United States Department of Transportation
i
Field Load Tests of Open-Deck Timber Trestle Railroad Bridges
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2001-08-01
[PDF-2.91 MB]
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Abstract:A field load test program was conducted to evaluate three open-deck timber railroad trestle bridges. The bridges included part of a 31-span bridge, a four-span bridge with skewed interior bents and a three-span bridge. Piles of the chords of the bridges were evaluated non-destructively for material properties using an ultrasonic stress wave device. The bridges were modeled using typical frame analysis techniques to predict response to loads. Deflection and strain measurements were recorded from the load testing. The responses of the bridges to various loads are compared to the predicted responses from several analytical modeling assumptions. The diagnostic testing used loads applied statically by axles of a test train and ramp loads applied by a specially designed railroad test car. Rolling train loads were conducted using the axles of the test train. Displaced chord and ground reference deflections plus some strain measurements were recorded at selected locations. The bridges performed within the expected range of behavior predicted by the analytical models. The chord systems of the bridges performed as beams semi-continuous over multiple supports. Two forms of support motion were observed; motion of the caps and gap closing between individual piles and the supporting caps. Load sharing among individual piles was examined empirically. No definable pattern for load sharing of the piles was identified.
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