Emerging timber bridge program to São Paulo State

• Grant number: 99/12583-1
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2001
• End date: August 31, 2006
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Civil Engineering - Structural Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Carlito Calil Junior
• Grantee: Carlito Calil Junior
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Most of timber bridges constructed in Brazil are not designed and constructed by technical or expertise professional in timber. This leads to expensive, unsafe and low timber structures durability. The actual state of degradation of these bridges show a negative picture of timber use of structural material and the emerging necessity to implement timber bridge technology to municipal and state roads in order to construct and rehabilitate these old bridges. If we consider that the total of São Paulo State roads is about 220,000 km of vicinal roads and estimate 0.5% of bridges, we have about 2200 km bridges. If we consider a medium span of 10 meters we have 111,000 bridges. Recent research made by LaMEM in different municipals show that at each 1000 existing bridges 30% need to be rebuilt or reconstruct. São Paulo State doesn t have tropical wood and the use of plantation species like pines and eucalyptus are a natural and intelligent solution.Actually we have great availability of these species in the state. The structural lumbers are usually in round(log) or rectangular cross section treated with preservatives. Then the development of new technologies to timber bridge construction, evaluation and optimization of existing constructive systems, and the adaptation of international technologies to national conditions are the aim of this work in order to offer to the country safe and durable timber bridges using simple constructive systems with low price than others structural materials. The research results will be presented in publications with all the constructive details for different spans and structural systems. Extension courses will be offered in order to teach the new technologies to engineers, architects and carpenters also. (AU)