Nebraska LTAP
Date of this Version
6-2022
Document Type
Article
Citation
Wood, R.L., Nasimi, M., Yang, B., Wittich, C.E., Steelman, J.S., Puckett, J.A., Linzer, D.G., Zhu, J., Mohammadi, M.E. (June 2022). "Outdoor Laboratory and Testbed for Bridge Health". NDOT Research Report SPR-PI(20) M107.
Abstract
Due to the aging problem of bridges and the limited financial resources in the United States, it is necessary to form a deeper understanding of existing, aging bridges in an effort to extend their in-service life. To address this problem, researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and engineers from the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) identified three, out-of-service bridges (two steel and one concrete) to establish the Nebraska Outdoor Bridge Lab (NOBL). As the first step in NOBL’s development, geometric surveys of the current condition of each bridge were produced using lidar and Structure-from-Motion (SfM). This data contributed to the generation of finite element analysis models for each bridge, which were used to anticipate bridge response under various loading patterns, and were validated using measured ambient vibration tests. Live load demonstrations were further performed for each bridge under various traffic loads. Geometric data, finite element models, and the results of the live load demonstrations are detailed in this report and are available for use by researchers and practitioners utilizing the NOBL facility moving forward. Additional potential uses of the NOBL facility are included along with areas for further research as concluding remarks in this report.