Experimental evaluation of aluminum bridge deck system

Most of the movable bridges in the United States have open grid steel decks, primarily because they are factory assembled, lightweight, and easy to install. Open grid steel decks, however, are not as skid resistant as solid decks. Costly maintenance, high noise levels, poor riding comfort, and susceptibility to vibrations are among the other disadvantages of these decks. The objective of the research presented in this paper is to evaluate an alternative lightweight extruded aluminum deck system that has a solid surface and meets the loading requirements as well as weight and thickness limits for movable bridge decks. These aluminum deck panels with their tongue and groove connections have previously been used in Europe, mainly in Sweden. A detailed experimental evaluation of the aluminum deck system has been carried out, including static and fatigue load testing on the deck panels, as well as ancillary tests on the connections with the girders. On the basis of the in-depth experimental evaluation and the subsequent finite-element (FE) modeling and predictions, the extruded aluminum deck is shown to be a feasible alternative to the open grid steel deck and ready for implementation on movable bridges as well as bridges that require a lightweight deck.