Investigation of elastomeric bearing pad failures in Louisiana bridges.

McDonald, J.; Heymsfield, E.; Avent, R. R.; Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.). Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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ROSA P serves as an archival repository of USDOT-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by USDOT or funded partners. As a repository, ROSA P retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.

i

Investigation of elastomeric bearing pad failures in Louisiana bridges.

1999-09-01
By McDonald, J. ; Heymsfield, E. ; Avent, R. R.

English

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Details:

Creators:

McDonald, J. ; Heymsfield, E. ; Avent, R. R.

McDonald, J. ; Heymsfield, E. ; Avent, R. R. Less -
Corporate Creators:

Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.). Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Corporate Contributors:

Louisiana Transportation Research Center
Subject/TRT Terms:

[+]

Bearing Pads Bridge Bearing Pads Bridges Elastomeric Elastomers Failure Analysis Girders Monitoring Neoprene Prestressed Concrete Prestressed Concrete Bridges Slippage (Leakage) Testing Waxes
Publication/ Report Number:

LA-99/330
Resource Type:

Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:

Louisiana
Corporate Publisher:

Louisiana State University. Department of Civil and Environmental Engieering
Abstract:

Elastomeric bearing pads provide a medium to transfer girder loads to the supporting substructure. Low cost and low maintenance, in comparison with mechanical-type bearings, make elastomeric bearing pads attractive to use. However, some problems have developed with their use. Failure modes for bearing pads include crushing, delamination, and slippage. The most notable of these failure modes is slippage or "walking" out of position.

The state Department of Transportation and Development, DOTD, has experienced bearing pad slippage at some of their prestressed concrete bridges. The objective in this paper is to determine the cause of neoprene bearing pad slippage and recommend practical guidelines to remedy the problem.

Investigative methods included measuring thermal movements and erecting video equipment to simultaneously monitor bearing pads and traffic. In addition, material testing was performed to determine the composition of problematic elastomeric bearing pads. By using time-lapse video equipment, bearing slippage was found to occur on a daily basis. Other findings include that a major number of bearing manufacturers add wax to their neoprene bearings to satisfy American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) specifications. As a result of this investigation, the conclusion is that the primary cause of neoprene bearing pad slippage is due to wax materials that are added during pad manufacturing.
Format:

PDF
Funding:

State Project Number: 736-99-0503 ; LTRC Project Number: 98-2SS

State Project Number: 736-99-0503 ; LTRC Project Number: 98-2SS Less -
Collection(s):

US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:

[+]

urn:sha256:8714c1bc55d91cc9c6f3209cc8a4f4d64ee832319d9f54213acf6773e7bb22c1
Download URL:

https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/22178/dot_22178_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF-707.56 KB]