BASIC TIMBER DESIGN CONCEPTS FOR BRIDGES

BASIC TIMBER DESIGN CONCEPTS FOR BRIDGES INTRODUCTION For thousands of years, TIMBER BRIDGES and other TIMBER structures were built primarily by trial and error and rule of thumb. Designs were based on past experience, and little concern was given to efficient material usage or economy. As the complexity of structures increased, more attention was focused on the importance of accurate engineering methods. Research was undertaken to develop DESIGN criteria for wood with the same level of accuracy and reliability available for other engineering materials. As a result, developments in TIMBER DESIGN have advanced substantially in this century. Although wood is orthotropic and differs in many respects from other materials, wood structures are designed using many of the same equations of mechanics developed for isotropic materials. Variations in material properties from growth characteristics, manufacturing, and use conditions are compensated for by material grading and stress adjustments applied in the DESIGN process.

This chapter provides an overview of basic design concepts for sawn lumber and glulam used in bridge design. It includes specification require­ ments and methods for designing beams, tension members, columns, combined axial and bending members, and connections. Applications of these concepts to design situations are given in examples for each ...

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