Load-Rating Procedures for Railroad Flatcars Repurposed as Sustainable Highway Bridges
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21, Issue 11
Abstract
Many county highway agencies have explored different options for economical replacement of existing deteriorating bridges. Using retired railroad flatcars (RRFCs) as the bridge superstructure is an attractive and sustainable option for some owners with very limited budgets and where traffic volumes are low. Using RRFCs is also environmentally attractive because they are 100% recyclable. Previous research focused on the development of guidelines to address the uncertainty that exists when load rating these types of structures. Those guidelines were based on field testing conducted on existing RRFC bridges. However, questions remain about the response under loads higher than could be easily achieved during the field testing. Further, although most RRFC bridges utilize timber decks or thin plate decks covered in bituminous material, there is evidence suggesting that installing a traditional composite RC deck is actually more economical and greatly improves load distribution. This paper presents the results of laboratory testing of a RRFC bridge and the revision of previously proposed load-rating guidelines for RRFC bridges constructed with composite concrete decks, using experimental data and finite-element analysis.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was sponsored by the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). The authors recognize John Stolsig from Rick Franklin Corporation (RFC) in Lebanon, Oregon, for providing the purchase of the two railroad flatcars used for this research project. The authors also acknowledge Research Engineer Jason Lloyd for his assistance and expertise.
References
AASHTO. (2011). Manual for bridge evaluation, 2nd Ed., Washington, DC.
AASHTO. (2012). LRFD bridge design specifications, 6th Ed., Washington, DC.
Abaqus 6.13 [Computer software]. SIMULIA, Providence, RI.
ASTM. (2012). “Standard test method for compressive strength of cylindrical concrete specimens.” Standard C39, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2013). “Standard test methods for tension testing of metallic materials.” Standard E8, West Conshohocken, PA.
AWS (American Welding Society). (2010). “Bridge welding code.” AASHTO/AWS D1.5M/D1.5:2010, Miami.
Dhanasekar, M., and Bayissa, W. L. (2011). “Structural adequacy assessment of a disused flat bottom rail wagon as road bridge deck.” Eng. Struct., 33(5), 1838–1849.
Jamtsho, L., and Dhanasekar, M. (2013). “Performance testing of a road bridge deck containing flat rail wagons.” J. Bridge Eng., 308–317.
McDonald, C. (2011). “An experimental research investigation into disused flat rail wagons as bridges with applications for low vol. rural roads in Australia.” Masters thesis, Queensland Univ. of Technology, Queensland, Australia.
Lubliner, J., Oliver, J., Oller, S., and Oñate, E. (1989). “A plastic-damage model for concrete.” Int. J. Solids Struct., 25(3), 299–326.
Ollgaard, J. G., Slutter, R. G., and Fisher, J. W. (1971). “Shear strength of stud connectors in lightweight and normal‐weight concrete.” AISC Eng. J., 8(2), 55–64.
Parsons, T. J. (1991). “Bridges constructed from railroad cars.” Final Rep. TRC 8901, Arkansas State Univ., Jonesboro, AR.
Provines, J., Connor, R., and Sherman, R. (2014a). “Development of load rating procedure for railroad flatcar bridges through use of field instrumentation. I: Data collection and analysis.” J. Bridge Eng., 04013025.
Provines, J., Connor, R., and Sherman, R. (2014b). “Development of load rating procedure for railroad flatcar bridges through use of field instrumentation. II: Procedure development.” J. Bridge Eng., 04013026.
Sener, K. C., Varma, A. H., Booth, P. N., and Fujimoto, R. (2015b). “Seismic behavior of a containment internal structure consisting of composite SC walls.” Nucl. Eng. Des., 295, 804–816.
Sener, K. C., Washeleski, T., and Connor, R. (2015a). “Development of load rating procedures for railroad flatcars for use as highway bridges based on experimental and numerical studies.” Final Rep., Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN.
SIMULIA. (2013). ABAQUS analysis user’s manual, version 6.13, Providence, RI.
Washeleski, T., Connor, R., and Lloyd, J. (2013). “Laboratory testing of railroad flatcars for use as highway bridges on low-vol. roads to determine ultimate strength and redundancy.” Final Rep., Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN.
Wipf, T. J., Klaiber, F. W., Boomsma, H. A., and Palmer, K. S. (2007a). “Field testing of railroad flatcar bridges. Vol. I: Single spans.” Project TR-498, Iowa Dept. of Transportation, Des Moines, IA.
Wipf, T. J., Klaiber, F. W., and Doornink, J. D. (2003). “Demonstration project using railroad flatcars for low-vol. road bridges.” Project TR-444, Iowa Dept. of Transportation, Des Moines, IA.
Wipf, T. J., Klaiber, F. W., Massa, J. J., Keierleber, B., and Witt, J. (2007b). “Field testing of railroad flatcar bridges. Vol. II: Multiple spans.” Project TR-498, Iowa Dept. of Transportation, Des Moines, IA.
Wipf, T. J., Klaiber, F. W., Witt, J., and Threadgold, T. L. (1999). “Use of railroad flatcars for low-vol. road bridges.” Project TR-421, Iowa Dept. of Transportation, Des Moines, IA.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21 • Issue 11 • November 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 17, 2015
Accepted: Apr 15, 2016
Published online: Jun 15, 2016
Published in print: Nov 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Nov 15, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.