Live support chatSuspension Bridge: Basic and Advanced Concepts and Structural Evaluation (Webinar)
Credit: 7 PDH
Subject Matter Expert: Avinash Prasad, P.E., PLS, PP, PhD, Fellow ASCE
Type: Live Interactive Webinar
In Suspension Bridge: Basic and Advanced Concepts and Structural Evaluation, you'll learn ...
- The major components of a suspension bridge and how suspension bridges compare to other types of bridges
- Suspension bridge inspection methods, including the benefits of NDT compared to conventional visual inspection
- Suspension bridge structural failure causes and mitigations
- Rail-specific information that is relevant to structural evaluation of suspension bridges carrying railroad traffic and/or vehicular traffic
Overview
A suspension bridge is a special type of bridge in which loads from the bridge deck are carried by vertical suspenders that are supported by suspension cables suspended between towers and anchored at both ends of the bridge.
Many suspension bridges throughout the U.S. and around the world are showing signs of distress due to aging and improper repair or rehabilitation or lack of proper maintenance. Extending the service life of aging suspension bridges is very important for the transportation industry.
In the first half of this webinar, you’ll learn basic concepts in the field of suspension bridges. We begin by defining the major components of a bridge with an emphasis on suspension bridges. The webinar will also cover the structural evaluation of a bridge, the uniqueness of suspension bridges in comparison to other types of bridges and how to increase the service life of a suspension bridge.
Normally visual inspections (including 100% hands-on inspection of fracture critical fatigue prone details) are done for structural evaluation of critical components of a suspension bridge. The concept of NDT (non-destructive testing) as applied to suspension bridges and the benefits of NDT compared to conventional visual inspection will be discussed along with innovative structural evaluation techniques for suspension bridges.
The various concepts of FLAGS (Structural and Safety) along with various types of inspections of suspension bridges will be discussed with illustrative examples.
The second half of the webinar covers advanced concepts in the field of suspension bridges. Structural failure of a suspension bridge may be a combination of poor design, construction, maintenance, failure to thoroughly inspect fracture-critical and fatigue-prone details, severe weather conditions or a combination of all these factors.
The webinar includes defining fracture-critical and fatigue-prone details along with a comparison of highway and railroad loading on suspension bridges. The discussion reviews the reasons for structural failure of suspension bridges and structural problems of New York state suspension bridges carrying highway and railroad traffic.
Suspension bridges are more susceptible to vibration due to flexibility compared to other rigid bridges. In design, there are variations in the type of vehicular and railroad live load. The dynamic effect of railroad traffic is more significant than vehicular traffic on a suspension bridge. Railroad traffic can be allowed on a suspension bridge under specific circumstances. The webinar includes rail-specific information that is relevant to structural evaluation of suspension bridges carrying railroad traffic and/or vehicular traffic.
A special topic is included on bridge assets management (BAM) along with its need for safe and efficient management of bridge systems. The discussion will include risk rating and condition rating and correlation between condition rating and risk rating. Additional details include Weibull distribution function and how statistical data analysis is performed using the Weibull distribution function. One of the special features of BAM is the use of Bridge Maintenance Agency decision makers in forecasting the degradation rate of their bridge system. This webinar will cover existing/new structural evaluation techniques of suspension bridges based on the instructor’s personal structural evaluation experience of high-rise suspension bridges.
Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- The major components of a suspension bridge
- What is structural evaluation of a bridge?
- Uniqueness of suspension bridges in comparison to other types of bridges
- How to increase the service life of a suspension bridge
- Concept of FLAGS
- Various types of inspections of suspension bridges
- NDT (non-destructive testing) as applied to suspension bridges
- Benefits of NDT (non-destructive testing) compared to conventional inspection
- Fracture-critical and fatigue-prone details of a suspension bridge
- Comparison of highway and railroad loading on suspension bridges
- Reasons for structural failure of suspension bridges
- Structural problems of New York state suspension bridges carrying highway and railroad traffic
- Innovative structural evaluation techniques of suspension bridges
- What is bridge asset management (BAM) and why is it required?
- The limitations of the current/previous BAM
- What is risk rating and condition rating in BAM?
- Correlation between condition rating and risk rating
- What is a Weibull distribution function?
- How statistical data analysis is performed using the Weibull distribution function
- How earlier research can be used by Bridge Maintenance Agency decision makers in forecasting the degradation rate of their bridge systems
PDH Credits
Webinars earn PDH credits for engineers in all jurisdictions, unless otherwise stated in the literature for a specific webinar, and are accepted as "live" courses by engineering boards with a requirement for "live" training.
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| This course is applicable to professional engineers in: | ||
| Alabama (P.E.) | Alaska (P.E.) | Arkansas (P.E.) |
| Delaware (P.E.) | District of Columbia (P.E.) | Florida (P.E. Area of Practice) |
| Georgia (P.E.) | Idaho (P.E.) | Illinois (P.E.) |
| Illinois (S.E.) | Indiana (P.E.) | Iowa (P.E. - Live Course) |
| Kansas (P.E.) | Kentucky (P.E.) | Louisiana (P.E.) |
| Maine (P.E.) | Maryland (P.E.) | Michigan (P.E.) |
| Minnesota (P.E.) | Mississippi (P.E.) | Missouri (P.E.) |
| Montana (P.E.) | Nebraska (P.E.) | Nevada (P.E.) |
| New Hampshire (P.E.) | New Jersey (P.E.) | New Mexico (P.E.) |
| New York (P.E.) | North Carolina (P.E.) | North Dakota (P.E.) |
| Ohio (P.E. Timed & Monitored) | Oklahoma (P.E.) | Oregon (P.E.) |
| Pennsylvania (P.E.) | South Carolina (P.E.) | South Dakota (P.E.) |
| Tennessee (P.E.) | Texas (P.E.) | Utah (P.E.) |
| Vermont (P.E.) | Virginia (P.E.) | West Virginia (P.E.) |
| Wisconsin (P.E. Live Course) | Wyoming (P.E.) | |
PDH Credits
Webinars earn PDH credits for engineers in all jurisdictions, unless otherwise stated in the literature for a specific webinar, and are accepted as "live" courses by engineering boards with a requirement for "live" training.
More Info...
For more webinar information, click the following topics.
How Webinars Work Webinars for Groups
