Deck Girder Research Articles

Study of Fatigue Tests on the Structural Details of Welding Joints of Integral Bridge Deck and Main Girder Gusset Plates

Under the action of both dead and live loads, the welding joints of the integral bridge deck and the main truss gusset plates of a steel truss bridge in the transverse and longitudinal directions are all subjected to tensile force, the fatigue performance of which greatly influence the safety and durability of the bridge during operation. Fatigue tests were carried out on a full-scale model designed and made in accordance with the structural details of the welding joints of the integral bridge deck and the main truss gusset plates of Dashengguan Changjiang River Bridge. On the basis of the results of the fatigue tests, the stress distribution of the welding joints was analyzed, the fatigue life of the welding joints under load cycles with constant amplitude was discussed and the fatigue performance of the welding joints under the condition of two-way tensile forces was studied. It is concluded that under the effect of fatigue loading with given amplitude, the fatigue life of the welding joints is more than 200 million numbers of load cycles, the structural details of welding joints have ample fatigue resistant ability under the condition of two-way tensile forces, and the maximum main stress value of the fatigue tests is lower than the allowable fatigue stress value given in various codes and relevant references and the fatigue strength meets requirement.

Interaction between laser-welded web-core sandwich deck plate and girder under bending loads

Present paper investigates the interaction between laser-welded web-core sandwich deck plate and supporting girder under bending loads. The study is based on two linear-elastic Finite Element (FE) approaches, i.e. one using beam elements to model the girder and shell elements to model the homogenized web-core sandwich plate. With this approach the obtained FE model is considerably smaller than in the case of modeling the full, periodic, 3D geometry with shell elements. The FE solution results in stress resultants for beam and shell elements. These stress resultants do not describe accurately the periodic stress response of the sandwich plate or shear stress distribution at girder web. Therefore, the paper utilizes analytical methods to calculate these stress components from the obtained Finite Element solution. The second computational approach is based on modeling the actual 3D topology with shell elements. The two approaches are shown to be in very good agreement. The investigation shows that the effective flange width of the sandwich is different for the top and bottom face plates indicating that the interaction is different for these face plates. The present study also shows that this difference between the two faces depends strongly on the orientation of the web plates of the sandwich with respect to girder axis and the stiffness of the girder. The investigation also shows that the normal stress response in bending is dominated by the interaction between the sandwich plate and the girder, but also by the shear-induced normal stresses at the outer surface of the plate.

The steel design for the new railway bridge over the River Sado in Portugal

AbstractThe new railway crossing over the River Sado at Alcacer do Sal in Portugal required a 2.7 km long bridge, comprising two approach viaducts and a main bridge. Steel‐concrete composite decks were adopted, the approach viaducts having plate girder decks with 45 and 37.5 m spans, and the main bridge three spans of 160 m each with a box girder deck. The main bridge, with a continuous deck over 480 m, consists of three continuous bowstrings with a single plane of hangers on the bridge axis. The main aspects of the bridge concept design are described and the steel design in particular is discussed.

Design and construction of Third Karnaphuli Bridge, Bangladesh

The Third Karnaphuli Bridge is the first major cable-supported crossing to be constructed in Bangladesh. It spans the Karnaphuli River immediately to the north of Chittagong port. The bridge is founded on alluvial soil affected by deep soil liquefaction and river scour. The final design solution was based on extensive ground investigation and on the results of pile testing carried out using a jack-up self balancing method. The foundations of the main bridge incorporate 3 m diameter, bored, cast in situ piles which were base grouted post-construction. The main bridge includes three 200 m long main river spans with an extradosed prestressed concrete single cell box girder deck constructed by the balanced cantilever method.

Inspection and maintenance of Severn Bridge suspension cables

The Severn Bridge, completed in 1966, was the first suspension bridge to adopt a streamlined box girder deck that reduced the dead weight and improved aerodynamic performance. The 988 m span bridge crosses the estuary of the River Severn and is an important asset within the UK highway network. In 2006, the UK's Highways Agency, through the concessionaire Severn River Crossing plc, commissioned a programme of internal intrusive examination of the main suspension cables of the Severn Bridge with Faber-Maunsell/Weidlinger acting as consultants for the inspection. The information obtained during these investigations provided the basic data for use in a formal strength assessment of the suspension cables undertaken by Mott MacDonald, the UK government's representative for the Severn Crossings concession. Analytical techniques developed over the past 3 years have enabled the adoption of limit state principles for the assessment in line with UK practice. In addition, deterioration modelling has been developed to improve understanding of the current condition of the cables and to assist in the future management of the bridge. In parallel with the strength assessment, process maintenance management strategies have been developed and implemented that have enabled the continued safe operation of the bridge.

A displacement-based seismic design procedure for concrete bridges having deck integral with the piers

A multi-step displacement-based seismic design procedure is presented and exemplified for concrete bridges having piers integral with a continuous prestressed deck, which is restrained transversely at the abutments but free to slide there longitudinally. It includes a simple estimation of inelastic deformation demands (chord or plastic hinge rotations in piers, curvatures for the deck) via elastic 5%-damped modal response spectrum analysis and normally entails very few design-analysis iterations. Prescriptive detailing and minimum reinforcement rules are relaxed. Instead, the vertical reinforcement of piers is tailored to seismic deformation demands for uniform ductility ratios across the piers, while their transverse reinforcement is detailed on the basis of explicit checks of their integrity under the design earthquake. The procedure is applied to eight different bridges with three or five spans, box girder deck and piers of various cross-sections with about equal or very different heights. Nonlinear response-history analyses are carried out under ground motions well beyond the design earthquake, in order to evaluate the seismic performance of the resulting designs and compare with that of force-based Eurocode 8 designs of the same bridge. The displacement-based procedure is shown to give more cost-effective and balanced designs than Eurocode 8, without loss in seismic performance.

Structural performance of composite sandwich bridge decks with hybrid GFRP–steel core

Abstract This paper presents the static and fatigue performance of composite sandwich bridge decks with hybrid GFRP–steel core. The composite sandwich bridge deck system is comprised of wrapped hybrid core of GFRP grid and multiple steel box cells with upper and lower GFRP facings. Its structural performance under static loading and fatigue loading with a nominal frequency of 5 Hz was evaluated. The responses from laboratory testing were compared with the ANSYS finite element predictions. The failure mode of the proposed composite sandwich bridge deck was more favourable because of the yielding of the steel tube when compared with that of all-GFRP decks. The ultimate failure of the composite sandwich deck panels occurs by shear of the bonded joints between GFRP facings and steel box cells. Results from fatigue load test indicated no loss in stiffness, no signs of de-bonding and no visible signs of deterioration up to 2 million load cycles. The thickness of the composite sandwich deck retaining the similar stiffness may be decreased to some extent when compared with the all-GFRP deck. This paper also presents design of a connection between composite sandwich deck and steel girder.

Nonlinear dynamic v elastic analysis for seismic deformation demands in concrete bridges having deck integral with the piers

Seismic deformations in concrete bridges having fairly long continuous deck integral with the piers and restrained transversely at the abutments but free to slide there longitudinally, are estimated via nonlinear dynamic analysis and compared to the corresponding outcomes of modal response spectrum analysis with 5% damping. Eight bridge configurations are studied, all with a box girder deck prestressed with bonded tendons, having three or five spans and piers of various cross-sections and about equal or very different heights. Two versions of each bridge are considered: one of conventional, force-based design and another having much less overstrength in the piers and developing less inelastic action in the deck. The piers are taken in the analysis with effective elastic stiffness equal to the secant stiffness to the yield point of their end section(s). The deck is discretized longitudinally into a string of nonlinear elements, whose moment-rotation relations are derived from moment-curvature analysis of the section in the two main directions of bending. Seven spectrum-compatible motions with Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of 0.25, 0.35 and 0.45 g on rock are applied in the longitudinal or transverse direction. Modal response spectrum analysis with 5% damping gives on average good—or at least safe-sided—predictions of inelastic deformation demands at the deck and the piers of regular bridges, especially under longitudinal earthquake. However, it underestimates inelastic deformation demands in bridges having piers of very different height, even when design measures are taken to harmonize stiffness across the piers. The stronger the ground motion, the larger are on average the elastic predictions of deformations relative to those from nonlinear dynamic analysis.

Estimating Operating Load Conditions on Reinforced Concrete Highway Bridges with b-value Analysis from Acoustic Emission Monitoring

Transportation agencies commonly have conventionally steel reinforced concrete deck girder (RCDG) bridges in their inventory that were built in the mid-twentieth century. These bridges have been in service beyond their intended design lives and tools are needed to permit freight mobility and maintain operational safety. The practical applicability of AE monitoring techniques were investigated to help estimate the condition of diagonally cracked RCDG bridges. Experiments on two full-scale girder specimens representative of Oregon’s RCDG bridges were built and tested under realistic service conditions. Overloading conditions were imposed to increase the level of deterioration. It was found that characterizing the current health condition of a monitored bridge component or element based on short term in service loading is difficult and the proximity of a potential bridge failure not easily predictable until it is impending. However, it was observed that the current operating load level of a bridge component can be estimated using a newly proposed method called minimum b-value analysis. The influence of factors that can affect b-value estimations such as stage of deterioration or external sources was studied and is introduced. The experiment as well as data from the two laboratory specimens are presented and interpreted.

Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder Bridge Bent Caps with 1950s Vintage Details: Laboratory Tests

Many reinforced concrete deck girder bridges were built in the 1950s, and now some of their components are showing signs of distress. In this paper, part of a two-part study evaluating bent caps from 1950s reinforced concrete deck girder bridges, five realistic full-scale replicas of in-service bent caps with 1950s vintage details were constructed and tested under incremental cyclic loads. The test specimens were a subassemblage of pertinent bridge components at the bent cap region, including the integral columns, cap beam, and portions of the monolithic internal girders that frame into the cap. The results showed that the shear span-depth ratio, the anchorage of flexural steel, and web reinforcement were all salient parameters that affected ultimate shear capacity. The bond stress provided in AASHTO-LRFD and ACI 318-08 underestimated the available flexural anchorage because neither of these provisions takes into account the beneficial effect of active confining stress on bond strength. Shear compression was the failure mode in all of the specimens and the failure mode in all but one specimen was brittle.

Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder Bridge Bent Caps with 1950s Vintage Details: Analytical Methods

First Name is required invalid characters Last Name is required invalid characters Email Address is required Invalid Email Address Invalid Email Address

Characterization of High Early-Strength, Self-Consolidating Concrete for Design of Pretensioned Bridge Elements

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is an innovative construction material that can be placed into forms without mechanical vibration. Precast, prestressed concrete plants require that the concrete used to fabricate their structural members attain high early strength. High early-strength SCC could provide significant value for precast plants. However, the high early-strength SCC mixture constituents, proportions, and construction may affect the hardened properties, and SCC may not provide the same performance as conventional concrete. SCC and conventional concrete mixture proportions designed for precast, prestressed bridge elements were evaluated to characterize the associated mechanical properties, shear characteristics, bond characteristics, and creep. To assess the applicability of SCC in prestressed girder systems, four full-scale girder–deck systems containing conventional concrete and SCC precast girders were fabricated and tested. Results from this research indicate that the AASHTO Load and Resistance Factor Design Specifications can be used to estimate the mechanical properties of high early-strength SCC. With respect to shear characteristics, a more appropriate expression is proposed to estimate the concrete shear strength for SCC girders with a compressive strength greater than 10 ksi (69 MPa). Bridge girder–deck systems containing relatively small (Texas Type A) girders containing high early-strength SCC exhibited similar flexural performance as bridge girder–deck systems with girders containing conventional concrete. Results indicate that the AASHTO equations for computing the nominal moment capacity, strand transfer length, and strand development length may be used for SCC girder–deck systems similar to those tested in this study.

Influence of Early Temperature Rise on Movements and Stress Development in Concrete Decks

The primary focus of this paper is to develop an understanding of temperature changes introduced by hydration heat release in the first few hours after casting in the thermal movements and stresses of the concrete deck and girders. Temperature and strain measurements from a simply supported, single-span, steel girder bridge with a composite concrete deck are presented. It is shown that setting occurs during the temperature rise and partial strain compatibility between steel girder and concrete deck is initiated at the end of the concrete temperature rise. Full strain compatibility between concrete deck and steel girder is achieved at the end of the cooling period following the initial temperature rise. The stresses in the steel girder associated with temperature changes are interpreted using an analytical model. It is shown that the concrete deck gains sufficient stiffness at the end of the temperature rise to restrain the movement of the top flange. Concrete deck movement in the period associated with cooling following the initial temperature rise is restrained, which could potentially produce tensile stress in concrete. The magnitude of tensile stress at the end of the cooling period depends upon the difference in the temperatures of the concrete deck and top flange and on the temperature gradient in the steel girder at the end of the heating period.

Comparative and sensitivity study of flutter derivatives of selected bridge deck sections, Part 2: Implications on the aerodynamic stability of long-span bridges

This study is the continuation of a comprehensive investigation on section-model aeroelastic coefficients for bridge decks (flutter derivatives) extracted from wind tunnel section-model tests. The original motivation emerged from the United States—Japan Benchmark Study on Bridge Flutter Derivatives, which promoted a series of systematic comparisons of experimental data extracted by two laboratories (Iowa State University, USA and Public Works Research Institute, Japan) as well as previous results available in the literature. Comparisons, which included both streamlined and bluff deck girder models, were summarized in a companion paper [Sarkar P, Caracoglia L, Haan FL, Sato H, Murakoshi J. Comparative and sensitivity study of flutter derivatives of selected bridge deck sections. Part 1: Analysis of inter-laboratory experimental data. Eng Struct 2009;31(1):159–69]. Differences in the flutter derivatives were mainly attributed to: distinct experimental methods in the wind tunnel (free or forced vibration methods), intrinsic variability between different laboratory environments and effects of amplitude dependency in the tests (for bluff sections). In this paper, a sensitivity study was performed to examine the implications of the perceived dissimilarities among flutter-derivative data sets discussed in [Sarkar P, Caracoglia L, Haan FL, Sato H, Murakoshi J. Comparative and sensitivity study of flutter derivatives of selected bridge deck sections. Part 1: Analysis of inter-laboratory experimental data. Eng Struct 2009;31(1):159–69], on the aeroelastic instability of long-span bridges. Numerical analyses were conducted to evaluate flutter instability boundaries of a set of long-span bridge configurations. Both single-mode and coupled-mode instability were considered, depending on the cross section type and characteristics. It is concluded that uncertainty in flutter derivatives occurring as a result of extraction method or intrinsic variability between different laboratories from negligibly small values to as much as fifty percent, as observed in [Sarkar P, Caracoglia L, Haan FL, Sato H, Murakoshi J. Comparative and sensitivity study of flutter derivatives of selected bridge deck sections. Part 1: Analysis of inter-laboratory experimental data. Eng Struct 2009;31(1):159–69], do not affect the variability in the predicted critical velocity in a proportional way. However, differences in the resulting critical velocities have been observed and estimated from as small as five percent to more than thirty percent, heavily depending on the type of bridge, the simulated conditions and type of instability, either dominated by a single mode or influenced by modal coupling.

Lateral Elastic Stability of Slender Arches for Bridges Including Deck Slenderness

The effect of deck girder slenderness on the lateral buckling load of arched steel bridges is investigated in this article. Models in the literature consider the deck to be infinitely stiff out-of-plane: this reductive hypothesis is removed in this article, and a formulation describing the lateral behaviour of the slender tied arch in terms of two geometric parameters is proposed. A comparison with the relevant Eurocode 3 (EC3) instructions for preliminary stability checks shows that a correction function to include deck slenderness is necessary. Some modifications to code formulations are proposed.

Acoustic Emission Testing of Beams to Simulate SHM of Vintage Reinforced Concrete Deck Girder Highway Bridges

The practical application of Acoustic emission (AE) testing in the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of vintage steel reinforced concrete highway bridges has been recently investigated by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oregon State University (OSU). A large number of full scale laboratory test beams designed to simulate a particular class of highway bridge structure and a particular type of structural damage were tested with AE. The results of the AE test data analyzed using the Felicity and Calm ratios are presented and related to physically observed structural damage. New thresholds on the Felicity and Calm ratios specific to this class of structure and loading are suggested (based on the test results) to be used in both the damage assessment diagrams developed in the Japanese Non-destructive Inspection Standard NDIS-2421 and implementation into a SHM program currently under development at ODOT.

Analytical verification of a composite level of bolted GFRP bridge deck-to-girder connection system

There are various ways to connect a GFRP deck and girder which have been adopted as systems worldwide such as connection systems that use shear connectors and mechanical connection systems that use bolts or clamps, and recently there has been a study on a system to connect GFRP deck and steel girder using a bonding agent. In this study, an attempt was made to review and analyze the composite level of GFRP decking and a girder bolt connection system using the already proposed GFRP deck shape. In addition, an attempt was made to estimate the decreased rate of the composite level at various bolt connection intervals using the calculated strain and deflection, and also the analytical values of the composite level were compared with prior test results.

Montabliz Viaduct, Cantabria (Spain)

Located in the Cantabria Mountain Range, the Montabliz Viaduct forms part of the Meseta Motorway crossing the river Bisueña valley in a beautiful natural site with very rough terrain. Amongst the sixth highest built to date in Europe, this is a unique structure as demonstrated by its 145 m high pier (the highest in Spain), 175 m clear centre span and cross-section design using a single box section supporting both carriageways with a 26,1 m wide roadway. The viaduct’s piers were built with self-climbing formwork, used for the first time in the construction of bridge piers in Spain. The cantilever system used in the in situ concrete deck construction was the result of the specific design and because the segments forming the deck girder are the largest and heaviest built in Spain to date and among the largest in the world. The viaduct’s height and spans called for the structural response system to be statically and dynamically monitored in real time, both during construction and service life. As the wind force on the bridge was a determining factor in its design and had to be accurately defined, two wind tunnel tests were required, using three dimensional (3D) models reproducing both the actual geometry of the structure and of the valley where it is located.

Fatigue of Diagonally Cracked RC Girders Repaired with CFRP

Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) are becoming more widely used for repair and strengthening of conventionally reinforced concrete (RC) bridge members. Once repaired, the member may be exposed to millions of load cycles during its service life. The anticipated life of FRP repairs for shear strengthening of bridge members under repeated service loads is uncertain. Field and laboratory tests of FRP-repaired RC deck girders were performed to evaluate high-cycle fatigue behavior. An in-service 1950s vintage RC deck-girder bridge repaired with externally bonded carbon fiber laminates for shear strengthening was inspected and instrumented, and FRP strain data were collected under ambient traffic conditions. In addition, three full-size girder specimens repaired with bonded carbon fiber laminate for shear strengthening were tested in the laboratory under repeated loads and compared with two unfatigued specimens. Results indicated relatively small in situ FRP strains, laboratory fatigue loading produced localized d...

The Svinesund Bridge, Norway/Sweden

The new Svinesund Bridge on the border between Norway and Sweden was opened to traffic in 2005. The bridge is on the European highway E6, and forms part of the upgrading of this highway between Oslo in Norway and Gothenburg in Sweden. The chosen bridge site is in a picturesque part of the Idde Fjord and is prominently visible from the sea and from the old highway bridge close by. An international design competition was launched in 2000, where nine consulting groups were selected to participate after a prequalification round. All groups were from Europe. The announced winner was the project Arc, developed by a Norwegian/Swedish group. The bridge concept consists of a single, centrally located concrete arch, with two steel orthotrope deck girders, one on each side of the arch. The girders are connected with crossbeams. The arch spans 247,3 m, and this is believed to be the longest span for such a single arch in the world. An overview of the bridge can be seen in Fig. 1. The bridge was constructed based on the winning concept in a turn-key contract, and was completed on schedule for the opening ceremony on June 5th, 2005. This date corresponds to the 100th year anniversary of the termination of the union between Norway and Sweden, when Norway gained her Independence. The bridge was opened by the Kings of Norway and Sweden. This paper deals with important aspects of the design and construction of the project based on Arc. (A)