U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
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| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-007 Date: January 2016 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-007 Date: January 2016 |
The LTBP protocols are intended to be living documents, growing as the program progresses. The framework hierarchy presented allows for this growth. The publication of the protocols will be in stages. Though the exact frequency of issuing additional versions is not yet established, the LTBP Program will issue periodic updates, which will include additional protocols and changes to previously published protocols. When possible, between major releases, additions and changes will be posted on the LTBP Web site.
The first publication covers the following subject areas (table 3):
Table 3. Index of Version 1 LTBP Program Protocols.
| Primary Group | Secondary Group | Tertiary Group | # | Protocol Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRE | ED (Existing Documentation) | BD (Bridge Documentation) | 001 | Plans and Specifications for Bridge Design and Construction |
| 002 | Bridge Construction Records | |||
| 003 | Bridge Design and Construction Cost Data | |||
| 004 | Bridge Site Conditions | |||
| 005 | Bridge Inspection Records | |||
| 006 | Bridge Maintenance Records and Cost Data | |||
| 007 | Calculations of Bridge Ratings | |||
| LD (Legacy Data Mining) | 001 | Legacy Data Mining for Untreated Bridge Decks | ||
| PL (Preliminary Planning and Logistics) | LO (Logistics) | 001 | Reference Bridge Testing | |
| 002 | Cluster Bridge Testing | |||
| 003 | Traffic Control, Maintenance and Protection of Traffic (MPT), and Permits | |||
| 004 | Personal Health and Safety Plan | |||
| 005 | Personnel Qualifications | |||
| 006 | Power and Network Requirements | |||
| 007 | Communication and Coordination Plan | |||
| FLD | OP (Onsite Pretest Activities) | SP (Site Preparedness) | 001 | Site Preparation |
| SC (Spatial Context) | 001 | Data Collection Grid and Coordinate System for Bridge Decks | ||
| 002 | Structure Segmentation and Element Identification System | |||
| 003 | Determination of Local Origins for Elements | |||
| DC (Field Data Collection) | PH (Photography) | 001 | Photography Equipment Requirements | |
| 002 | Photographing for Documentation Purposes | |||
| 003 | Image Naming | |||
| MS (Material Sampling) | 001 | Wet Coring of Concrete Decks | ||
| 002 | Compressive Strength and Static and Dynamic Elastic Moduli of Concrete Cores | |||
| 003 | Resistance of Concrete to Chloride Ion Penetration (Permeability) | |||
| 004 | Sampling and Testing for Chloride Profiles | |||
| NDE (Nondestructive Evaluation) | 001 | Electrical Resistivity Testing | ||
| 002 | Ground Penetrating Radar Testing for Bridge Decks | |||
| 003 | Half-Cell Potential Testing | |||
| 004 | Impact Echo Testing | |||
| 005 | Linear Polarization Resistance Testing | |||
| 006 | Dye Penetrant Testing | |||
| 007 | Ultrasonic Surface Wave Testing—Concrete | |||
| 008 | Ultrasonic Testing—Steel Fatigue Cracking | |||
| VIS (Visual Inspection—Steel Elements) | 001 | Steel Superstructure Deterioration | ||
| 002 | Steel Superstructure—Corrosion | |||
| 003 | Steel Superstructure—Section Loss | |||
| 004 | Steel Superstructure—Cracking, Deflection, Uplift, Distortion, Buckling, Rotation, and Impact Damage | |||
| VIC (Visual Inspection—Concrete Bridge Elements) | 001 | Concrete Deterioration | ||
| 002 | Concrete Substructure Condition Assessment | |||
| 003 | Concrete Deck—Spalls and Delamination | |||
| 004 | Concrete Superstructure and Substructure—Spalls and Delamination | |||
| 005 | Concrete—Cracking | |||
| 006 | Concrete—Abrasion | |||
| 007 | Concrete—Sulfate Attack | |||
| VIB (Visual Inspection—Bearings) | 001 | Elastomeric Bearings | ||
| 002 | Rocker Bearings | |||
| VIJ (Visual Inspection—Joints) | 001 | Drainage System on Bridge Decks and Approach Slabs | ||
| 002 | Expansion Joints | |||
| DS (Data Storage) | LS (Local Storage) | 001 | Data, Document, and Image Storage—Local | |
| RS (Remote Storage) | 001 | Data, Document, and Image Storage—Remote |
Future versions of this report will cover the following topics, but may not be limited to these additions:
The bridges studied in the LTBP Program will undergo an initial round of evaluation, testing, and material characterization to establish baseline knowledge of the bridges’ condition and behavior. Over time, these bridges will be reevaluated and retested, and the changes in values of the data collected will be used to document and analyze various aspects of the performance of bridges.
The overarching goal of the protocols is to ensure LTBP data are collected using scientifically sound methods that are applied uniformly regardless of when, where, or by whom the data are collected and then to ensure that the data collected are reduced and accessible within the LTBP Program Bridge Portal where it can be confidently used by LTBP Program researchers and others for years to come to better understand bridge performance. Given this, the protocols are more than a document that provides instructions for implementing various data collection techniques in a consistent manner. The LTBP Program protocols represent a comprehensive and continuous documentation of the entire LTBP Program, from selecting a structure, through onsite data collection, and ultimately answering the guiding questions associated with the top performance issues identified by the stakeholders.
This report includes the first version of the LTBP Program protocols for documentation of legacy data, onsite pretest activities, visual inspection, sampling and testing of concrete materials, nondestructive testing of bridge elements, and data storage. As the program proceeds, additional protocols will be developed to cover other activities necessary for data collection, management, processing, and analysis. Also, as the LTBP Program goes forward, experience may lead to improvements in the way the protocols are written and applied. Proper care will be taken to ensure that future changes in the protocols do not invalidate data collected using previous versions.
