• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.561-577
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• 2015

The main objective of this paper is to study the dynamic load allowance (DLA) calculation methods for bridges according to the dynamic response curve. A simply-supported concrete bridge with a smooth road surface was taken as an example. A half-vehicle model was employed to calculate the dynamic response of deflection and bending moment in the mid-span section under different vehicle speeds using the vehicle-bridge coupling method. Firstly, DLAs from the conventional methods and code provisions were analyzed and critically evaluated. Then, two improved computing approaches for DLA were proposed. In the first approach, the maximum dynamic response and its corresponding static response or its corresponding minimum response were selected to calculate DLA. The second approach utilized weighted average method to take account of multi-local DLAs. Finally, the DLAs from two approaches were compared with those from other methods. The results show that DLAs obtained from the proposed approaches are greater than those from the conventional methods, which indicate that the current conventional methods underestimate the dynamic response of the structure. The authors recommend that the weighted average method based on experiments be used to compute DLAs because it can reflect the vehicle's whole impact on the bridge.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.3A
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• pp.305-313
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• 2008

A reliability based calibration of dynamic load allowance (DLA) of highway bridge is performed by numerical dynamic analysis of various types of bridges taking into account of the road surface roughness and bridge-vehicle interaction. A total of 10 simply supported bridges with three girder types in the form of prestressed concrete girder, steel plate girder, and steel box girder is analyzed. The cross sections recommended in "The Standardized Design of Highway Bridge Superstructure" by the Korean Ministry of Construction are used for the prestressed concrete girder bridges and steel plate girder bridges while the box girder bridges are designed by the LRFD method. Ten sets of road surface roughness for each bridge are generated from power spectral density (PSD) function by assuming the roadway as "Average Road". A three dimensionally modeled 5-axle tractor-trailer with its gross weight the same as that of DB-24 design truck is used in the dynamic analysis. For the finite element modeling of superstructure, beam elements for the main girder, shell elements for concrete deck, and rigid links between main girder and concrete deck are used. The statistical mean and coefficient of variation of DLA are obtained from a total of 100 DLA results for 10 different bridges with each having 10 sets of road surface roughness. Applying the DLA statistics obtained, the DLA is finally calibrated in a reliability based LRFD format by using the formula developed in the calibration of OHBDC code.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.111-135
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• 2015

Bridge behavior under passing traffic loads has been studied for the past 50 years. This paper presents how to model congestion on bridges and how the maximum dynamic stress of bridges change during the passing of moving vehicles. Most current research is based on mid-span dynamic effects due to traffic load and most bridge codes define a factor called the dynamic load allowance (DLA), which is applied to the maximum static moment under static loading. This paper presents an algorithm to solve the governing equation of the bridge as well as the equations of motions of two real European trucks with different speeds, simultaneously. It will be shown, considering congestion in eight case studies, the maximum dynamic stress and how far from the mid-span it occurs during the passing of one or two trucks with different speeds. The congestion effect on the maximum dynamic stress of bridges can make a significant difference in the magnitude. By finite difference method, it will be shown that where vehicle speeds are considerably higher, for example in the case of railway bridges which have more than one railway line or in the case of multiple lane highway bridges where congestion is probable, current designing codes may predict dynamic stresses lower than actual stresses; therefore, the consequences of a full length analysis must be used to design safe bridges.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.50-60
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• 2013

Dynamic response of steel plate girder bridges by KL-510 design truck in KHBDC considering the road surface roughness of bridges and bridge-vehicle interaction is investigated. Simply supported steel plate girder bridges with span length of 20m, 30m, and 40m from "Standard Highway Bridge Superstructure" published by the Korean Ministry of Construction are used for a bridge model, and ten sets of the road surface roughness of bridge deck are generated from power spectral density (PSD) function by assuming the roadway as "Average Road". A three dimensionally modeled 5-axle tractor-trailer with its gross weight, which is the same as that of KL-510 design truck, is used for dynamic analysis. For the finite element modeling of superstructure, beam element for the main girder, shell element for the concrete deck, and rigid link between main girder and concrete deck are used. Impact factor and DLA of steel plate girder bridges for different span are calculated by the proposed numerical analysis model and compared with those specified by several bridge codes.