The AASHTO-LRFD Specification (1) currently contains a simple procedure for calculating shear and moment distribution factors. These distribution factors are based on a large study which encompassed many types of bridge systems. However, that study did not account for high performance steel (HPS) girder bridges, which are becoming common in new bridge construction in the United States. For this reason, it is important to validate the current AASHTO-LRFD distribution factor equations for HPS bridges. On three separate occasions, truckload tests were performed on an HPS bridge in central Ohio to obtain strain and displacement data. The data were subsequently filtered to remove electronic noise, and then moment distribution factors were calculated from the strain data. It was found that AASHTO-LRFD (1) provided conservative estimates of lateral load distribution for momentwhen compared to experimental results for an HPS bridge.
Samenvatting