Nondestructive Assessment of Elastomeric Bridge Bearings Using 3D Digital Image Correlation
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 1
Abstract
Elastomeric bridge bearings are installed between the bridge superstructure and substructure to accommodate translational and rotational deformations. The manufacturing quality of elastomeric bridge bearings is of high significance because manufacturing defects (such as variations in rubber layer thickness and nonparallel steel laminates) may jeopardize their short- and long-term structural behavior and integrity. Current quality control procedures involve destructive testing of samples of bearings from a lot. This type of testing is time consuming and costly, and thus limited to a relatively small sample size, which may undermine confidence in the quality of remaining bearings in the lot. This paper presents an alternative, vision-based assessment methodology for the nondestructive identification of the internal structure of elastomeric bridge bearings. The methodology capitalizes on the high deformability of rubber and the near inextensibility of the steel laminates, which together result in a unique deformation pattern on the vertical surfaces of a bearing when it is subjected to axial load. This deformation pattern features local extrema in in-plane strain and horizontal displacement fields on the vertical surfaces. These local extrema are analyzed to deduce the thicknesses of the rubber layers and rubber side covers. The methodology is developed based on three-dimensional finite-element analyses (3D-FEA). Then, three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) is used in experimental tests to evaluate its capability to identify manufacturing defects in elastomeric bridge bearings. Finally, the methodology is validated against destructive tests. The nondestructive method presented in this study is conducted in conjunction with compressive tests that departments of transportation carry out routinely and is therefore expected to facilitate rapid and cost-effective qualification of elastomeric bridge bearings.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) through the Highway Infrastructure Innovation Funding Program (HIIFP), Award No. 9017-R-0022. The authors are grateful to Kris Mermigas, Head Engineer, Bridge Design Office, MTO, and Jennifer Astle-Tranmer, Senior Materials Officer, Materials Engineering & Research Office, MTO, for their committed support during this work. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor.
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 1 • January 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 8, 2020
Accepted: Aug 2, 2021
Published online: Oct 21, 2021
Published in print: Jan 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Mar 21, 2022
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Cited by
- Saleh Ahmadi Soleimani, Dimitrios Konstantinidis, Georgios P. Balomenos, Effect of Manufacturing Imperfections on the Service-Level Performance of Elastomeric Bridge Bearings, Journal of Structural Engineering, 10.1061/(ASCE)ST.1943-541X.0003365, 148, 7, (2022).