Identifying Magnitudes and Locations of Loads on Slender Beams with Welded and Bolted Joints Using Strain Gauge–Based Force Transducers with Application to a Portable Army Bridge
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 19, Issue 2
Abstract
A strain gauge–based force transducer methodology has been developed to identify magnitudes and locations of loads on noncontinuous, nonhomogeneous, slender beams with welded and bolted joints. Slopes of bending moment curves on two sides of a load are calculated from measured strains on a beam. Four uniaxial strain gauges are mounted to the bottom surface of the beam, with two strain gauges on each side of the load, to form a force transducer. A previously developed calibration method can be used to account for discrepancies between theoretical and actual scaling factors. Four or more force transducers are needed for calibration in this work. The force transducer methodology is experimentally validated on a continuously tapered aluminum beam with a series of welded joints, a half-aluminum and half-steel beam with two different cross sections and a bolted joint, and a full-scale portable Army bridge at the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the National Science Foundation for the support through the award CMMI-1335024. The authors also thank the assistance from Scott A. Smith and the support from the U.S. Army Program Manager Bridging Office and Aberdeen Test Center.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 19 • Issue 2 • February 2014
Pages: 254 - 265
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 20, 2012
Accepted: May 7, 2013
Published online: Jan 15, 2014
Published in print: Feb 1, 2014
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