• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.169-175
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• 2001

Bridge load rating calculations provide a basis for determining the safe load capacity of bridge. Load rating requires engineering judgement in determining a rating value that is applicable to maintaining the safe use of the bridge and arriving at posting and permit decisions. Load testing is an effective means in calculating the rating value of bridge. In Korea, load carrying capacity of bridge is modified by response modification factor that is determined from comparisons of measured values and analysis results. The response modification factor may be corrupted by vehicle location error that is defined as the gap of test vehicle location between load testing and analysis. In this study, the effects of vehicle location error to structural response and response modification factor are investigated, and a new method for evaluating response modification factor is proposed. The random data analysis shows that the proposed method is less sensitive to vehicle location error than the present method.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.371-382
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• 2023

Box girder bridges are now widely used in bridge construction, and it is necessary to perform load rating regularly to evaluate the load capacity of box girder bridges. Load testing is a common measure for load rating. However, the bridge must be loaded by many trucks under different loading conditions, which is time-consuming and laborious. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a load rating method for box girder bridges based on rapid moving loads testing. The method includes three steps. First, the quasi-influence factors of the bridge are obtained by crossing the bridge with rapidly moving loads, and the structural modal parameters are simultaneously obtained from the dynamic data to supplement. Second, an objective function is constructed, consisting of the quasi-influence factors at several measurement points and structural modal parameters. The finite element model for load rating is then updated based on the Rosenbrock method. Third, on this basis, a load rating method is proposed using the updated model. The load rating method proposed in this paper can considerably reduce the time duration of traditional static load testing and effectively utilize the dynamic and static properties of box girder bridges to obtain an accurate finite element model. The load capacity obtained based on the updated model can avoid the inconsistency of the evaluation results for the different structural members using the adjustment factors specified in codes.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.89-97
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• 1998

This paper presents the results of the load test performed on a steel plate girder bridge and suggests the procedure of bridge rating through the load test. In general the girder bridge resist the loads as a complex three-dimensional structural system. Therefore the test results are analyzed for the longitudinal and the transverse response characteristics. The bending moments based on the beam analysis are compared with the measured values for longitudinal response characteristics. The lateral load distribution characteristics are assessed based on the load test results for transverse response characteristics. Also the rating of the test bridge is performed by using the suggested rating procedure which considers the actual response characteristics of the bridge. The suggested procedure can be used for understanding of actual response characteristics and evaluating load carrying capacity of the steel plate girder bridge.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1990.04a
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• pp.37-43
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• 1990

This paper develops practical models and methods for the assessment of safety and rating of damaged and/or deteriorated bridges by incorporating a system identification technique for the explicit inclusion of the degree of deterioration or damage and of the actual bridge response. And, based on the proposed model, reliability-based rating methods are proposed as LRFR(Load and Resistance Factor Rating) and system reliability-index rating criteria. The proposed limit state model explicitly accounts for the degree of deterioration or damage in terms of the damage and response factors. The damage factor in the paper is proposed as the ratio of the current stiffness to the intact stiffness. Based on the observation and the results of applications to existing bridges, it may be concluded that the proposed rating models, which explicitly account for the uncertainties and the effects of degree of deterioration or damage based on the system identification technique, provide more realistic and consistent safety-assessment and capacity-rating.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.111-118
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• 2002

Currently, the inspection of bridges is conduced for the parts or elements of a bridges and the results of inspection are depicted for those local elements. Therefore, the representative rating of a bridge as a whole bridge system is not presented. The purpose of the present study is to purpose a reasonable method which can yield realistic representative rating for an actual bridge. The purpose method consists of two steps, i.e, visual inspection step and safety assessment step. The importance of members is considered by introducing the weighting factors and the number of spans is also considered to obtain the representative rating of a whole bridge system. The purpose method may be efficiently used to calculate the realistic representative rating bridge structures.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2003

In order to rate current bridge load carrying capacity, typically two methods are used. These are Allowable Stress Rating (ASR) and Load Factor Rating (LFR). Using the rating factors, there are many attempts to make a connection between rating factors and probability concept. The main purpose of the paper is computing the probability of overload using rating factors and probability concept. In this paper, the load rating methods are briefly explained, and the probability concept is connected to rating factors by using live load from Weigh-in-Motion (WIM). Based on the live load model and rati ng factor, the computation procedure of the probability of overload is explained.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.1203-1208
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• 2005

This study is the evaluation of rating of railway prestressed concrete beam bridges by prediction of residual effective prestress force. Therefore, developed prediction method is based on the center camber of prestressed concrete beam, structural design report of various PSC beams, construction reference materials of PSC beams. Both rating evaluation and residual effective prestress force by developed method is compared with evaluation by structural design. This comparison results shows that this developed method is very effective method. Therefore evaluation of rating by prediction of residual effective prestress force will be used for evaluation of the rating of railway PSC beam bridges.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.199-211
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• 2015

The safety and performance of bridges could be monitored and evaluated by Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems. These systems try to identify and locate the damages in a structure and estimate their severities. Current SHM systems are applied to a single bridge, and they have not been used to monitor the structural condition of a network of bridges. This paper propose a new method which will be used in Synthetic Rating Procedures (SRP) developed by the authors of this paper and utilizes SHM systems for monitoring and evaluating the condition of a network of bridges. Synthetic rating procedures are used to assess the condition of a network of bridges and identify their ratings. As an additional part of the SRP, the method proposed in this paper can continuously monitor the behaviour of a network of bridges and therefore it can assist to prevent the sudden collapses of bridges or the disruptions to their serviceability. The method could be an important part of a bridge management system (BMS) for managers and engineers who work on condition assessment of a network of bridges.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.99-117
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• 2015

The Stonecutters Bridge (SCB) in Hong Kong is the third-longest cable-stayed bridge in the world with a main span stretching 1,018 m between two 298 m high single-leg tapering composite towers. A Wind and Structural Health Monitoring System (WASHMS) is being implemented on SCB by the Highways Department of The Hong Kong SAR Government, and the SCB-WASHMS is composed of more than 1,300 sensors in 15 types. In order to establish a linkage between structural health monitoring and maintenance management, a Structural Health Rating System (SHRS) with relevant rating tools and indices is devised. On the basis of a 3D space frame finite element model (FEM) of SCB and model updating, this paper presents the development of an SHR-oriented 3D multi-scale FEM for the purpose of load-resistance analysis and damage evaluation in structural element level, including modeling, refinement and validation of the multi-scale FEM. The refined 3D structural segments at deck and towers are established in critical segment positions corresponding to maximum cable forces. The components in the critical segment region are modeled as a full 3D FEM and fitted into the 3D space frame FEM. The boundary conditions between beam and shell elements are performed conforming to equivalent stiffness, effective mass and compatibility of deformation. The 3D multi-scale FEM is verified by the in-situ measured dynamic characteristics and static response. A good agreement between the FEM and measurement results indicates that the 3D multi-scale FEM is precise and efficient for WASHMS and SHRS of SCB. In addition, stress distribution and concentration of the critical segments in the 3D multi-scale FEM under temperature loads, static wind loads and equivalent seismic loads are investigated. Stress concentration elements under equivalent seismic loads exist in the anchor zone in steel/concrete beam and the anchor plate edge in steel anchor box of the towers.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.661-678
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• 2013

In this paper, a wireless sensing system for structural field evaluation and rating of bridges is presented. The system uses a wireless platform integrated with traditional analogue sensors including strain gages and accelerometers along with the operating software. A wireless vehicle position indicator is developed using a tri-axial accelerometer node that is mounted on the test vehicle, and was used for identifying the moving truck position during load testing. The developed software is capable of calculating the theoretical bridge rating factors based on AASHTO Load and Resistance Factor Rating specifications, and automatically produces the field adjustment factor through load testing data. The sensing system along with its application in bridge deck rating was successfully demonstrated on the Evansville Bridge in West Virginia. A finite element model was conducted for the test bridge, and was used to calculate the load distribution factors of the bridge deck after verifying its results using field data. A confirmation field test was conducted on the same bridge and its results varied by only 3% from the first test. The proposed wireless sensing system proved to be a reliable tool that overcomes multiple drawbacks of conventional wired sensing platforms designed for structural load evaluation of bridges.