A Guide for the Field Testing of Bridges

The history and present use of bridge testing are reviewed. The benefits of bridge testing include safety and reliability, the money saved by not constructing a new bridge, the improvement of bridge analysis and design procedures, the development of new bridge measurements as a load survey tool, and the maintenance of testing procedures as an integral part of inventory and rating. Bridge tests are used to determine load distribution, ultimate load, load history, and dynamic response. Both highway and railroad bridges are explored, and the examples of bridges tested include: steel, concrete, aluminum, orthotropic plate decks, suspension spans, rigid frame, timber and prestressed concrete. Tests which evaluate cracks and hardness are examined. Steps for testing transducers, signal conditioning and amplification, and data recording and processing are described. The text was prepared by the ASCE working committee on Safety of Bridges under the Technical Committee on Structural Safety and Reliability.