Abstract
A thermal finite element study was carried out to investigate the temperature gradients in bridges with precast concrete girders that subjected to the daily and seasonal environmental variations of solar radiation and air temperature. The proposed finite element model was used to simulate the three-dimensional thermal behavior considering the extreme thermal loads of the region of Gaziantep, Turkey. Two construction stages were studied, the single girder and the girders-deck slab superstructure before surface topping. The results show that the maximum temperature gradient at the top surface was greater for the unsurfaced superstructure by about 6 °C. The predicted extreme temperature gradient distributions for the two construction stages were compared with the current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) gradient model. The comparison showed that the current AASHTO temperature gradient distribution agreed well with the predicted gradient of the single girder, while a higher deviation was noticed when compared with the predicted gradient of the bridge superstructure. Moreover, the current AASHTO gradient model slightly overestimated the maximum predicted gradient of the single girder, while it underestimated the maximum gradient of the bridge superstructure.
Highlights
Bridges are large-scale structures where great cross-sectional size superstructures are completely exposed to exterior conditions, in which the climate changes dramatically during the single day and from season to another
This paper investigates the effect of the environmental thermal loads on a specific type of concrete girder that is widely used in bridge construction
The current bridge design codes provide provisions to overcome the thermal effects of the change in the bridge mean temperature and the temperature gradients along the depth of the bridge superstructures
Summary
Bridges are large-scale structures where great cross-sectional size superstructures are completely exposed to exterior conditions, in which the climate changes dramatically during the single day and from season to another. The current paper aims to focus on the effect of solar radiation and air temperature variation in addition to the other thermal loads on temperature gradient distributions in concrete bridges with precast girders during the construction period. The MAD is the maximum record absolute difference at any of the thermocouples within a group of thermocouples at a specific time step The average temperature of the bottom flange increased during the late hours of the day because sunrays during these hours strike at lower altitudes, reaching the whole area of the bottom surface In this time of the year, the sun moves completely to the south of the equator.
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