Recent Developments in the Design and Construction of Integral Bridges

Abstract

<p>design and rehabilitation of steel and prestressed concrete fixed and movable highway bridges.</p><p>This paper presents a summary of the latest developments in the field of Integral Abutment Bridges (IABs). It examines the current design specifications and the current practice in the design and construction of IABs including foundations, superstructure, construction stages, abutment backfill, and the limitations on IABs. The study also investigates the correlation between the analysis results from a</p><p>detailed three-dimensional (3D) Finite Element (FE) model and a simplified two-dimensional (2D)</p><p>model for</p><p>an IAB under thermal load. Field measurements from</p><p>a steel girder IAB</p><p>were used to</p><p>validate the 3D FE</p><p>model. Using the validated models, the analysis was</p><p>carried out</p><p>to study the</p><p>performance of a typical IAB under thermal loading. The study shows that currently there are still vast differences in the design and construction of IAB’s. The study also shows significant variations in displacement and rotation between interior and exterior locations in relatively wide IABs that can’t be captured by 2D analysis.</p>