Simplified probabilistic model for maximum traffic load from weigh-in-motion data

Abstract

This paper reviews the simplified procedure proposed by Ghosn and Sivakumar to model the maximum expected traffic load effect on highway bridges and illustrates the methodology using a set of Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) data collected on one site in the U.S.A. The paper compares different approaches for implementing the procedure and explores the effects of limitations in the site-specific data on the projected maximum live load effect for different bridge service lives. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to study changes in the final results due to variations in the parameters that define the characteristics of the WIM data and those used in the calculation of the maximum load effect. The procedure is also implemented on a set of WIM data collected in Slovenia to study the maximum load effect on existing Slovenian highway bridges and how the projected results compare to the values obtained using advanced simulation algorithms and those specified in the Eurocode of actions.