1750 JJLE). This occurred on the bottom flange of the left girder at mid-span. The loading truck was positioned over the left girder and the front axle was at location L9. The average peak strain during the symmetric load case was 230 μ and this peak strain is 20% less than the value predicted by a semi-rigorous computer analysis. The average peak deflection during the symmetric load case was 0.91 cm and this peak deflection is 30% less than the value predicted by a semi-rigorous computer analysis. The testing of the Lindquist Bridge required three days to perform and utilized sixteen instruments (6 strain gages, 1 LVDT, 1 temperature gage, and 8 accelerome-ters). In this short time period a significant amount of useful data was collected. The data allowed for the mechanical behavior, both static and dynamic, of the bridge to be assessed, and was also used to calibrate a computer model of the steel-free bridge deck system. The maximum static mid-span deflection during the testing was 1.16 cm. This occurred when the loading truck was positioned over the right girder and the front axle was in location R10.