Experimental and numerical study of full-scale scissor type bridge

Abstract

Mobile Bridge™ is a deployable bridge that uses a scissors mechanism to achieve its useful structural form. The bridge has a compact size in its undeployed state and can be transported easily to where it is needed. Its rapid deployment makes this type of bridge very useful in areas struck by natural disasters by enabling vehicles to cross terrain that has been made impassable. In previous research, experiments and analyses were conducted on a small-scale bridge designed for pedestrians. In order to consider a bridge of increased size, it is necessary to assess whether design and analysis techniques of the small scale bridge are applicable to the full-scale one. In this paper, we consider a full-scale deployable bridge with a lower deck and two scissor units, that allows for a light vehicle to pass across. We have carried out a light vehicle loading test in order to investigate its basic structural characteristics. Furthermore, the paper presents the theoretical design method and numerical models based on the experimental work followed by validation and comparison with the obtained experimental values.