Performance of strip seals in Iowa bridges, pilot study.

Details

• Creators:
  Bolluyt, James E. ; Kau, V. B. ; Greimann, L. G.
• Corporate Creators:
  Iowa State University
• Corporate Contributors:
  Iowa. Dept. of Transportation ; Iowa. Highway Research Board
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Bridges
  • Floors
  • Joints (Engineering)
  • Sealing compounds
  • Joint sealers
  • Bridges--Iowa--Floors--Joints
• Publication/ Report Number:
  Project TR-437
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Iowa
• Edition:
  Final report.
• Corporate Publisher:
  Iowa State University
• Abstract:
  A pilot study was conducted on the premature failures of neoprene strip seals in ; expansion joints in Iowa bridges. In a relatively large number of bridges, strip seals have ; pulled out of the steel extrusions or otherwise failed well before the expected life span of the ; seal. The most serious consequence of a strip-seal failure is damage to the bridge ; substructure due to salt, water, and debris interacting with the substructure. ; A literature review was performed. Manufacturers’ specifications and ; recommendations, practices in the states bordering Iowa, and Iowa DOT design and ; installation guidelines were reviewed. Discussions were held with bridge contractors and the ; installation of a strip seal system was observed. Iowa DOT bridge databases were analyzed. ; A national survey was conducted on the use and performance of strip seals. ; With guidance from the Iowa DOT, twelve in-service bridges with strip-seal ; expansion joints were selected for detailed investigation. Effective bridge temperatures and ; corresponding expansion-joint openings were measured, DOT inspection reports were ; reviewed, and likely cause(s) of premature failures of strip seals were proposed. ; All of the seals used in the twelve bridges that had the most serious failures were in ; concrete girder bridges. Experimental results show that for a majority of these serious ; failures, the joint opening at 0° F predicted by the Iowa DOT design equations, the joint ; opening at 0° F extrapolated from the experimental data, or both, are larger than the ; movement rating of the strip seal specified on the bridge plans. Other likely causes of ; premature failures of seals in the twelve bridges include debris and ice in the seal cavity, a ; large skew and the corresponding decrease in the movement rating of the seal, improper ; installation, and improper setting of the initial gap.
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• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/23814/dot_23814_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.56 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f4da0aac9e9ade899836ebe90ae03e09dc899baa83f4bd5767627277b0c07288fa392b32db1f1e59c0e938b80bdb87c7ec1fc088eae77bcbdd375d8bbe81a1b2