Condition Assessment of Shear Connectors in Slab-Girder Bridges via Vibration Measurements
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 13, Issue 1
Abstract
The paper presents a field study on condition assessment of the shear connectors in a full slab-girder bridge via vibration measurements. First, a model updating technique is employed to assess the condition of the whole structure, including boundary conditions, bearings, girders, slab, and shear connectors, from the accelerations on the slab measured in vibration testing. Then, a new damage index based on the difference of frequency response functions on the slab and the corresponding points on the girder is developed to evaluate the condition of shear connectors. The advantage of the new method lies in the fact that it does not need any reference data (undamaged data) for the structure. Compared with the results obtained using the model updating technique, the method is more reliable and accurate in assessing the condition of the shear connectors between the slab and girders. The effects of measurement noise on the damage identification results and the damage quantification are also studied through numerical simulation.
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Acknowledgments
This research was performed with the support of Linkage Project LP0453783 sponsored by Australian Research Council (ARC) and Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA). Special thanks are extended to Robert Scanlon, Adam Lim, and Erica Smith. Help from Minhdu Nguyen and Darryl Goedhart of MRWA and Norhisham Bakhary and Zhongyuan Liang of UWA in conducting the field testing is also greatly appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 13 • Issue 1 • January 2008
Pages: 43 - 54
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 20, 2006
Accepted: Feb 27, 2007
Published online: Jan 1, 2008
Published in print: Jan 2008
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