1

TRB AFF00 Structures SectionTop 2005 Problem Statements

Presented to

AASHTO HSCOBST-11, Technical Committee for Research

by

Mary Lou Ralls, P.E.Chair, AFF00

June 28, 2005

2

GOAL: Steel orthotropic decks with minimum 75-year service life and minimum maintenance

NEEDED: Guidelines that can be used withoutspecialist design effort and custom research toproduce satisfactory results; compilation of latestlaboratory testing, field testing, and analyticalstudies (e.g., on wearing surfaces, fatigue,loading, overall behavior, fabrication)

TRB AFF10, General Structures& TRB AFF20, Steel Bridges:

Guidelines for the Design and Construction ofSteel Orthotropic Deck Bridges

3

READINESS: Increased concern about variablebehavior of deck system; international interest inresearch collaboration; increased need for rapidlightweight deck construction and replacement

PRODUCT: Design and construction guidelinesfor steel orthotropic bridge decks

FUNDING / PERIOD: $450,000 / 33 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 2, Optimizing StructuralSystems

TRB AFF10, General Structures& TRB AFF20, Steel Bridges:

Guidelines for the Design and Construction ofSteel Orthotropic Deck Bridges, continued

4

GOAL: Pretensioned concrete beams with no endcracking of concern

NEEDED: Understanding of the primary causesof end cracking and what level of end cracking isacceptable or repairable

TRB AFF30, Concrete Bridges:Analysis and Control of Cracking at Ends of

Pretensioned Concrete Girders

5

READINESS: Cracking more prevalent withtoday’s beams - higher strength concrete,deeper, and significantly higher prestress forces

PRODUCT: Recommendations for design andproduction practice to eliminate or reduce endcracking; guidelines and specifications foracceptance and repair of end cracking

FUNDING / PERIOD: $300,000 / 24 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 1, Extending Service Life

TRB AFF30, Concrete Bridges:Analysis and Control of Cracking at Ends ofPretensioned Concrete Girders, continued

6

GOAL: The ability to continuously andeconomically monitor condition of complexbridges and detect damage at earliest possiblestage (e.g., to monitor scour, substructuremovement, cracking, seismic damage, corrosion,overloads, etc.)

NEEDED: Remote systems that eliminate hard-wire communication and its maintenance, forimproved reliability in monitoring complex bridges

TRB AFF40, Dynamics and Field Testing ofBridges:

Remote Structure Monitoring Techniques forHealth Monitoring

7

READINESS: Significant advancements haveoccurred in sensors, computer technology, andpost-processing algorithms

PRODUCT: Guide for use of remote state-of-the-art technologies for short- and long-term healthmonitoring of complex bridges

FUNDING / PERIOD: $250,000 / 20 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 5, Monitoring BridgeCondition

TRB AFF40, Dynamics and Field Testing ofBridges:

Remote Structure Monitoring Techniques forHealth Monitoring, continued

8

GOAL: Bridges with minimum 75-year servicelife and minimum maintenance in seismic regions

NEEDED: Guidelines for design of bridges acrossactive faults to survive major earthquakes andlarge fault displacements (translational andvertical), with passage of emergency vehicles asa minimum

TRB AFF50, Seismic Design of Bridges:Development of Design Strategies for Bridges

Crossing Active Earthquake Faults

9

READINESS: Interest due to recent Turkey andTaiwan bridge failures with details similar tocurrent U.S. practice; potential for successdemonstrated by survival of trans-Alaska oilpipeline to recent earthquake

PRODUCT: Design standards and manual ofpractice for bridges crossing active faults

FUNDING / PERIOD: $500,000 / 36-42 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 2, Optimizing StructuralSystems

TRB AFF50, Seismic Design of Bridges:Development of Design Strategies for BridgesCrossing Active Earthquake Faults, continued

10

GOAL: Tunnel projects that come in on time andunder budget

NEEDED: Improved underground constructioncontracting practices that take advantage of thelessons learned since 1974 publication currentlyused

TRB AFF60, Tunnels and UndergroundStructures:

Improved Contracting Practices for UndergroundConstruction

11

READINESS: Interest from AmericanUnderground-Construction Association tocollaborate to increase efficiency and reduceindustry confusion and costs

PRODUCT: Updated manual on undergroundconstruction contracting practices

FUNDING / PERIOD: $250,000 / 18 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 3, AcceleratingConstruction

TRB AFF60, Tunnels and UndergroundStructures:

Improved Contracting Practices for UndergroundConstruction, continued

12

GOAL: Optimum performance of complex buriedsoil-pipe systems

NEEDED: Correlation of field gage soil-stiffnessmeasurements with laboratory stiffness and otherdata, to assess suitability of lightweight portablegages; updated construction installationspecifications that utilize field-measured soilstiffness of embedment and backfill material toverify structural suitability

TRB AFF70, Culverts and HydraulicStructures:

Use of Field-Measured Soil Stiffness in CulvertBackfill Installation Quality Control

13

READINESS: Research for better understandingof complex buried soil-pipe systems; lightweightportable gages available for rapid measurements

PRODUCT: Standard test method andspecifications for use of field-measured soilstiffness in pipe backfill installations

FUNDING / PERIOD: $250,000 / 24 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 2, Optimizing StructuralSystems

TRB AFF70, Culverts and HydraulicStructures:

Use of Field-Measured Soil Stiffness in CulvertBackfill Installation Quality Control, continued

14

GOAL: Prefabricated hybrid concrete/FRPsubstructure systems with minimum 75-yearservice life and minimum maintenance

NEEDED: Innovative prefabricated concrete-filled FRP-tube substructures, with durableconnection details and FRP acting as formwork,structural reinforcement, and environmentalprotective jacket for concrete

TRB AFF80, Fiber-Reinforced Polymers:Rapid Construction of Prefabricated Substructure

Systems for Durable and Sustainable Bridges

15

READINESS: Increased need for rapidconstruction; research findings show potential;recent construction projects with SIP FRP forms

PRODUCT: Design and construction guidelinesand specifications for prefabricated concrete-filledFRP-tube substructure systems

FUNDING / PERIOD: $600,000 / 30 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 2, Optimizing StructuralSystems

TRB AFF80, Fiber-Reinforced Polymers:Rapid Construction of Prefabricated Substructure

Systems for Durable and Sustainable Bridges,continued

16

GOAL: Full-penetration weld non-destructiveevaluation (NDE) techniques that are optimizedfor service and production

NEEDED: Weld metal quality that is suitable forin-service performance of steel bridge splices;comparison of quality measurement byradiography (RT) and ultrasonic testing (UT);suitability of automatic and semi-automatic UT;optimal NDE sampling rate

TRB AFH70, Fabrication and Inspection ofMetal Structures:

Improved Non-Destructive Evaluation of FullPenetration Steel Bridge Welds

17

READINESS: Automatic and semi-automatic UTtechniques are mature and use in other industriesincluding overseas bridge fabricators

PRODUCT: Serviceability-based acceptance /rejection criteria; guidelines for use of semi-automatic UT inspection; sampling criteria

FUNDING / PERIOD: $600,000 / 36 months

GRAND CHALLENGE: 2, Optimizing StructuralSystems

TRB AFH70, Fabrication and Inspection ofMetal Structures:

Improved Non-Destructive Evaluation of FullPenetration Steel Bridge Welds, continued

18

GOAL: 3D design that generates a data model forimproved design, fabrication, construction andmaintenance

NEEDED: Bridge unified modeling language(bridgeUML) diagrams and corresponding bridgeextensible markup language (bridgeXML)schema to support electronic data exchange forinteroperability throughout the design, fabrication,erection, and in-service functions

Bridge Information Modeling for the Lifecycle

19

READINESS: Modeling and data transfer is usedin other structures arenas; industry wants todevelopment technology for the bridge market

PRODUCT: Unified Modeling Language (UML)data model for bridges; bridgeXML schema forthe bridge life-cycle

FUNDING / PERIOD: 4 years / $600,000

GRAND CHALLENGE: 3, AcceleratingConstruction; 5 Monitoring Condition

Bridge Information Modeling for the Lifecycle,continued