Effect of Bridge-Soil Interaction on Behavior of Integral Bridge

Abstract

In this paper analytical evaluation of influence of bridge-soil interaction on the structural behavior of integral bridge with adjacent concrete box beams deck subjected to temperature rise was performed. Three different soil conditions loose, medium, and dense sand for the uppermost layer soil adjacent to abutment and abutment column were studied. Long-term, field monitoring was performed on FuYu bridge located in Heilongjiang province, China. The recorded data was used to validate the accuracy of a finite element model of this bridge which explicitly incorporates the nonlinear soil spring response. The finite element analysis indicated that soil condition adjacent to the abutment and abutment column is important factor affecting the response of the integral abutment bridge to thermal loads in terms of soil pressure behind the abutment, and axial forces and moments in the composite deck. As the soil varied from loose to dense condition the soil pressure behind the abutment increases more than 4 times and axial forces in the bridge deck increases by about 50% and bending moments in the composite deck increases by about 40%.