Abstract
Network Rail is increasing the capacity of the West Coast main line north of Birmingham by doubling the number of tracks from two to four. Within the Trent Valley section of the route, the first of a pair of three-span viaducts has been constructed to carry the railway across the River Tame. The structures are each 94 m in length and comprise half-through superstructures supported on piled foundations. The current paper describes the development and detail design of these viaducts, and in particular the design requirements relating to dynamic effects caused by the passage of high-speed trains. These are some of the first bridges to have been designed to recent guidelines which require a bridge-specific dynamic analysis to be undertaken for any structure of this type. This analysis was undertaken using a finite-element program in which each bridge was modelled as a three-dimensional stiffened plate employing both thick shell and shear beam elements. Aspects of the construction of the first viaduct are discussed, including piling methods, environmental and archaeological considerations. Protection of the river and its ecology were important, and measures taken to address these are outlined.
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Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Bridge Engineering
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