CEE Seminar: Fracture Critical Bridge Inspection

McDonnell Douglas Engineering Auditorium
Peyman Kaviani, Ph.D., P.E.

Bridge Engineer, Caltrans

Abstract: In 1967, a sudden collapse of the Silver Bridge, a pin-connected link suspension bridge over the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, caused the loss of 46 lives. As a result, a 1968 federal act initiated a national bridge inspection program that recognized the need for periodic and consistent bridge inspections. The first National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) were developed in 1971.

Much has been learned in the field of bridge inspection, and a national Bridge Inspection Training program is now fully implemented. State and federal inspection efforts are more organized, better managed and much broader in scope of work. The technology used to inspect and evaluate bridge members has significantly improved.

As specified in the National Bridge Inspection Standards, fracture critical member (FCM) is “a steel member in tension, or with a tension member, whose failure would probably cause a portion of or the entire bridge to collapse.” Bridges that contain FCMs are defined as fracture critical (FC) bridges. According to the NBIS, fracture critical bridges are required to be inspected at regular intervals not to exceed 24 months.

In this presentation, the fracture critical bridge inspection procedure, the deficiencies that can be found in a fracture critical bridge inspection and the deficiency retrofit solutions, as well as future trends in bridge inspections are discussed.

Bio: Peyman Kaviani, PE is a Caltrans bridge engineer. He graduated with Ph.D. degree from UC Irvine in 2011. His Ph.D. research was focused on performance-based seismic assessment of reinforced concrete bridges with skewed-angled seat-type abutments.Kaviani’s research findings were published as a PEER (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research) Report in 2014. He has been a registered professional civil engineer in California since 2012. His experience in Caltrans mainly includes specialty inspections of steel bridges (fracture critical bridge inspection), routine bridge inspections, bridge structure design and bridge structure construction. Prior to Caltrans, he worked for an engineering company as a design engineer of structures in electrical substations. Kaviani is certified in Safety Inspection of In-Service Bridges and Fracture Critical Inspection Techniques for Steel Bridges from FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) National Highway Institute. He is Level II certified in Ultrasonic Testing and Liquid Penetrant Testing. Kaviani is a member of the ASCE Bridge Management, Inspection and Rehabilitation committee.