Abstract
Climate change could impose great influence on infrastructures. Previous studies have shown that solar radiation is one of the most important factors causing the change in temperature distribution in bridges. The current temperature distribution models developed in the past are mainly based on the meteorological data from the nearest weather station, empirical formulas, or the testing data from model tests. In this study, a five-span continuous Prestressed-concrete box-girder bridge was instrumented with pyranometers, anemometers, strain gauges, displacement gauges, and temperature sensors on the top and bottom slabs and webs to measure the solar radiation, wind speeds, strain, displacement, and surface temperatures, respectively. The continuously monitoring data between May 2019 and May 2020 was used to study the temperature distributions caused by solar radiation. A maximum positive lateral temperature gradient prediction model has been developed based on the solar radiation data analysis. Then, the solar radiation boundary condition obtained from the monitoring data and the lateral temperature gradient prediction model were utilized to compute the tensile stresses in the longitudinal and transverse directions. It was demonstrated in this study that the tensile stress caused by the lateral temperature gradient was so significant that it cannot be ignored in structural design.
Highlights
Most highway bridges are located in open fields and are exposed to the solar radiation, wind, rain, and other environmental changes
Wang et al created a finite element model for a concrete box-girder arch bridge in thermal field caused by solar radiation based on meteorological data [4]
The result indicated that the tensile stresses generated by the lateral temperature gradient alone are so significant that it cannot be ignored in design
Summary
Most highway bridges are located in open fields and are exposed to the solar radiation, wind, rain, and other environmental changes. Wang et al created a finite element model for a concrete box-girder arch bridge in thermal field caused by solar radiation based on meteorological data [4]. Abid et al monitored air temperature, solar radiation, and wind speeds with sensors and thermocouples for more than a year They proposed empirical equations to predict the maximum vertical and lateral temperature gradients based on the data collected [5]. We instrumented a prestressed concrete box-girder bridge with pyranometers, anemometers, strain gauges, displacement gauges, and temperature sensors on the top and bottom slabs and webs to measure the solar radiation, wind speeds, strain, displacement, and surface temperatures, respectively. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed to simulate the temperature field in the worst scenario and analyze the corresponding stress distribution based on the real time radiation monitoring data. The result indicated that the tensile stresses generated by the lateral temperature gradient alone are so significant that it cannot be ignored in design
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