Guide for Orthotropic Steel Deck Level 1 Design

Project Details
STATUS

Completed

PROJECT NUMBER

Proposal #: 693JJ319D000020, TOPR #: HIF200061PR

START DATE

04/01/20

END DATE

12/23/22

FOCUS AREAS

Infrastructure

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, BEC, CTRE
SPONSORS

Federal Highway Administration

Researchers
Principal Investigator
Justin Dahlberg

Director, BEC

Co-Principal Investigator
Brent Phares

Bridge Research Engineer, BEC

About the research

This project is a task order under the main Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)-sponsored project, “Infrastructure Research and Technology Deployment Program.”

This Guide provides bridge engineers and owners with general information and typical details to help standardize orthotropic steel deck (OSD) bridge design/fabrication to make it more competitive. This document does not intend to set a national standard but to help inform the effort through reduced parametric variations.

OSD bridges can be either closed- or open-rib systems, and this Guide begins with background information regarding OSD bridge design.

General considerations with respect to OSD bridges are discussed, followed by specific instructions for closed- and open-rib systems including rib geometry, size, and fabrication methods. Suggestions for deck plate selection are provided followed by a discussion of wearing surface types and selection considerations. Lastly, suggestions for floorbeam/diaphragm design are provided.

Throughout the document, short summaries on the performance of several in-service OSD bridges are provided.

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