Monitoring and Analysis of Abutment-Soil Interaction of Two Integral Bridges

Abstract

Field tests of two jointless bridges are presented, focusing on the magnitude and significance of earth pressure behind the abutments. The Haavistonjoki Bridge is a 56-m-long, continuous three-span bridge. Instrumentation was used to measure the horizontal displacement of an abutment, abutment rotation, abutment pile strains, earth pressures behind the abutments, superstructure displacements, frost depth, and air temperature. The measured earth pressures were compared with pressures that had been calculated on the basis of Nordic codes of practice and the Eurocodes pertaining to bridges. The bridge over the Leduan is a single-span composite bridge with a cast-in-place concrete deck on top of two steel beams. This bridge, spanning 40 m, is slender, with a 1.7-m-high superstructure. The bridge was fitted with strain and displacement gauges and short-term measurements were made using a loaded truck. The field test results for this bridge were verified with calculations based on an abutment rotation stiffness calculation model developed during the research presented in this paper.