Defining Appropriate Temperature for Perfect Erection Time of Steel Arch Bridge Closure to Minimize the Effect of the Thermal Stress. Case Study: The New Kutai Kartenagara Bridge, Indonesia

Abstract

The impact of temperature change could govern the final stress of structural elements in the long-span steel bridges. The study was conducted to investigate the effect of temperature change during the construction of a new steel arch bridge, namely the Kutai Kartanegara Bridge. The main bridge has a total spanning length of 470 meters. The erection method of the bridge was the cantilever method with temporary towers, mast cranes, and stay cables. The deflections and internal forces of the steel elements were analyzed using the Midas Civil software. The study focuses on the effort to find the perfect erection time for the closure with regards to the temperature. By measuring the temperatures of the steel elements during the construction, it was found that they varied between 19 and 64 degrees Celsius. From the results of the analyses with various temperatures, it can be concluded that the recommended temperature for the closure erection was 44.6 degrees Celsius. This temperature is similar with the air temperature between either 6 AM and 12 noon or 12 noon and 6 PM. During this periods of time, the effect of thermal stress on the final internal forces in the bridge elements was found much lesser than those obtained during any other period of time.