FUNCTIONAL JOINT Russian patent published in 1998 - IPC

FIELD: bridge building industry. SUBSTANCE: functional joint is made up of channel bars, rods, filler made of elastic material. Web of upper channel bar is located flush with upper edge of bridge span structures and covers clearance between them. Two lower channel bars or one lower channel bar are rigidly fastened in bridge span structures and embrace flanges of upper channel bar. Upper channel bar through its flanges and web rests respectively on walls and flanges of lower channel bars. Spaces of lower channel bars are filled with elastic material. Rods are rigidly secured by their ends on flanges of upper channel bar and are passing through flanges of lower channel bars with possibility of horizontal displacement relative to them. In another version rods freely pass through flange of upper channel bar and are rigidly secured by their ends on flanges of lower channel bar. Other flange of upper channel bar is rigidly secured in adjacent span structure. At increasing or reducing clearance between span structures, rods together with upper channel bar displace as frame in elastic material relative to lower channel bars, and at one side they extend elastic material and at other side they compress elastic material, thus bringing entire system of components of functional joint into equalized condition. In other version similarly created are extending and compressing stresses in elastic material which compensate each other when upper channel bar slides in direction of horizontal rods. Achieved in this case is smoothness of road pavement in area of functional joint and this is combined with high strength of joint and prolonging its service life. EFFECT: higher efficiency. 4 cl, 2 dwg