Effect of section properties on load carrying capacity of 10m span precast concrete closed spandrel arch bridge with corrugated section

Abstract

Various precast concrete arch bridge systems have been developed since 1960’s. The reinforced concrete section of these systems is solid rectangular which is not an efficient section. Inspired by the nature of banana tree trunk, a relatively new corrugated section of precast concrete arch bridge was introduced and patented in Malaysia in 2008. This folded plate section is an open section which tends to open under vehicular loading. Hence, effect of section properties on load carrying capacity of precast concrete closed spandrel arch bridge with corrugated section under vehicle loading is presented in this paper. The arch bridge model has a clear span of 10m with 2.5m, 3.0m and 3.5m clear rise. For the corrugated section dimension model, overall depth varies from 475mm to 575mm, top and bottom flange thickness varies from 135mm to 155mm and web thickness varies from 90mm to 120mm. Linear and non-linear computational analysis are carried out using 2D PLAXIS software (in longitudinal direction) and LUSAS software (in transverse direction). In longitudinal direction, the sagging moment in non-linear analysis increases approximately 18% compared to linear analysis for different rise span ratio. From the analysis results, as the rise of arch increases, the sagging moment and hogging moment increases, but the axial force decreases. Besides, as the overall depth of corrugated section increases, the internal forces of the arch also increase. In transverse direction, the maximum tensile stress of concrete at crown and haunch decreases as slenderness ratio increases.