ENGINEERING STUDY

BURR ARCH-TRUSS TOWN LATTICE-TRUSS

PINE GROVE BRIDGELANCASTER/CHESTER COUNTIES, PA BROWN BRIDGERUTLAND COUNTY, VT DYLAN LAMAR, HAER ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN, SUMMER 2002 BENJAMIN W. SCHAFER, PH.D., ASST. PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

OVERVIEW
BURR ARCH-TRUSS
ARCH VS. TRUSS BEHAVIOR

TOWN LATTICE-TRUSS
GENERAL BEAM BEHAVIOR STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCY

BURR ARCH-TRUSS
OF PINE GROVE BRIDGE AS BUILT BY CAPTAIN ELIAS MCMELLEN

LETS CONSIDER THE ARCH AND TRUSS SEPARATELY

ARCH BEHAVIOR

Forces of Arch Elements under Dead Load

TRUSS BEHAVIOR

Force Diagram of Truss Elements under Dead Load

ARCH-TRUSS BEHAVIOR

Forces in Arch-Truss under Dead + Mid-span Live Load

Arch carries significantly higher forces than truss. Forces in lower chord of the truss significantly reduced.

Arch behavior

Deflection under Mid-span

Deflection under Quarter Point Load

CONCLUSIONS
BURR ARCH-TRUSS IS A SYNERGY OF THE TWO ELEMENTS. THE ARCH IS STRUCTURALLY DOMINANT. HOWEVER, TRUSS IS NECESSARY FOR STABILITY. NO ELEMENT IS OVER-STRESSED BY TODAYS STANDARDS FOR EXPECTED LOADING.

TOWN LATTICE-TRUSS
OF BROWN BRIDGE AS BUILT BY NICHOLS M. POWERS

TRUSS BEHAVIOR FOLLOWS BEAM BEHAVIOR

Diagonals follow Global Shear Chords follow Global Flexure

Axial Force Diagram of Truss Elements under Dead Load

STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCY
Elements placed where most necessary? Member sizes proportional to loads carried?
Bolster Beam Secondary Chord Placement Uniform Diagonals Member Sizing

EFFICIENCY OF BOLSTER BEAM?

BOLSTER BEAM REDUCES STRESS CONCENTRATIONS Decreases Max Stress by 22% (in diagonal) Decreases bottom chord stress by 53%

EFFICIENCY OF SECONDARY CHORD PLACEMENT?

Stress Distribution due to Flexure

Shear Stress Distribution

IN EQUIVALENT SINGLE CHORD MODEL, DEFLECTION DECREASED 20%, BUT MAX STRESS INCREASED 20%. FINAL PLACEMENT PROBABLY DECIDED BY CONSTRUCTION ISSUES.

EFFICIENCY OF DIAGONALS?

MAX STRESSES NOT INCREASED DEFLECTION INCREASES ONLY 3%

EFFICIENCY OF MEMBER SIZING?

CONCLUSIONS
STRONG BALANCE OF STRUCTURAL AND CONSTRUCTIONAL EFFICIENCY. POWERS UNDERSTANDING WENT BEYOND BEAM-ANALOGY. MAX STRESS IS SIGNIFICANTLY OVER-STRESSED BY CURRENT DESIGN STANDARDS. MAX THEORETICAL DEFLECTION OF 0.76 (L/1600) IS IMPRESSIVE.

End.

[ADDITIONAL] Arch-truss behavior

Axial Forces in Arch-Truss under only Mid-span Concentrated Live Load

Archs weakness for concentrated loadings is evidenced by increased proportion of load carried by truss. Chords of the truss resist the moment which would otherwise greatly deform the arch.

DEVIATION FROM BEAM BEHAVIOR

Axial Force Concentration

Bending Moment (Flexure) Concentration

STRESS CONCENTRATIONS AT SUPPORTS