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Tcl'2006 Abstract: Rating of Highway Bridges Using Tcl

13th Annual Tcl/Tk Conference

Main Registration Schedule Tutorials Info

October 9-13, 2006
Holiday Inn Select
Naperville, Illinois USA

Important Information
Abstracts and proposals due June 30, 2006
Notification to authors July 31, 2006
Author materials due September 30, 2006
Tutorials start October 9, 2006
Conference starts October 11, 2006
Email Contact [email protected]

We are pleased to announce the 13th Annual Tcl/Tk conference (Tcl'2006), sponsored by Noumena Corporation , Digital Smarties , Eolas Technologies and ActiveState .

Rating of Highway Bridges Using Tcl

Author: Michael H. Scott, Adrian Kidarsa

Abstract

Due to the deterioration of reinforced concrete bridges built during the interstate expansion of the 1950s and the increased number and weight of trucks that pass over these bridges, bridge rating has become of paramount importance in Oregon and other states across the United States. Applications have been developed in Tcl to rate highway bridges for their remaining capacity in comparison with truck demands. A finite element analysis program, OpenSees (http://opensees.berkeley.edu), written in C++, extends the Tcl language to define the nodes, boundary conditions, bridge elements, and moving loads required to compute the demand imposed by trucks at critical locations along a bridge. Tcl commands are also added to compute the bridge capacity from design specifications at the critical locations, which can then be compared to the imposed demand in order to rate the bridge. The scripting capabilities of Tcl facilitate the repetitive nature of moving load analysis, and the database features of Tcl can interface with bridge and rating vehicle databases maintained by state DOT's. Further extensions are to distributed computing applications that simulate the passing of special permit trucks through critical national transportation corridors, e.g., along I-5 from Seattle to San Diego.

Conference Committee

Cyndy Lilagan   Eolas TechnologiesFacilities Coordination
Clif Flynt   Noumena CorpGeneral Chair
Steve Redler IV   SR TechnologyProgram Chair
Steve Landers   Digital SmartiesProgram Co-chair
Kevin Kenny   GE Global Research Center
Jeffrey Hobbs   ActiveState Corp
Andreas Kupries   ActiveState Corp
Ron Fox   NSCL Michigan State University
Donal Fellows   University of Manchester
Larry Virden   Tcl FAQ Maintainer
Mike Doyle   Eolas Technologies
Gerald Lester   HMS Software

Contact Information

[email protected]