LIMSKA DRAGA VIADUCT - FABRICATION AND ERECTION OF ORTHOTROPIC PLATES

Abstract

This brief article describes the prefabrication and construction of the orthotropic plates on the Limska Draga viaduct, in Yugoslavia. The design chosen for the bridge was a steel structure with box cross section. The bridge itself consisted of 45 different assemblies, each consisting of 8 parts. The erection of the assemblies was planned in such a way as to minimize residual stresses in the orthotropic plate welds. Temporary connections were made using conical bolts over box ribs. These were removed from a short 3 mm length at a time, just before welding that section of the upper and lower ortho plates. Quality assurance was done at all stages of construction. Special attention was paid to assessing the hardness of the welded joints. Brief details of the method used to forecast fatigue strength of the orthotropic plates are also provided. The French title for this article is: Viaduc Limska Draga - Fabrication et montage de la dalle orthotrope. The German title for this article is: Limska-Draga- Talbruecke - Werkstattfertigung und Montage von orthotropen Platten. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 851274.