Monitoring Vertical Loads on the Bearings of the High Coast Suspension Bridge

Abstract:

Inspections of Sweden’s longest suspension bridge, the approximately ten years old High Coast Suspension Bridge, have shown that the main bridge bearings have been seriously affected by wear. A monitoring program was therefore initiated in 2005 to measure actual vertical loads acting on the bearings as well as the tension in the first hangers of the bridge. This article describes the instrumentation and the calibration process. Interesting results from several months of monitoring are presented. Results show that the measured loads on the bearings due to permanent loads are in very good agreement with what was predicted during design. However, very large loads and large dynamic effects were registered from passing lorries.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volumes 413-414)
• Pages: 401-405
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.413-414.401
• Online since: June 2009
• Authors: Raid Karoumi, Knut Svedjetun, Staffan Gilliusson
• Keywords: Bridge Bearing, Dynamic, Monitoring, Traffic Load, Wear, WIM

References

[1] R. Karoumi, G. James, F. Myrvoll and L. Lundh: Monitoring the structural behaviour of the new Svinesund bridge, In Eurodyn 2005, September 4-7, Paris, France.

[2] J. Wiberg and R. Karoumi: Monitoring dynamic behaviour of a long-span railway bridge, Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, February 04, (2008).

DOI: 10.1080/15732470701478578

[3] H. Sundquist and R. Karoumi: Evaluation of forces in the high-coast suspension bridge hangers, Technical Report 2005: 12, Structural Design and Bridges, ISSN 1404-8450, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, 2005. (in Swedish).

[4] R. Karoumi, S. Trillkott, C. Kullberg and H. Sundquist: Continuous monitoring of forces on bearing on the high-coast suspension bridge, Technical Report 2006: 6, Structural Design and Bridges, ISSN 1404-8450, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, 2006. (in Swedish).