Galvanizing Insights, Volume 13, Issue 1
American Galvanizers Association
www.galvanizeit.org
Galvanizing Innovations

Thinking Outside the (Concrete) Box: Short Span Steel Bridges

Churchill River Bridge

Nothing beats driving through a city, country side, or coastline and seeing a steel truss bridge gleaming in the sunlight. Unfortunately, this is a sight that becomes rarer every year. For the sake of perceived facilitation and efficiency, many of these “character” bridges have been replaced with concrete boxes. However, even when you just want to build a standard short span bridge (without visual elements), steel is more economical than concrete.

One of the biggest reasons for the growing number of concrete bridges is the simplicity in specifying them. More or less, county engineers and other specifiers could pick a “bridge in a box,” with concrete, and felt designing a steel bridge was too complex. To help combat this perception as well as the misconception that steel is less economical than concrete, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) created the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA). In the past nine months, the American Galvanizers Association (AGA) has become heavily involved with the SSSBA, which is a collaborative effort of civil engineering professors, steel and bridge manufacturers, fabricators, coaters, and committed to educating county engineers and other bridge consultants of the advantages of steel bridges.

Read More
AIAS Design Competition
Ask Dr. Galv

Sheet Galvanizing
Are ASTM A123 and G90 equivalent galvanizing specifications?

This is a common question among specifiers because of the prevalence of G90 products in the market today. G90 is not a galvanizing specification though; it is a coating thickness in the galvanizing specification ASTM A653. This specification is for hot-dip galvanizing thin steel sheet using the continuous (high-speed) galvanizing process.

The designation G90 is simply a coating thickness of 0.9 oz/ft2 as specified in A653 and is equivalent to 0.45 oz/ft2 or about 0.76 mils per side (it is important to state per side because the oz/ft2 method takes into consideration the coating thickness on both sides of the steel, such as in the case of sheet steel). Some other coating thicknesses in A653 you may have heard of include G60 (0.6 oz/ft2) or G185 (1.85 oz/ft2).

Read More

Featured Project
Knox County Bridge

KNOX COUNTY BRIDGE REHAB

Knox County, OH

Nestled into a lovely, pastoral scene, the Knox County Bridge was in desperate need of rehabilitation. The bridge, which was older and was originally painted for corrosion protection, had fallen into disrepair and was facing the possibility of a complete tear-down. The advent of the green movement has inspired several counties to attempt renovating old bridges similar to the Knox Bridge rather than creating the waste of scrapping them altogether.

Read More
AGA Publications      •      Find a Galvanizer      •      Seminars
Facebook Follow AGAgalvanizeit on Twitter Google+ LinkedIn
 www.galvanizeit.org  Out of respect for your privacy, we do not sell or rent our lists with any other parties. 
If you do not wish to receive Galvanizing Insights, you may cancel your complimentary subscription by using the link below. 

© 2013 American Galvanizers Association. The material provided herein has been developed to provide accurate and authoritative information about after-fabrication hot-dip galvanized steel. This material provides general information only and is not intended as a substitute for competent professional examination and verification as to suitability and applicability. The information provided herein is not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of the AGA. Anyone making use of this information assumes all liability arising from such use.