Infrastructure Inspection During and After Unexpected Events - Phase V

During and after natural disasters, cities experience chaos when emergency responders have difficulty localizing and quantifying the intensity of damage to civil infrastructures and estimating the loading capacity of bridges at a time when citizens’ safety and wellbeing are in danger. A physical model of a scaled highway bridge, a damage detection methodology, a finite element model updating scheme, and a bridge loading capacity predictor based on crossing traffic for dry conditions were developed in previous works. Ongoing work to develop a bridge loading capacity predictor based on flood severity has shown a significant effect of hydraulic added mass (HAM) on the bridge superstructure, especially at resonance frequencies. The objective of this proposed work is to quantify the effect of HAM numerically and experimentally on bridge loading capacity during flooding events, and to investigate the possibility of adding HAM effects to the current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) formulas imposed due to the flood surge and wave. The research for developing this work comprises the following steps: (A) use the commercial software ANSYS to compute HAM on bridges and quantify its effects upon resonance; (B) test/validate HAM effects on a simplified bridge superstructure using lab experiments; and (C) explore the possibility of adjusting AASHTO formulas to consider HAM. The long-term goal of this project is to integrate damage detection methodologies with computer finite element modeling and updating, bridge loading capacity under flood, and weather forecasting software, such as the Iowa Flooding Information System (IFIS), to manage and determine the loading capacity and suitability of highway systems for the transportation of critical and hazardous materials during and after an extreme flooding event.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Completed
  • Funding: $167163
  • Contract Numbers:

    69A3551747107

  • Sponsor Organizations:

    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

    University Transportation Centers Program
    Department of Transportation
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Managing Organizations:

    Mid-America Transportation Center

    University of Nebraska-Lincoln
    2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
    Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0851
  • Project Managers:

    Stearns, Amy

  • Performing Organizations:

    University of Iowa, Iowa City

    IIHR- Hydroscience & Engineering
    307 C. Maxwell Stanley Hydraulics Lab
    Iowa City, Iowa  United States  52242
  • Principal Investigators:

    Rahmatalla, Salam

  • Start Date: 20220101
  • Expected Completion Date: 20221231
  • Actual Completion Date: 20221231
  • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
  • Source Data: RiP Project 91994-98

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01844446
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
  • Contract Numbers: 69A3551747107
  • Files: UTC, RIP
  • Created Date: Apr 30 2022 11:41AM