An INDOT study on the redundancy in built-up steel bridge members led by Robert Connor, Jack and Kay Hockema Professor in Civil Engineering and Director of CAI and S-BRITE, is the 2024 recipient of the Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Excellence Award.

The Member-level Redundancy in Built-up Steel Members TPF study helped address the analysis, design, evaluation, and safety inspection of internally redundant built-up steel bridge members. The research team primarily tested full-scale specimens to gain a deeper understanding of the energy release, load redistribution, and subsequent fatigue resistance of damaged sections. They then developed code-ready assessment methodologies.

As a result of extensive collaboration and research, this TPF study created two new American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guide specifications. Transportation agencies around the country are already using these guide specifications for evaluating existing steel bridges and informing new designs. The results of the project have changed how the bridge engineering profession views an entire classification of structures and will result in tens of millions of dollars in savings related to the cost of in-service inspection strategies.

Source: Transportation Pooled Fund