Evaluation of Gusset-Less Truss Connection to Aid Bridge Inspection and Condition Assessment
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2019-02-01
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Abstract:In 2013, the newly designed Memorial Bridge, located between Portsmouth, NH, and Kittery, ME, was opened to traffic. The structural system of the bridge is composed of truss elements with a unique “gusset-less” connection which utilizes curved steel to transition from the chords to the diagonals where splice plates join the members. In this study, the fatigue performance of the gusset-less connection is primarily investigated through an experimental fatigue test of a scale model of the connection, tested with a pulsating (tension-only) fatigue loading at the UNH Structural Engineering Laboratory. Finite Element Models (FEM) of the connection were developed to assist with the specimen’s design and also to validate the testing results. The numerical models were used to estimate maximum stresses in the region of interest near the radiused fillet weld of the connection, determine a suitable scale for the experimental specimens, and inform the design of the experimental setup. A monitoring protocol was developed to systematically monitor the structural response of the test setup. The experimental results showed that the design assumptions were reasonable and that, in the absence of significant defects, the radiused fillet welds in the Memorial Bridge are expected to have infinite fatigue life.
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