Book Description

The program of dynamic tests conducted on the bridges of the AASHO road test at Ottawa, Illinois studied the dynamic effects produced in test bridges under moving vehicles and related the observed behavior to the results predicted by theory. The experimental setup consisted of actual heavy vehicles and full-scale bridges, although the bridges were to an extent simplified models. Loading tests were made on bridges both with stationary and slowly moving vehicles, to determine the stiffness of the bridges at various stages, and study the lateral distribution of effects in order to determine to what extent the test bridges behaved as a beam, which was an assumption involved in the theoretical solutions used to predict the dynamic behavior. Results are presented of approximately 1900 dynamic tests.