Slippage of Neoprene Bridge Bearings
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 5, Issue 3
Abstract
Elastomeric bearing pads are more appropriate than mechanical bearings to support bridge loads for many reasons. Two of the most significant reasons are cost and maintenance. Failure modes for bearing pads include crushing, delamination, and slippage. The most notable of these failure modes is slippage or “walking” out of place. The writers' objective in this paper is to establish a methodology to determine why some neoprene bearings are slipping under bridge girders. The methods used to investigate this phenomenon are discussed. A general survey of state DOTs was performed. The results are presented to show how some states have remedied this problem. During the investigation period, numerous bridge engineers and researchers gave their opinions as to why bearings slip. These theories are presented. This investigation has discovered that bearing slippage occurs on a daily basis.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 5 • Issue 3 • August 2000
Pages: 216 - 223
History
Received: Dec 2, 1998
Published online: Aug 1, 2000
Published in print: Aug 2000
Authors
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