Bending tests to estimate the axial force in steel bridge members

This work compares two nondestructive static methods used for the axial load assessment in prismatic steel bridge members. Examples include the struts and ties or the tension chords and diagonal braces of truss bridges. The first method requires knowledge of the member’s flexural rigidity under investigation, whereas the second requires knowledge of the corresponding Euler buckling load. In both procedures, short-term flexural displacements must be measured at the given cross sections along the member under examination and subjected to an additional transverse load. The proposed methods were verified by numerical and laboratory tests on beams of a small-scale space truss bridge prototype made from aluminum alloy and rigid connections. In general, if the higher second-order effects are induced during testing and the corresponding total displacements are accurately measured, it would be easy to obtain tensile and compressive force estimations.