Road Bridge Conditions To Be Assessed With Grant Money Awarded To WSU
DETROIT (WWJ) - A two-year grant to study the viability of Michigan's road bridges has been awarded to a Wayne State University associate professor.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded a $278,000 grant to Chris Eamon, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.
State officials have engaged the College of Engineering researcher in their effort to make roads and highways safer.
Diagonal cracks may indicate that allowable concrete shear stresses have been exceeded, Eamon said, and may or may not be significant. He noted that reinforcing steel and draped prestressing cables are placed inside bridge girders to carry a portion of the shear force as well.
"Clearly, you don't want the concrete cracking," he said. "That allows water to penetrate and deterioration to occur. It also indicates that previous design methods might not be properly accounting for the actual strength of or expected loads on the structure."
His team's job is to determine if the structures in question have significant shear cracks, and, if so, to determine the cause and make recommendations on how to repair them, as well as to make recommendations on design procedures.
