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Alternative Support Systems for Cantilever - National Transportation ...

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provided in NCHRP Report 412 were incorporated into the design provisions in the 2001<br />

<strong>Support</strong>s Specifications.<br />

NCHRP Report 412 found that galloping, vortex shedding, natural wind gusts, and truck-<br />

induced wind gusts were the primary wind-loading mechanisms that were responsible <strong>for</strong> most<br />

vibration and fatigue-related stresses on cantilever structures (7). Based on this in<strong>for</strong>mation,<br />

importance factors were assigned <strong>for</strong> each of the four wind-loading mechanisms on three fatigue<br />

categories. Report 412 describes, “Structures classified as Category I would present a high<br />

hazard in the event of failure and should be designed to resist rarely occurring wind loading and<br />

vibration phenomena” (7).<br />

The fatigue design approach recommended by NCHRP Report 412, and adopted by the<br />

2001 <strong>Support</strong>s Specifications, was to design cantilever support structures to resist specified static<br />

wind loads, modified by the importance factors (3). The stresses obtained from the modified<br />

static wind loads would be designed to satisfy the requirements of their recommended detail<br />

categories <strong>for</strong> an infinite life fatigue design (3).<br />

Due to the lack of proper guidance on vibration and fatigue design in the <strong>Support</strong>s<br />

Specifications until the 2001 edition, many of the supports structures designed prior to the 2001<br />

edition are now experiencing fatigue problems, particularly on the welded annular base plate and<br />

anchor bolt connection (3).<br />

Despite the fact that NCHRP Report 412 finally gave guidance to designers on fatigue<br />

design <strong>for</strong> cantilever signal/sign support structures, the rate of fatigue cracking and failure has<br />

continued and may have even increased (6). Because of this, NCHRP Project 10-38(2) was<br />

initiated to further address fatigue-resistant design of the cantilever support structures. The<br />

in<strong>for</strong>mation obtained from Project 10-38(2) was published as NCHRP Report 469. NCHRP<br />

77

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