The effect of taper on the MOE of log stringers

Load sharing between the stringers in gravel-decked log bridges is an important design factor when small- diameter stringers are used with thin gravel decks. In order to estimate the load sharing between the stringers, it is necessary to consider the deflection of the stringers; therefore, accurate estimates of the apparent modulus of elasticity (MOE) for full-size log stringers are required. In this paper, load and displacement data from the full- size bending tests are used to demonstrate that taper near midspan has the greatest effect on the MOE used in common log bridge design methods, where the logs are assumed to have constant cross sections. This paper proposes a method to estimate a MOE that can be used in a constant cross-section model given the geometry of the particular log of interest, and the MOE from full-size bending tests calculated when considering actual log geometry.