Investigation of Dual Grade / Hybrid Steel Plate Girders Utilizing Stainless Steel

The corrosion of steel bridges is an ongoing concern for bridge owners due to maintenance and replacement costs. Recently, there have been successful corrosion resistance tests performed on ASTM A709 Grade 50CR (stainless) steel in plate girder bridges. Before stainless steel’s adoption into ASTM A709 the steel was marketed under ASTM A1010 and has currently been used in 5 states (OR, CA, IA, PA, VA) and Canada. Utilizing stainless steel (Grade 50CR) for the portion of the steel girder near bridge deck joints and Grade 50, 50W, etc. for the remainder of the girder, provides a means to mitigate deterioration in areas exposed to run-off from failed deck joints. Targeting the use of Grade 50CR to portions of the bridge requires bolting or welding stainless steel to conventional steel. The dual grade plate girder created by connecting stainless steel to conventional steel provides a reduction in the life cycle maintenance costs and increases the service life of the steel plate girder bridge. However, the connection of the dual grade plates may be prone to galvanic corrosion or require fabrication processes that differ from conventional plate girder fabrication processes. To take advantage of the corrosion resistant cost savings of a dual grade girder, research is needed to address the galvanic corrosion and fabrication of the dual grade connection. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to examine the feasibility of connecting bridge-construction approved ASTM stainless steel (currently only Grade 50CR is approved) to conventional steel (Grade 36, 50, 50W, etc.) through welding or bolting and to develop guidelines to assist designers and fabricators when connecting stainless steel plates to conventional steel plates in the superstructure of highway bridges. The guidelines would be considered a supplemental document to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Bridge Construction Specifications.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/723

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Programmed
• Funding: $420,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  TPF-5(493)

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Georgia Department of Transportation

  600 West Peachtree St
  Atlanta, GA  United States  30308

  Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

  P.O. Box 94245
  1201 Capitol Access Road
  Baton Rouge, LA  United States  70804-9245

  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

  Keystone Building
  400 North Street
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120

  Delaware Department of Transportation

  800 S Bay Road
  P.O. Box 778
  Dover, DE  United States  19903

  Tennessee Department of Transportation

  James K. Polk Building
  505 Deaderick St
  Nashville, TN  United States  37243-0349

  North Carolina Department of Transportation

  P.O. Box 25201
  1 South Wilmington Street
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27611

  New York State Department of Transportation

  50 Wolf Road
  Albany, NY  United States  12232
• Managing Organizations:

  North Carolina Department of Transportation

  P.O. Box 25201
  1 South Wilmington Street
  Raleigh, NC  United States  27611
• Project Managers:

  Kadibhai, Mustansir

• Start Date: 20260126
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge construction; Bridge design; Bridge superstructures; Load and resistance factor design; Stainless steel; Steel plates; Structural connection
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01833346
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Contract Numbers: TPF-5(493)
• Files: RIP, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 21 2022 6:54PM