Date of Graduation

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

Karl E Barth

Committee Co-Chair

Gregory K Michaelson

Committee Member

PV Vijay

Committee Member

Yoojung Yoon

Abstract

The Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) is a group of bridge and culvert industry leaders (including steel manufacturers, fabricators, service centers, coaters, researchers, and representatives of related associations and government organizations) who have joined together to provide educational information on the design and construction of short span steel bridges in installations up to 140 feet in length. Arguably, one of the crowning achievements of SSSBA is the development and implementation of a series of short-span steel bridge design standards. eSPAN140 is a complimentary web-based design tool which provides customized steel solutions for bridges up to 140 feet.;Working with members of SSSBA, the Secondary Roads Department of Buchanan County, Iowa, headed by Brian Keierlieber, P.E., agreed to be the first owner agency to utilize eSPAN140 to design and construct a short span steel bridge, specifically the new V-65 Jesup South Bridge in Jesup, Iowa. Various members of SSSBA volunteered time, materials, and expertise to assist in delivering the first documented short-span bridge designed using eSPAN140. In addition, the demonstration served significant research objectives: data collected from field investigations during deck casting as well as during live load testing will serve as analytical benchmarks for future analytical studies in short-span steel bridge behavior.;The scope of this thesis is to discuss the development of eSPAN140 and its associated design standards along with how eSPAN140 was utilized during its first documented application, the V-65 Jesup South Bridge. In addition, a comprehensive overview of the experimental and analytical testing program is provided, along with a presentation of testing results. As discussed, it is clear that eSPAN140 is quite capable of producing efficient and economical solutions in the short-span range. This efficiency and economy stems largely from the use of commonly available plate and member sizes and the standardization of designs. For this project, eSPAN140 provided all the necessary parameters for county engineers to refine and synthesize an effective short-span steel bridge design.

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