Investigation on temperature effect of local structural stress during non-uniform cross-section steel bridge deck pavement paving

Abstract

During the process of gussasphalt concrete paving on the orthotropic steel bridge deck of a non-uniform cross-section box girder bridge, the high-temperature asphalt mixture often produces temperature stresses that can affect bearings safety. In this study, a refined model of a steel box girder bridge with a 660 m scale was developed and numerical simulations were conducted using the finite element software. The temperature field was applied to the orthotropic steel bridge deck in a quasi-dynamic fashion, leading to the determination of a safe width for concrete paving. To assess the accuracy of the computational predictions, field paving was performed under the safe width condition determined from the calculations, and the temperature and local stress data were measured in the field. The results demonstrate that the finite element predictions are in good agreement with the yield strength of the bearing’s local structure, and the measurements also show a close correspondence with the structural yield strength, validating the reliability of the quasi-static simulation approach. The proposed method offers a computational tool and a reliability criterion for future finite element analyses of large-span non-uniform cross-section steel box girder bridges, as well as a safe width example for subsequent gussasphalt mixture paving on orthotropic steel bridge decks.