Capacity Evaluation of a Severely Distressed and Deteriorated 50-Year-Old Box Beam with Limited Data
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 25, Issue 4
Abstract
In 2005, 15 adjacent box-beam bridges were randomly selected and inspected to document their performance with consideration of the evolving design procedures. Longitudinal cracking along the soffit of several fascia beams was documented. After evaluating inspection data, the bridge engineer recommended the replacement of a severely distressed fascia beam from the Hawkins Road Bridge in Jackson County, Michigan. The beam was salvaged and the capacity was evaluated through load testing. The remaining prestress was 75% of the initial prestress, which is 5% less than the final prestress used for the design. Concrete modulus of elasticity was evaluated as 35.4 GPa and the nominal compressive strength as 54.4 MPa. Analysis of load test data indicated that a bridge with the beam in this distressed state is safe to operate. This is assuming that the transverse connectivity between the beams is sufficient for load distribution as envisioned in the design. The importance of identifying concealed corrosion, and quantifying material properties and load distribution is highlighted in this paper.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge and thank the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for funding this research and helping with instrumentation and data acquisition. The authors would like to thank E. C. Korneffel Co., of Trenton, Michigan, for giving an opportunity to participate in this research and providing unrestricted access to the bridge site and their facilities during beam removal and load testing.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 25 • Issue 4 • August 2011
Pages: 299 - 308
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 18, 2010
Accepted: Aug 6, 2010
Published online: Aug 25, 2010
Published in print: Aug 1, 2011
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