scholarly journals Modern Bridge Bearings and Expansion Joints for Road Bridges

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 4040-4049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Niemierko
1971 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J Lee ◽  
G Maunsell ◽  
Partners ◽  
Kent ◽  
UK

Author(s):  
T. Richli ◽  
A. Chrysovergis ◽  
N. Meng ◽  
M. Treacy

<p>Accumulated movements induced by temperature and imposed loads contribute to the wearing down of the sliding materials within bridge bearings and expansion joints, potentially seriously affecting their functioning and performance. Therefore, there is a need for engineers to be able to assess, with some accuracy, the total movements to which these critical components, and their sliding materials in particular, are being subjected (or have been subjected during their service life to date). These movements are difficult to calculate analytically and design codes generally provide very conservative load models which increases the challenge of accurately estimating true movements. Nowadays, structural health monitoring can be used to record these movements with high accuracy, providing data that can support more efficient life-cycle planning of bridge maintenance. This paper illustrates this with reference to the measurement of longitudinal movements on expansion joints and bearings of various bridge structures.</p>


Author(s):  
Thomas Braml ◽  
Florian Zimmert

<p>Reducing the consumption of resources is one of the greatest challenges we currently face in the construction industry. Not only because of the very strong increase in the world population from 7.72 billion inhabitants in 2020 to approx. 9.55 billion inhabitants in 2050, only limited resources are available to every inhabitant of the earth. It is the task of civil engineers to accept this challenge and to develop new constructions, building materials and construction methods that enable resource-poor construction. In building construction, concepts are moving in the direction of innovative designs and construction methods with the aim of saving material [1]. The requirements for bridges, however, are clearly different from those for building structures. For bridges it may therefore be necessary to build robustly. This somewhat contradicts the design approach of saving material. A possible approach to still save resources can be to extend the service life. If bridges are planned and built for 200 years or even 300 years instead of 100 years as is currently the case, 50% to 70% of the resources currently required for a bridge can be saved. New materials, construction methods and techniques are already available, which would make it possible to build a bridge with a service life of 200 years. It will not be possible for all components of a bridge to have a service life of more than 200 years. Bridge bearings, expansion joints, sealing membranes as a sealing layer under hot asphalt, etc. have a maximum service life of 20 to 30 years. Here, bridges must be designed in such a way that these components can be quickly replaced. Similar to a customer service with a car, wear parts should be replaceable in a plannable, quick and cost-effective way. It is also possible to use the robust construction method for medium span bridges, so that bearings can be dispensed with if necessary. In addition, there are the first pilot bridges for a concrete carriageway that can be directly driven on, so that sealing can be dispensed with.</p><p>The article shows an overview of the current available options for building a bridge with a service life of more than 200 years. In addition, a concept for such a bridge with a span of 25 to 60 m is presented. Especially bridges with such spans represent a large part of the total amount of bridges.</p>


Author(s):  
Peter Guenther ◽  
Rainer Roos

<p>The MEGA cities in South East Asia are more and more faced with the limited capacity of their infrastructure. Above all massive investment is spent on the public transport system, which expands at an enormous speed.</p><p>Caused by limited space and economic reasons, more and more roads and railway lines are built elevated. Approx. the same huge funds are necessary to improve existing structures to the needs of the next centuries.</p><p>The choice of bearings and expansion joints may jeopardize the economy during operation. The right choice on behalf of sustainability results in a pro-value for the road or railroad operator in the name of reliability, durability and maintenance costs of the device and the entire project.</p><p>Especially for railroad projects, the focus on the interaction between the bridge bearings and the track is essential not only for the device, but for the entire track reliability.</p><p>To get the pro-value for the structure, the European standard, EN1337 and EN1090, classify performance in dependence to the structure. This classification is decisive for the sustainability of structures, regardless if for new projects or rehabilitations.</p><p>The presentation would highlight the innovations of modern bridge bearings and expansion joints on reliability and cost-effectiveness during operation. Latest technology guarantees a low carbon footprint.</p>


Author(s):  
Gianni Moor ◽  
Simon Hoffmann ◽  
Danilo Della Ca'

<p>Bridge bearings and expansion joints, being engineered components that accommodate movements and rotations, are typically the parts of a bridge that are subjected to the greatest demands although being far less robust than the main structure. As a result, they generally cannot offer a service life that approaches that of the bridge as a whole. Therefore, the durability of the bearings and expansion joints selected for use in a structure is an important factor to consider in maximizing life-cycle performance. Most bearings and expansion joints that facilitate significant superstructure movements have sliding interfaces, which provide much of the flexibility required by the main structure’s design. These sliding interfaces generally involve the use of non- ferrous materials such as PTFE, which are subjected to friction and abrasion with every movement, and are therefore the component parts that are subjected to the highest demands. Therefore, the performance of the sliding materials used in a bridge’s bearings and expansion joints has considerable influence on the structure’s long-term performance. This paper discusses this subject, with a special focus on the state-of-the-art UHMWPE alternative to the PTFE sliding material traditionally used in main sliding interfaces.</p>


2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Günter Ramberger

<p>Bridge superstructures have to be designed to permit thermal and live load strains to occur without unintended restraints. Bridge bearings have to transfer forces from the superstructure to the substructure, allowing all movements in directions defined by the designer. The two functions -transfer the loads and allow movements only in the required directions for a long service time with little maintenance - are not so easy to fulfil. Differ­ent bearings for different purposes and requirements have been developed so, that the bridge designer can choose the most suitable bearing.</p> <p>By the movement of a bridge, gaps are necessary between superstructure and substructure. Expansion joints fill the gaps, allowing traffic loads tobe carried and allowing all expected displacements with low resistance. Ex­pansion joints should provide a smooth transition, avoid noise emission as far as possible and withstand all mechanical actions and chemical attacks (de-icing) for a long time. A simple exchange of all wearing parts and of the entire expansion joint should be possible.</p> <p>The present volume provides a comprehensive survey of arrangement, construction and installation of bearings and expansion joints for bridges including calculation of bearing reactions and movements, analysis and design, inspection and maintenance. A long list of references deals with the subjects but also with aspects in the vicinity of bearings and expansion joints.</p> <p>This book is aimed at both students and practising engineers, working in the field of bridge design, construction, analysis, inspection, maintenance and repair.</p>


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