Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to report on the development of a three-dimensional (3D) creep calculation method suited for use in analyzing long-term deformation of long-span concrete girder bridges. Based on linear creep and the superposition principle, the proposed method can consider both shear creep and segmental multiage concrete effect, and a related program is developed. The effects of shear creep are introduced by applying this method to a continuous girder bridge with a main span of 100 m. Comparisons obtained with the nonshear case show that shear creep causes long-term deformation to increase by 12.5%. Furthermore, the effect of shear creep is proportional to the shear creep coefficient; for a bridge with different degrees of prestress, the influence of shear creep is close. Combined with the analysis of a continuous rigid bridge with a main span of 270 m, the results based on the general frame program suggest that shear creep amplification is multiplied by a factor of 1.13–1.15 in terms of long-term deformation. Moreover, the vertical prestress has little effect on shear creep and long-term deformation. The 3D creep analysis shows a larger long-term prestress loss for vertical prestress at a region near the pier cross section. The relevant computation method and result can be referenced for the design and long-term deformation analysis of similar bridges.
Highlights
Long-span concrete girder bridges were first constructed in the 1950s
The conclusions on the influence of the studied shear creep are as follows: (1) A three-dimensional creep calculation program based on the superposition principle is developed by MATLAB and ANSYS, which provides a separate interface for the shear creep coefficient. e analysis of the prototype bridge shows that the long-term deformation increases by 12.5% after shear creep is considered
(2) e parameter analysis of the shear creep coefficient shows that the long-term deformation of long-span concrete girder bridges is proportional to the shear creep coefficient. e shear creep effects of bridges with different degrees of prestress are close, so a unified amplification factor can be adopted
Summary
Long-span concrete girder bridges (including continuous rigid-frame bridges) were first constructed in the 1950s. By utilizing the cantilever construction method, the difficulty of construction was greatly reduced, which caused this bridge type to develop rapidly. It is noted that an analysis of the long-span concrete girder bridge that ignores the effect of shear creep will cause error in the predicted value due to its large section and thin web [16]. In this regard, some scholars have proposed a more refined calculation method: Bazant et al used a specialized material program based on ABAQUS to calculate the creep with a solid element model [11]. Niu et al used ANSYS to develop a three-dimensional concrete creep calculation program [14]; Huang et al developed a creep
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