Study of a Typical Bridge Girder Damaged by Vehicle Impacts

It is often seen while driving underneath the overpass bridges that the exterior girders are slightly bent laterally due to damage from trucks and other vehicles that may have hit them or that may have scraped against them as they were passing underneath. It becomes somewhat of a complicated process to determine exactly how much stiffness (and strength) the damaged girder has and whether or not it needs to be replaced (or repaired) immediately. With an aim to develop some charts or curves that may be used to quickly assess the loss in strength of these girders as they deflect more and more, some parametric studies were carried out. The result of the first of such studies is presented here.