Evaluation of D.S. Brown Steelflex Strip Seal Expansion Joint Systems at Skew Angles for IDOT Usage

This project tests, evaluates, and reports the performance of The D.S. Brown Company’s Steelflex® Strip Seal Expansion Joint Systems at various skew angles. These results will be utilized by the Iowa Department of Transportation for the design of their bridges. These compiled test data clearly establish and display the acceptable, usable movement ranges for both the A2R-400 and A2R-XTRA Expansion Joint Systems as the skew angle of a bridge is increased. To acquire these data, a specialized testing rig was fabricated to rotate and flex each Strip Seal at 10 degree increments from zero degrees to 60 degrees. Each Strip Seal sample was installed as a three-foot section according to the manufacturer’s specifications prior to testing. At each skew angle, the Strip Seal was compressed and subsequently extended until it either exhibited signs of failure or met the manufacturer’s provided values. Once these baseline minimum and maximum opening distances were established, these values were recorded. The Strip Seal was then cycled between these two values five times to simulate repeated flexure. A final chart synthesizing these data was assembled and displays the recommended minimum and maximum opening distances for each Strip Seal at each skew angle