Wind Pressure and Strain Measurements on Bridges. II: Strain Transducer Development

Abstract

The University of Colorado at Denver has been studying the effect of wind pressure on historic bridges to determine the structural adequacy of these structures. Several historic bridges have been field instrumented and tested to determine the member forces due to actual lateral wind pressures. This paper focuses on the development of an inexpensive reusable strain transducer that can be conveniently and nondestructively clamped to any structural member in a field condition. Prototype strain transducers have been extensively tested in the laboratory to verify reliability and repeatability of results and have been compared to finite-element modeling results. The best strain transducer has been successfully used in the field on the historic truss bridges. Each strain transducer costs approximately $50.