Development of a Portable Stress Measurement Instrument

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program Final Report 179: Development of a Portable Stress Measurement Instrument explores the development of an ultrasonic stress measurement (USM) instrument for bridge engineers. The instrument provides a practical method to measure total stress for in-service steel bridges. The total stress measured includes dead load, residual, and live load stresses. This new technology enables analysis of the structural adequacy of bridge members in ways not possible using conventional technologies.