Critical normal traffic loading for flexure of skew bridges according to TMH7
Date
2013-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
South African Institution of Civil Engineering
Abstract
Different types of loading due to traffic may act on bridges. The focus of this paper is on normal
traffic loading according to the South African specification TMH7 (Committee of State Road
Authorities 1988). TMH7 represents the code of practice for the design of highway bridges and
culverts in South Africa. The aim of the paper is to provide additional insight into the effect of
normal traffic loading patterns on the flexural analysis of skew bridges. This is necessary since
TMH7 does not explicitly specify application patterns for normal traffic loading. Only the intensity
of normal traffic loading is specified and it should be applied to yield the most adverse effects.
In this paper a set of so-called “standard application patterns” are investigated and compared
with the application patterns that yield the most adverse effects. The patterns are compared
for flexural effects in selected design regions of the bridge deck. Numerical experiments were
performed and are presented for a typical single-span bridge deck. The results of the numerical
experiments are compared as the angle of skew of the bridge deck increases.
Description
CITATION: Malan, A. D. & Van Rooyen, G. C. 2013. Critical normal traffic loading for flexure of skew bridges according to TMH7. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 55(3):86-95.
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za
Keywords
Bridges, Highway -- Design and construction, Skew bridges, TMH7, Software development, Finite element analysis
Citation
Malan, A. D. & Van Rooyen, G. C. 2013. Critical normal traffic loading for flexure of skew bridges according to TMH7. Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 55(3):86-95.