Two books on Load Testing of Bridges

I published two books as an editor on the topic of Load Testing of Bridges: Load Testing of Bridges: Current Practice and Diagnostic Load Testing and Load Testing of Bridges: Proof Load Testing and the Future of Load Testing.

Besides the work involved with contacting all authors and making sure everything gets submitted on time, I also contributed as an author to about half of all chapters in these two books. It’s been a long process (three years in total!), but I’m quite happy with the final product – and extremely grateful to all authors who dedicated time and effort to writing their chapters!

To give you an idea of the breadth of these volumes, I am sharing here the table of contents of the two books:
Part I Background to Bridge Load Testing

Chapter 1 Introduction
Eva O. L. Lantsoght
1.1 Background
1.2 Scope of application
1.3 Aim of this book
1.4 Outline of this book

Chapter 2 History of Load Testing of Bridges
Mohamed K. ElBatanouny, Gregor Schacht and Guido Bolle
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Bridge load testing in Europe
2.3 Bridge load testing in North America
2.4 The potential of load testing for the evaluation of existing structures
2.5 Summary and conclusions
References

Chapter 3 Current Codes and Guidelines
Eva O. L. Lantsoght
3.1 Introduction
3.2 German guidelines
3.3 British guidelines
3.4 Irish guidelines
3.5 Guidelines in the United States
3.6 French guidelines
3.7 Czech Republic and Slovakia
3.8 Spanish guidelines
3.9 Other countries
3.10 Current developments
3.11 Discussion
3.12 Summary
References

Part II Preparation, Execution, and Post-Processing of Load Tests on Bridges

Chapter 4 General Considerations
Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt
4.1 Initial considerations
4.2 Types of load tests, and which type of load test to select
4.3 When to load test a bridge, and when not to load test
4.4 Structure type considerations
4.5 Safety requirements during load testing
4.6 Summary and conclusions
References

Chapter 5 Preparation of Load Tests
Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Determination of test objectives
5.3 Bridge inspection
5.4 Preliminary calculations and development of finite element model
5.5 Planning and preparation of load test
5.6 Summary and conclusions
References

Chapter 6 General Considerations for the Execution of Load Tests
Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Loading equipment
6.3 Measurement equipment
6.4 Practical aspects of execution
6.5 Summary and conclusions
References

Chapter 7 Post-Processing and Bridge Assessment
Eva O. L. Lantsoght and Jacob W. Schmidt
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Post-processing of measurement data
7.3 Updating finite element model with measurement data
7.4 Bridge assessment
7.5 Formulation of recommendations for maintenance or operation
7.6 Recommendations for reporting of load tests
7.7 Summary and conclusions
References 151

Part III Diagnostic Load Testing of Bridges

Chapter 8 Methodology for Diagnostic Load Testing
Eva O. L. Lantsoght, Jonathan Bonifaz, Telmo A. Sanchez and Devin K. Harris
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Preparation of diagnostic load tests
8.3 Procedures for the execution of diagnostic load testing
8.4 Processing diagnostic load testing results
8.5 Evaluation of diagnostic load testing results
8.6 Summary and conclusions
References
Appendix: Determination of Experimental Rating Factor According to Barker

Chapter 9 Example Field Test to Load Rate a Prestressed Concrete Bridge
Eli S. Hernandez and John J. Myers
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Sample bridge description
9.3 Bridge instrumentation plan
9.4 Diagnostic load test program
9.5 Test results
9.6 Girder distribution factors
9.7 Load rating of Bridge A7957 by field load testing
9.8 Recommendations
9.9 Summary
References

Chapter 10 Example Load Test: Diagnostic Testing of a Concrete Bridge with a Large Skew Angle
Mauricio Diaz Arancibia and Pinar Okumus
10.1 Summary
10.2 Characteristics of the bridge tested
10.3 Goals of load testing
10.4 Preliminary analytical model
10.5 Coordination of the load test
10.6 Instrumentation plan
10.7 Data acquisition
10.8 Loading
10.9 Planning and scheduling
10.10 Redundancy and repeatability
10.11 Results
10.12 Conclusions and recommendations
Ackowledgements
References

Chapter 11 Diagnostic Load Testing of Bridges – Background and Examples of Application
Piotr Olaszek and Joan R. Casas
11.1 Background
11.2 Examples of diagnostic load testing
11.3 Conclusions and recommendations for practice
References

Chapter 12 Field Testing of Pedestrian Bridges
Darius Bačinskas, Ronaldas Jakubovskis and Arturas Kilikevičius
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Preparation for testing
12.3 Organization of the tests
12.4 Analysis of test results
12.5 Theoretical modeling of tested bridge
12.6 Concluding remarks
Acknowledgments
References

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Part I Proof Load Testing of Bridges

Chapter 1 Methodology for Proof Load Testing
Eva O. L. Lantsoght
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Determination of target proof load
1.3 Procedures for proof load testing
1.4 Processing of proof load testing results
1.5 Bridge assessment based on proof load tests
1.6 Summary and conclusions
References

Chapter 2 Load Rating of Prestressed Concrete Bridges without Design Plans by Nondestructive Field Testing
David V. Jauregui, Brad D. Weldon, and Carlos V. Aguilar
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Inspection and evaluation procedures
2.3 Case studies
2.4 Conclusions
References

Chapter 3 Example of Proof Load Testing from Europe
Eva O. L. Lantsoght, Dick A. Hordijk, Rutger T. Koekkoek, and Cor van der Veen
3.1 Introduction to viaduct Zijlweg
3.2 Preparation of proof load test
3.3 Execution of proof load test
3.4 Post-processing and rating
3.5 Summary and conclusions
Acknowledgments
References

Part II Testing of Buildings

Chapter 4 Load Testing of Concrete Building Constructions
Gregor Schacht, Guido Bolle, and Steffen Marx
4.1 Historical development of load testing in Europe
4.2 Load testing of existing concrete building constructions
4.3 New developments
4.4 Practical recommendations
4.5 Summary and conclusions
References

Part III Advances in Measurement Techniques for Load Testing

Chapter 5 Digital Image and Video-Based Measurements
Mohamad Alipour, Ali Shariati, Thomas Schumacher, Devin K. Harris, and C. J. Riley
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Digital image correlation (DIC) for deformation measurements
5.3 Eulerian virtual visual sensors (VVS) for natural frequency measurements
5.4 Recommendations for practice
5.5 Summary and conclusions
5.6 Outlook and future trends
Acknowledgments
References

Chapter 6 Acoustic Emission Measurements for Load Testing
Mohamed ElBatanouny, Rafal Anay, Marwa A. Abdelrahman, and Paul Ziehl
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Acoustic emission–based damage identification
6.3 Source location during load tests
6.4 Discussion and recommendations for field applications
References

Chapter 7 Fiber Optics for Load Testing
Joan R. Casas, António Barrias, Gerardo Rodriguez Gutiérrez, and Sergi Villalba
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Distributed optical fibers in load testing
7.3 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References

Chapter 8 Deflection Measurement on Bridges by Radar Techniques
Carmelo Gentile
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Radar technology and the microwave interferometer
8.3 Accuracy and validation of the radar technique
8.4 Static and dynamic tests of a steel-composite bridge
8.5 A challenging application: structural health monitoring of stay cables
8.6 Summary
Acknowledgments
References

Part IV Load Testing in the Framework of Reliability-Based Decision-Making and Bridge Management Decisions

Chapter 9 Reliability-Based Analysis and Life-Cycle Management of Load Tests
Dan M. Frangopol, David Y. Yang, Eva O. L. Lantsoght, and Raphael D. J. M. Steenbergen
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Influence of load testing on reliability index
9.3 Required target load for updating reliability index
9.4 Systems reliability considerations
9.5 Life-cycle cost considerations
9.6 Summary and conclusions
References

Chapter 10 Determination of Remaining Service Life of Reinforced Concrete Bridge Structures in Corrosive Environments after Load Testing
Dimitri V. Val and Mark G. Stewart
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Deterioration of RC structures in corrosive environments
10.3 Reliability-based approach to structural assessment
10.4 Corrosion initiation modeling
10.5 Corrosion propagation modeling
10.6 Effect of spatial variability on corrosion initiation and propagation
10.7 Influence of climate change
10.8 Illustrative examples
10.9 Summary
References 328

Chapter 11 Load Testing as Part of Bridge Management in Sweden
Lennart Elfgren, Bjorn Täljsten, and Thomas Blanksvärd
11.1 Introduction
11.2 History
11.3 Present practice
11.4 Future
11.5 Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References

Chapter 12 Load Testing as Part of Bridge Management in the Netherlands
Ane de Boer
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Overview of load tests on existing structures
12.3 Inspections and re-examination
12.4 Conclusions and outlook
References

Part V Conclusions and Outlook

Chaper 13 Conclusions and Outlook
Eva O. L. Lantsoght
13.1 Current body of knowledge on load testing
13.2 Current research and open research questions
13.3 Conclusions and practical recommendations