Load Testing of Bridges Current Practice and Diagnostic Load Testing

Load Testing of Bridges, featuring contributions from almost fifty authors from around the world across two interrelated volumes, deals with the practical aspects, the scientific developments, and the international views on the topic of load testing of bridges. Volume 12, Load Testing of Bridges: Current practice and Diagnostic Load Testing, starts with a background to bridge load testing, including the historical perspectives and evolutions, and the current codes and guidelines that are governing in countries around the world. The second part of the book deals with preparation, execution, and post-processing of load tests on bridges. The third part focuses on diagnostic load testing of bridges. This work will be of interest to researchers and academics in the field of civil/structural engineering, practicing engineers and road authorities worldwide.

Part I Background to Bridge Load Testing Chapter 1 Introduction Eva O. L. Lantsoght1.1 Background 1.2 Scope of application 1.3 Aim of this book 1.4 Outline of this book Chapter 2 History of Load Testing of Bridges Mohamed K. ElBatanouny, Gregor Schacht and Guido Bolle2.1 Introduction 2.2 Bridge load testing in Europe 2.3 Bridge load testing in North America 2.4 The potential of load testing for the evaluation of existing structures 2.5 Summary and conclusions References Chapter 3 Current Codes and Guidelines Eva O. L. Lantsoght3.1 Introduction 3.2 German guidelines 3.3 British guidelines 3.4 Irish guidelines 3.5 Guidelines in the United States 3.6 French guidelines 3.7 Czech Republic and Slovakia 3.8 Spanish guidelines 3.9 Other countries 3.10 Current developments 3.11 Discussion 3.12 Summary References Part II Preparation, Execution, and Post-Processing of Load Tests on Bridges Chapter 4 General Considerations Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt4.1 Initial considerations 4.2 Types of load tests, and which type of load test to select 4.3 When to load test a bridge, and when not to load test 4.4 Structure type considerations 4.5 Safety requirements during load testing 4.6 Summary and conclusions References Chapter 5 Preparation of Load Tests Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt5.1 Introduction 5.2 Determination of test objectives 5.3 Bridge inspection 5.4 Preliminary calculations and development of finite element model 5.5 Planning and preparation of load test 5.6 Summary and conclusions References Chapter 6 General Considerations for the Execution of Load Tests Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt6.1 Introduction 6.2 Loading equipment 6.3 Measurement equipment 6.4 Practical aspects of execution 6.5 Summary and conclusions References Chapter 7 Post-Processing and Bridge Assessment Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt7.1 Introduction 7.2 Post-processing of measurement data 7.3 Updating finite element model with measurement data 7.4 Bridge assessment 7.5 Formulation of recommendations for maintenance or operation 7.6 Recommendations for reporting of load tests 7.7 Summary and conclusions References 151 Part III Diagnostic Load Testing of Bridges Chapter 8 Methodology for Diagnostic Load Testing Eva O. L. Lantsoght, Jonathan Bonifaz, Telmo A. Sanchez and Devin K. Harris8.1 Introduction 8.2 Preparation of diagnostic load tests 8.3 Procedures for the execution of diagnostic load testing 8.4 Processing diagnostic load testing results 8.5 Evaluation of diagnostic load testing results 8.6 Summary and conclusions References Appendix: Determination of Experimental Rating Factor According to Barker Chapter 9 Example Field Test to Load Rate a Prestressed Concrete Bridge Eli S. Hernandez and John J. Myers9.1 Introduction 9.2 Sample bridge description 9.3 Bridge instrumentation plan 9.4 Diagnostic load test program 9.5 Test results 9.6 Girder distribution factors 9.7 Load rating of Bridge A7957 by field load testing 9.8 Recommendations 9.9 Summary References Chapter 10 Example Load Test: Diagnostic Testing of a Concrete Bridge with a Large Skew Angle Mauricio Diaz Arancibia and Pinar Okumus10.1 Summary 10.2 Characteristics of the bridge tested 10.3 Goals of load testing 10.4 Preliminary analytical model 10.5 Coordination of the load test 10.6 Instrumentation plan 10.7 Data acquisition 10.8 Loading 10.9 Planning and scheduling 10.10 Redundancy and repeatability 10.11 Results 10.12 Conclusions and recommendations Ackowledgements References Chapter 11 Diagnostic Load Testing of Bridges – Background and Examples of Application Piotr Olaszek and Joan R. Casas11.1 Background 11.2 Examples of diagnostic load testing 11.3 Conclusions and recommendations for practice References Chapter 12 Field Testing of Pedestrian Bridges Darius Bacinskas, Ronaldas Jakubovskis and Arturas Kilikevicius12.1 Introduction 12.2 Preparation for testing 12.3 Organization of the tests 12.4 Analysis of test results 12.5 Theoretical modeling of tested bridge 12.6 Concluding remarks Acknowledgments References

Dr. Lantsoght graduated with a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium) in 2008. She later earned a Master's degree in Structural Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) in 2009 and the title of Doctor in Structural Engineering from Technische Universiteit Delft (Delft, the Netherlands) in 2013. The work experience of Dr. Lantsoght includes design work in structural and bridge engineering in Belgium (Establis, and Ney & Partners) and working as an independent consultant in structural engineering in Ecuador (Adstren). Dr. Lantsoght is an active member of the technical committees of the Transportation Research Board in Concrete Bridges (AFF-30) and Testing and Evaluation of Transportation Structures (AFF-40), a member of the technical committees of the American Concrete Institute and Deutscher Ausschuß für Stahlbeton Shear Databases (ACI-DAfStb-445-D), and the joint ACI-ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) committee on Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs (ACI-ASCE 421), and an associate member of the committees on Evaluation of Concrete Bridges and Concrete Bridge Elements (ACI 342), on Shear and Torsion (ACI-ASCE 445), and on Strength Evaluation of Existing Concrete Structures (ACI 437). In the academic field, Dr. Lantsoght is a full professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Quito, Ecuador) and a researcher at Technische Universiteit Delft (Delft, Netherlands). Her field of research is the design and analysis of concrete structures and analysis of existing bridges.