Comparison of the behavior of nailed and prestressed timber bridge decks under static loads

Abstract

P r e v i o u s e x p e r i e n c e and r e s e a r c h has shown t h a t t r a n s v e r s e ly p r e s t r e s s e d timber decks outperform n a i l - l a m i n a t e d b r i d g e decks. The f i r s t s e c t i o n of t h i s paper w i l l review p a s t r e s e a r c h and c o n s t r u c t i o n c o n c e r n i n g p r e s t r e s s e d and n a i l e d l a m i n a t e d timber b r i d g e deck systems. The second s e c t i o n of t h i s r e p o r t w i l l deal w i t h the l a b o r a t o r y t e s t i n g c a r r i e d out t h i s term a t U.N.B. The t e s t i n g compared two d i f f e r e n t t i m b e r b r i d g e deck s y s t e m s under s t a t i c l o a d s . The f i r s t deck was n a i l - l a m i n a t e d and the second was t r a n s v e r s e l y p r e s t r e s s e d.