TRB Webinar: Evaluating load testing for bridges

The overall structural behavior of a bridge can be determined through load testing. TRB hosted a webinar on Tuesday, February 11, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM Eastern that delved into this topic. The webinar focused on diagnostic load testing and proof load testing, and identified how these tests can help refine the load rating of a bridge.

This webinar was organized by the TRB Standing Committee on Testing and Evaluation of Transportation Structures.

The slides and a recording are available.

Webinar Presenters

• Eva Lantsoght, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
• Jesse Grimson, BDI
• David Yang, Lehigh University
• Ed Zhou, AECOM

Moderated by: Sreenivas Alampalli, New York State Department of Transportation

Webinar Outline

1. General considerations and preparation for load testing
2. Diagnostic load tests
3. Proof load tests
4. Estimating the reliability index and remaining service life after load testing
5. Question and answer session

The first 90 minutes of the webinar will be for presentations and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for audience questions.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify if a load test can meet desired objectives
• Select the appropriate type of load test
• Use the outcome to evaluate bridge structural behavior
• Determine the structural safety of a bridge, quantified by the probability of failure

Professional Development Hour Information

A certificate for 2.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) will be provided to Professional Engineers (PEs) who register and attend the webinar as an individual. For approved webinars, TRB’s webinar program awards Registered Continuing Education Provider (RCEP) Professional Development Hour (PDH) credits associated with participation only to the registered individual and not to other members of a group that view the webinar together. To receive PDH credits, please register as an individual and sign into the webinar from your personal computer. After doing this, you may join your group in a meeting room. To be eligible for the credits, individuals must remain signed in for the entire webinar, including for any question and answer session following the presentations.

Registration is available until just before the webinar starts. Once the webinar starts, you will be unable to submit your registration. Individuals that are registered for a webinar but do not receive their confirmation emails due to their organization’s internal firewalls should contact the TRB Helpdesk for assistance in signing in.

Please check with your licensing board to ensure that TRB webinar PDHs are approved by your board.

This webinar was developed in October 2019. TRB has met the standards and requirements of the Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Credit earned on completion of this program will be reported to RCEP by TRB. Complaints about registered providers may be sent to RCEP, 1015 15th Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005.

Registration questions? Contact Reggie Gillum.