Bridge Bearing Advisory
Specialist, independent review of bridge bearing design, testing, qualification and failure — grounded in the test evidence.
The Problem
Bridge bearings carry decades of load in silence, then fail in ways that test reports do not always anticipate. Qualification data can be incomplete, misread, or optimistic about long-term behaviour.
Why It’s Difficult
Bearing performance couples material behaviour, geometry, and loading over long timescales. A pass on a short-term test does not guarantee service life, and forensic assessment after a failure requires reading the evidence without preconception.
Our Approach
We independently review test reports and qualification evidence, model failure likelihood and long-term deformation, and question whether the test program actually answers the question that matters.
Capabilities
- Independent test-report review
- Failure mode analysis
- Forensic assessment
- Bearing qualification guidance
- Test program development
- Quality control
- Design optimization
- Bearing selection
- Performance evaluation
- Prototype development
- Failure likelihood modelling
- Long-term deformation assessment
Typical questions we answer
- Do the test reports actually demonstrate fitness for service?
- What failure modes were not covered by the qualification program?
- How will this bearing deform over its full design life?
- Was the observed failure a defect, a design issue, or a loading issue?
Deliverables
- →Independent test-report and qualification review
- →Forensic failure assessment
- →Test program recommendations
- →Long-term performance and deformation assessment