Effect of skew angle on bridge deck behavior with different cross girder patterns

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bridges are common and important constructions to overcome different obstacles in any transportation network. Variations in bridge types include variation in span length, statical system, construction material, construction methods and sustained loads. Choosing the suitable statical system is affected with several factors such as construction time, availability of materials, available budget, contractors’ background and one of the most important factors is the layout of the road network or obstacles outline beneath the bridge. Skew bridges result from inclined intersection between bridge axis and the below road or water stream. The famous problems that result from this inclination are distribution of loads among the main girders and variation in bearings` reactions. Stiffness of cross girders especially near the skew edge affects noticeably the distribution of loads in main girders. In this paper, analysis of medium span skew RC girder bridge deck will be proposed using different skew angles (α) measured from horizontal axis that are 20̊, 30̊, 40̊ and 50̊ and different cross girder patterns. Analysis will be performed using grillage model in FEM software package. Analysis includes different skew angles, different cross girder patterns and different distributed gravity load patterns. The observed outputs in the analysis are reactions at bearings and bending moment values in main girders. In this paper, effect of skew angles and different cross girders patterns on reactions at bearings will be introduced. The effect of these variables on main girders BM values will be discussed in extended paper work.