InTrans / Aug 14, 2018
Using lightweight MPC wood trusses in bridges
Lightweight Metal P l a t e Connector (MPC) wood trusses offer advantages for short span rural bridges such as ease of construction, high stiffness and wide availability. IT is shown that these trusses may be used in bridge applications provided that proper design for fatigue of the MPC joints, prper corrosion protection and proper details to prevent MPC back-out are incorporated into the design. Recommendations for fatigue design are given. Two MPC truss bridges, one 14.0 m (46 ft) long and the other 11.8 m (39 ft) long built in Maine in 1993 and 1994 are briefly described.