Rapportage inventarisatie enkelvoudige voegen - Curnet

Bituminous joints are applied in many bridges since the seventies. This type is experienced not suitable
for heave traffic conditions and is not applied in new bridges. Existing bituminous joints show great
variety in functioning; some perform excellent under heavy traffic conditions, some perform badly.
Construction of the joint plays a important role. The risk of this type is regarded to be too high. Existing
bituminous joints are replaced by other types, when damaged.
Finger joints were used in the fifties, the sixties and some still in the seventies and now again because of
noise reasons, for the time being with a special permission of the ministry of Transport and perhaps
beginning from the end of this year with an approval according the widened existing Technical Delivery
and Technical Testing Conditions for Expansion Joints (TL/TP-FÜ).
Mat joints are applied by exception in motorway bridges; they are used more in city road bridges.
Where they were used in motorway bridges other types very often replace them.
2. Design
Are traffic loads and movements from standards and measurements used for design calculations and
verification tests? When tests are carried out, which boundary conditions are used and do they include the
most adverse design situations? What design life is aimed at? Are the structures tested and evaluated with
respect to the brittleness and the risk of crack propagation?
Traffic intensities are measured, intensity of trucks known in general. Measurements of vehicle
configurations and traffic loads are not available. Design loads are based on DIN 1072. Traffic
intensities are comparable to Dutch conditions, up to 140 – 100.000 vehicles/day, of which 12000
trucks. These figures vary per motorway.
Steel parts are designed on engineering judgement; no calculations are used in the beginning of the
planning process. Such calculations are performed for static loads and fatigue for multi seal joints
(TL/TP-FÜ). These might be applicable to steel parts of single seal joints. Anchoring in concrete and
steel structures is designed with static calculation.
Joints are subjected to strict design regulations from the German Ministry of Transport
(Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau- und Wohnungswesen). These results are laid down in a sort of
standardised design drawing (Richtzeichnung (RiZ) Übe 1, see figures Richtzeichnung and
Ausführungstzeichnung in appendix 1). Rubber profile and steel clamps for this are not prescribed. This
depends on manufacturer.
Interesting aspect is noise generation/emission; single seal joints are regarded to be comparable to
bituminous joints with regard to noise. Only multi-seal joints are regarded as “noisy”, and thus not
applicable in sensitive environment. This is different from the Netherlands, where single seal joints with
a rubber profile are regarded as “noisy” and not applicable in sensitive environment. Research on noise
generation/emission and reduction of single seal joints is being performed in Germany at he moment.
Design life is at least 20 years.
Used types contain no brittle material, such as epoxy.
For bituminous joints a “Bast Bericht” is available with guidelines for application and installation of this
type of joint. (This is not discussed during the meeting 23 rd June)
Is there a tendency to avoid joints in bridge structures?
For dilatation movements < 10 mm (fixed point support) no joint is made; instead elastic seal is used.
59 Rapportage inventarisatie enkelvoudige voegen