Structures Laboratory Fact Sheet

FHWA-HRT-04-089

This fact sheet presents the purpose, description, major components, accomplishments, current activities, future actives, and partners and customers of the Structures Laboratory at FHWA's TFHRC.

TFHRC Technical Reference Center and www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/07060/index.cfm

Office of Infrastructure R&D

FHWA-HRT-04-118

The Office of Infrastructure R&D continually improves infrastructure-related technology through research, development, and testing; through an outreach process to identify future targets of opportunity; and with the pursuit of advanced research initiatives. This fact sheet discusses Superpave; High-Performance Paving System (HIPERPAV™); high-performance, steel bridge materials; ultra high-performance concrete, horizontally curved steel girder bridges, nondestructive evaluation of bridges, earthquake protective systems, national bridge coatings qualification testing program, scour evaluations for Woodrow Wilson Bridge, LTPPBind, DataPave Online, and the Distress Identification Manual for Long-Term Pavement Performance Program (Fourth Revised Edition-FHWA-RD-03-031)

www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/04118/index.cfm

Transportation Asset Management System for Roadway Safety: Idaho's Guardrail Management System

FHWA-HRT-05-055

The Idaho Transportation Department has implemented a new video logging system using state-of-the-art digital photo imaging data called the "GRail" to address the maintenance and safety of guardrails. This fact sheet explains how the system works.

TFHRC Technical Reference Center and www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/05055/index.cfm

Hydraulics Laboratory Fact Sheet

FHWA-HRT-05-061

This fact sheet covers accomplishments, major components, expertise, description, and the purpose of the Hydraulics Laboratory. The laboratory's partners are also listed.

TFHRC Technical Reference Center

Paint and Corrosion Laboratory Fact Sheet

FHWA-HRT-05-064

The mission of the Paint and Corrosion Laboratory is to provide technical support to the Office of Infrastructure Research and Development (R&D) to develop and analyze the effectiveness of innovative coatings test procedures while evaluating the durability of new coating systems, especially environmentally compliant materials for the corrosion protection of steel bridges. Description, special capabilities, accomplishments, and services are listed, along with contact information.

TFHRC Technical Reference Center and www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/05064/index.cfm

Highway Safety Information System: An Examination of Fault, Unsafe Driving Acts, and Total Harm in Car-Truck Collisions

FHWA-HRT-04-085

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has given high priority to research regarding collisions between large trucks (gross vehicle weight > 4,540 kilograms (10,000 pounds)) and other vehicles on the roadway. This research aims to improve knowledge about the high-risk behaviors of truck and passenger vehicle (car) drivers.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/humanfac/04085/index.cfm

Highway Safety Information System Summary Report: Safety Effects of Using Narrow Lanes and Shoulder-Use Lanes to Increase the Capacity of Urban Freeways

FHWA-HRT-05-001

As traffic volumes grow on urban freeways, highway agencies face an ongoing challenge to maintain efficient traffic operations and acceptable levels of service. Increasing the capacity of a freeway by adding a lane can be difficult and expensive if it involves widening the existing roadbed, regrading roadside areas, and/or acquiring additional rights-of-way. A number of highway agencies, however, have implemented projects in which a travel lane is added on an urban freeway by restriping the traveled way with narrower lanes, converting all or part of the shoulder to a travel lane, or a combination of both. The traffic operational benefits of such conversions are immediate and obvious, but the safety effects are uncertain. This study addresses these safety effects.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/05001/index.cfm

Enhanced Abutment Scour Studies for Compound Channels

FHWA-RD-99-156

Experimental results and analyses are given in this report on bridge abutment scour in compound channels. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory flume with a cross section consisting of a wide floodplain adjacent to a main channel. The embankment length, discharge, sediment size, and abutment shape were varied, and the resulting equilibrium scour depths were measured. Water-surface profiles, velocities, and scour-hole contours also were measured. In the report, a methodology for estimating abutment scour is developed that takes into account the redistribution of discharge in the bridge contraction, abutment shape, sediment size, and tailwater depth. The independent variables in the proposed scour formula are evaluated at the approach-channel cross section and can be obtained from a one-dimensional water-surface profile computer program such as the Water-Surface Profile Program (WSPRO). The proposed scour evaluation procedure is outlined and illustrated, including consideration of the time required to reach equilibrium scour. The proposed methodology is applied to two cases of measured scour in the field.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/99156/

Development and Field Testing of Multiple Deployment Model Pile

FHWA-RD-99-194

A model pile is a calibrated tool equipped with instrumentation capable of monitoring the pile/soil interaction over the pile history. Monitoring includes the installation, pore pressure dissipation combined with consolidation and soil pressure equalization, and ultimately the pile behavior under loading and failure. The model pile installation and soil-structure interaction simulate the actual field conditions of full-scale piles. As such, the obtained information can be utilized directly (e.g., skin friction) or extrapolated (e.g., pore pressure dissipation time) to predict the soil's response during full-scale pile installation.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/99194/index.cfm

Field Observations and Evaluations of Streambed Scour at Bridges

FHWA-RD-03-052

The variability and complexity of site conditions make it difficult to develop methodology for predicting scour at bridges. Laboratory investigations often oversimplify or ignore many complexities common in the filed. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and many State highway agencies, has collected and compiled field data on scour at bridges at 79 sites located in 17 States. These data have been analyzed to isolate pier scour, contraction scour, and abutment scour.

TFHRC Technical Reference Center

Bridge Scour in Nonuniform Sediment Mixtures and in Cohesive Materials: Synthesis Report

FHWA-RD-03-083

This report presents the summary and synthesis of the various components of the experimental study entitled "Effects of Gradation and Cohesion on Bridge Scour" conducted at Colorado State University from 1991 through 1996.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/03083/

Guidelines for Ultrasonic Inspection of Hanger Pins

FHWA-HRT-04-042

A failed hanger pin initiated the tragic collapse of one span of the Mianus River Bridge in Greenwich, CT on June 28, 1983, resulting in the deaths of three motorists. Following the collapse, there was an immediate increase of interest in the inspection and condition evaluation of bridge hanger pins. Ultrasonic inspection has become the primary method of performing detailed inspection of inservice hanger pins. The document describes the fundamentals of ultrasonic testing and general inspection requirements that can be used by State transportation agencies or by others performing ultrasonic hanger pin inspection. In addition, five hanger pins with known defects were inspected to emphasize and more completely explain some important aspects of ultrasonic hanger pin inspection.

www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/04042/index.cfm

Covered Bridge Manual

FHWA-HRT-04-098

This manual provides guidance to those involved with all aspects of work related to covered bridges, from initial inspection and evaluation, through the engineering of rehabilitation, to construction issues. This manual covers general terminology and historic development of covered bridges. It also addresses loads, structural analysis, connections, and design issues.

TFHRC Technical Reference Center

Protocol for Selecting ASR-Affected Structures for Lithium Treatment

FHWA-HRT-04-113

This document describes a protocol for evaluating damaged structures to determine whether they are suitable candidates for lithium treatment to address alkali-silica reaction (ASR). A major part of this report deals with the approach/tools that can be used to determine whether ASR is the principal cause or only a contributing factor to the observed deterioration (diagnosis), determine the extent of deterioration due to ASR in the structure, and evaluate the potential for future expansion due to ASR (prognosis). Finally, the report lists items to be included in the proposal that will be submitted for selecting structures for lithium treatment.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/pccp/04113/index.cfm