Erneuerung von Großbrücken im Zuge hoch belasteter Autobahnen – Randbedingungen und Lösungsansätze am Beispiel der Urselbach‐Talbrücke

Renewal of highly frequented large‐scale motorway bridges. The bridge over the Urselbach – edge conditions and solutions. The newly built bridge across the Urselbach, which has a total length of 332 m, is part of the Federal Highway A5 near Frankfurt. The construction is composed of two bridges, one for each carriageway. Each superstructure consists of two steel box girders. Over these steel box girders, and resting on their top flange, is a cast‐in‐place concrete slab that becomes a part of the roadway. For a future renewal of the concrete slab it is requested that eight traffic lanes still have to remain during reconstruction. As one superstructure is passed by maximum six traffic lanes, the other must still be partly passable during its renewal. That's why the concrete slab can be demolished partly and afterwards concreted if it's necessary. Therefore the composite construction offered many advantages. The form of composite construction of the bridge across the Urselbach results from the combined action of structural steel and a concrete deck slab, which has the function of a replaceable structural member under traffic use. This conception was achieved by a structural analysis taking the substantial influences into account and the arrangement of some additional structural parts. The found solution should give some ideas on the way to a technical guide‐line for dimensional and structural design of concrete bridges with replaceable deck slabs.     

Planung und Bau einer Autobahnbrücke über den Teltowkanal in Berlin

Design and construction of the motorway bridge over the Teltowkanal in Berlin. In Berlin, the construction of the Autobahn 113 is currently underway. The Autobahn 113 will link Berlin's ring road and the planned new international airport with the orbital autobahn and is one of the city's largest transport infrastructure projects. The new autobahn also crosses the navigable Teltow canal. The main characteristics are the complicated geometry and the unusual structural framework. The twin span bridge is a trough bridge of composite steel structure and supports the entire cross section of the autobahn. The floor plates are exchangeable sections to provide sufficient room for a temporary traffic lane during maintenance work.     

Talbrücke Elben – Eine Stahlverbundbrücke mit einteiligem Querschnitt

Viaduct Elben – A steel‐composite bridge with one‐piece cross‐section. In the north of Siegen a non existing section of the German motorway Autobahn A 4 and of the federal highway B 54n, also called “Hüttentalstraße”, was completed during the last years. The 432 m long viaduct – called “Talbrücke Elben”, as an important element in the construction for the extension of the A 4, is in particular interesting because of its design and its construction itself. During the last years about 10 similar constructions have been implemented, others are currently planned. Therefore, it seems appropriate to report about the experiences with steel‐composite bridges in general and particular, always having the bridge “Talbrücke Elben” in mind. Furthermore, the paper intends to give an overview on further fields of application in the near future.     

Brückenbauen mit neuen Werkstoffen: Die Fußgängerbrücke über die Bayerstraße in München

Building bridges with new materials: Pedestrian bridge over the Bayerstraße in Munich. For the pedestrian bridge across the Bayerstraße in Munich, grade S 690 high‐strength steel was used for the first time (fig. 1). The bridge provides a barrier‐free connection for pedestrians and cyclists between a local railway station, Hackerbrücke and the Theresienwiese, where the ‘Oktoberfest’ is held annually. It was planned as a hybrid arch construction and spans 38 meters, crossing a major traffic artery consisting of two tram lanes, four car lanes, two bicycle lanes and two footpaths. The use of circular hollow steel sections in this new grade S 690 resulted in a slim, elegant, lightly curved design with minimal dead weight. A spatial truss, rigid in torsion and made up of a concrete slab as upper chord, a circular steel section as bottom chord (grade S 690) and steel tubes as diagonal bracing between the two, serves to stabilize the arch. The bridge superstructure, including the concrete slab, was completely prefabricated and transported to the site in one piece on a low‐boarding truck. It took a mobile crane only a few hours to heave the bridge onto its supports.     

Seiltausch unter Verkehr an der Rheinbrücke Flehe

Es wird über den Seiltausch an der Rheinbrücke Flehe berichtet. Auf Grund umfangreicher Schäden an der Seilabspannung mussten neun Tragseile der Rheinbrücke Flehe im Zuge der Bundesautobahn A46 getauscht werden. Wegen der sehr hohen täglichen Verkehrsbelastung waren Eingriffe in den laufenden Verkehr weitgehend zu verhindern, so dass der Seiltausch bei laufendem Verkehr durchgeführt wurde. Diese komplexe Aufgabe stellte höchste Anforderungen an alle Beteiligten, wurde aber letztlich mit einem erfolgreichen Abschluss der Maßnahme belohnt. Replacing stay‐cables of the Rhine River crossing Rheinbrücke Flehe, Germany. The paper reports on the replacement works of nine stay cables of the Rhine River Bridge Flehe, a cable‐stayed bridge south of Düsseldorf, Germany. Due to a long service life the stay cables showed some signs of damage and needed to be repaired. Because of foremost damages of nine cables especially open fractures of single wires, they had to be replaced instead. The replacement not only required enormous structural and technical skills, but also engagement of all involved in. This was mainly due to the necessity of keeping the traffic uninterrupted and to prevent any closures of lanes. This administrational demand was successfully mastered. Besides slightly narrowed lanes widths, the bridge's traffic area remained unaffected by this replacement work with traffic able to continue flowing throughout the project.     

Verbundbrücke Pöcking – Innovative VFT‐Träger mit Betondübeln

The new road bridge over the railway line next to Pöcking applied to a new construction method for composite bridges. The VFT®‐construction method, which has been established in Germany within the last years combined with concrete dowel technology, generated a new type of prefabricated composite girders. Concrete dowels, which are manufactured by special steel web cuts connect rolled steel profiles with pre‐cast concrete members. An increasing degree of standardisation and prefabrication enables the application with an economic use of resources and a high quality level. This article describes design and manufacturing aspects of the new bridge, which is already under traffic use.     

Instandsetzung einer “müden” Straßenbrücke mit orthotroper Fahrbahn

Repair of a “tired” road bridge with orthotropic deck. The proneness to fatigue of steel bridges with an orthotropic deck appears in many damages because of the increasing traffic of heavy vehicles. On the example of an aggrieved highway‐bridge the specific weak points and the executed damage analysis will be shown. The gained knowledge leaded to the development of different alternatives of repair and to the presented repair concept. To improve the global characteristics of the structure additional supports will be built, for the local strengthening a reinforced concrete slab will be built as composite structure with the existing steel deck.     

Die Orinoco‐Brücke in Ciudad Guayana/Venezuela – Doppel‐Schrägkabelbrücke mit Verbundüberbau für Straßen‐ und Eisenbahngüterverkehr

The Orinoco River Bridge at Ciudad Guayana / Venezuela – a twin cable‐stayed bridge with steel composite bridge deck for road plus heavy rail traffic. The Orinoco Bridge at Ciudad Guayana carries a single track railway and a 2 × 2 lane highway across the Orinoco. The river has with low water a width of 1 km and with high water a width of 2 km. The total bridge length of 3156 m is subdivided into – the 1320 m long south approach bridge – the 1200 m long twin cable‐stayed bridge – the 636 m long north approach bridge. The bridge deck is a steel composite box girder and was erected partly by launching and partly by free cantilevering erection. The bridge is founded on large diameter bore‐piles. The paper deals with the design, special aspects of the calculation and the construction.     

Rechnerische Beurteilung der Schubtragfähigkeit einer Spannbetonbrücke mit geringem Querkraft bewehrungsgrad

Assessment of the shear strength of an existing post‐tensioned concrete bridge with a low amount of shear reinforcement – First application of the ”Flexural Shear Crack“ model in practice In recent years it was reported several times, that within a static assessment according to current standards the shear strength of post‐tensioned bridges, which were built in Austria before 1989, cannot be fulfilled any more. However, test results prove, that especially prestressed structures have additional load bearing capacities, which cannot be reproduced with current calculation models. In the framework of a pilot project a new developed shear model (Flexural Shear Crack Model) was used. In this paper the approach as well as the main results of a statical reevaluation of an existing post‐tensioned road bridge at the Tauern Autobahn A10 will be presented.     

Zur maßgebenden Verkehrslaststellung bei Schrägseilbrücken

Appropriate traffic load cases for steel and composite cable – stayed bridges. A significant problem in the global analysis of bridge structures is to find the most unfavourable position of the traffic loads for each cross‐section. In practice usually those traffic load cases are chosen which maximise one part of stresses at the cross‐section (often expressed in form of internal forces). First of all a simple method is presented to find out the most unfavourable traffic load position, also applicable for complex interaction formulae including web buckling. Secondly an example of a cable‐stayed bridge is analysed. For two significant sections of the bridge deck the results are presented. The stresses due to the conventional practical procedure are compared with the more accurate ones. The behaviour is explained by the corresponding influence lines. Based on these results some proposals for practical work are given. The presented procedure is also applicable to other types of construction works and materials (e.g. reinforced concrete).     

VFT‐WIB‐Brücke bei Vigaun – Verbundbrücke mit externer Bewehrung

VFT‐WIB viaduct in Vigaun – a composite bridge with external reinforcement. With the introduction of the composite dowel the possibility is given to develop new construction methods for bridges. The VFT‐WIB construction method is used for the first time for the road bridge in Vigaun/Austria, which is in service since autumn 2008. The cross‐section is composed out of two prefabricated elements with halved rolled girders, working as bottom flange. The composite dowels are manufactured by cutting the rolled girder into two halves with a special cutting‐line. These halved girders work as external reinforcement, which leads to very slender and economical composite structures. Below details about the planning process, the design and the construction process of 78m long three span framing bridge over the railway line from Salzburg to Wörgl are shown.     

Die zweite Geo‐Geum‐Brücke in Südkorea – Schrägkabelbrücke und Vorlandbrücke für Straßenverkehr mit Verbundfachwerkträger

The 2nd Geo Geum Grand Bridge in Korea – cable‐stayed bridge and approach bridge with composite truss girder for roadway traffic. The 2nd Geo Geum Grand Bridge forms part of the fixed connection from the mainland to the Island of Geo Geum in South Korea (Fig. 1). This high level crossing is composed of a 912 m long approach viaduct and a 1116 m long stay cable bridge with a main span of 480 m. The approach viaduct is a continuous girder with regular spans of 120 m. The superstructure of both bridges is a composite truss girder bridge, which carries a 2 lane highway on top and a pedestrian and bicycle way on the lower deck. The main design considerations were function as a high‐way, innovation in design and visual harmony with its surround‐ings. The stay cables are arranged in a single plane at the centre of the bridge, their semi‐fan arrangement with bundled configur‐ation gives a very special and unique appearance.     

Die MaChang‐Brücke in Südkorea – Schrägkabelbrücke mit Verbundüberbau für Straßenverkehr

The MaChang Bridge in South Korea – Stay‐cable bridge with steel composite deck for highway traffic. The MaChang bridge is part of the new 4 lane highway connecting the cities of Masan and Changwon crossing over the Masan Bay. This high level crossing has a total length of 1,700 m and is composed of a 550 m long East viaduct, the 740 m long mainbridge and a 410 m long West viaduct. The mainbridge is the dominating structure of this link and consists of a two tower cable‐stayed bridge with a mainspan of 400 m and 170 m side spans. It provides clearance for the 350 m · 64m navigational channel and allows the passage of vessels up to 80.000 dwt.     

Die Stahlverbundbrücke über die Müglitz im Zuge der Autobahn Dresden–Prag – Entwurf und Ausführung

The composite bridge across the Müglitz on the highway Dresden–Prag. Design and construction. The bridge across the Müglitz transfers the newly built Federal Highway A17 over the small town Dohna near by Dresden. The bridge has a total length of 310 m and crosses a railway, a state highway and the river Müglitz. The bridge dominates the townscape. Extensive design investigations were performed to find the technically and aesthetically right solution for the given situation. Chosen and built was a continuous girder bridge as a composite structure with a span sequence of 45 – 55 – 55 – 55 – 55 – 45 m. The construction is composed of two bridges, one for each carriageway. Each superstructure has two airtight steel box girders, which are in composition with the concrete deck slab. To give the bridge a differentiated view, the main girders are built with shallow but significant haunches and emphasized stiffening boxes in the bearing zones. In the design of the composite columns these criteria reappear in the widening of the column heads and the eight‐cornered cross‐sections. Special consideration was given to a simple fabrication and an unproblematic erection with as far as possible reduced welding at the site. The article covers the planning and the building of the bridge. In addition experiences made in building other bridges with airtight box girders are reported.     

Die Bahretalbrücke – eine Verbundbrücke mit Vollfertigteilen

Der Einsatz von Vollfertigteilen im Stahlverbundbrückenbau hat bisher in Deutschland wenig Anwendung gefunden. Im internationalen Großbrückenbau, insbesondere auch beim Bau von Schrägseilbrücken, ist die Herstellung der Fahrbahnplatte von Stahlverbundbrücken mit Vollfertigteilen eine häufig ausgeführte Variante. Am Beispiel der Bahretalbrücke im Zuge der Staatsstraße S 107n sollen die Vorteile dieser Bauweise beschrieben und einige Hinweise zur konstruktiven Ausbildung dargestellt werden. Application of prefabricated sections for composite bridges shown on the example of Bahretal Bridge. The application of the prefabricated sections in composite constructions has not been often used in Germany. In the international bridge building especially in building of cable stayed bridges prefabricated sections in the assembly of the deck are often used. The advantages of using this method and some details of the construction will be shown on the example of the Bahretal Bridge.     

Monitoring der neuen Schrägseilbrücke über den Chao Phraya,Nonthaburi, Thailand

Monitoring of the new cable‐stayed bridge over the Chao Phraya, Nonthaburi, Thailand To the north of Bangkok (Thailand), a new motorway section has been realized in recent years to relieve the surrounding routes in Nonthaburi Province, whose main characteristic is an extra‐dosed bridge over the Chao Phraya river with a total length of 460 m. The building consists of two pylons with golden domes and 96 stay cables carrying a box girder cross‐section designed for six lanes across the river. To monitor the structural behavior of the bridge an extensive monitoring system was awarded by the client to DYWIDAG Systems International GmbH in cooperation of Schimetta Consult who have optimized, designed and realized the system. 45 sensors are monitoring permanently temperatures, strains and deflections of the bridge, inclinations of the pylons, movements of the expansion joints, wind velocities, accelerations and cable forces. The data are automatically stored on site, provided via a UMTS connection to an external server within a few minutes, enabling continuous display of the signals on a homepage for easy access by the client. In addition, the measurement data are being summarized on a half‐year base and the results are submitted to the clients by a measurement report. The monitoring system is continuously acquiring data since opening of the structure early 2015 to regular traffic, enabling a very good insight to the structural behaviour.     

Verstärkung der orthotropen Stahlfahrbahn der Schönwasserparkbrücke mittels Stahl‐Elastomer‐Sandwich (SPS)

Rehabilitation of the orthotropic steel bridge deck of the Schöwasserparkbrücke using the Sandwich‐plate‐system (SPS). By the Federal Ministry of Transport a pilot project for strengthening of orthotropic bridge decks was promoted in 2005. The application of a steel‐elastomere‐sandwich‐overlay was selected. This new technology was tested which allows to strenghten orthotropic plates of bridges against hazards from growing traffic actions. The tested method as well as the pilot project at a BAB A 57 highway bridge in Krefeld are described in the following article.     

Die Brücke über den Oberhafen in Hamburg

The bridge across the Oberhafenkanal in Hamburg. The replacement of 4 steel railway bridges with a total steel construction weight of 4000 tons in the centre of Hamburg, which connect the central station of Hamburg with the south of Germany was a great challenge in bridge building. The central steel superstructure of the bridge, the Oberhafenbrücke, a five‐span truss continuous beam is special because it is a combined railway and road bridge. The railway travels on the upper deck between the upper chords whereas the road traffic travels on the lower deck between the truss. This superstructure crosses the Oberhafenkanal. The available time for the complete building process comprised of statics, design, manufacturing and assembly was only 14months. The end of this process was totally fixed because of the long‐time announced complete shutdown of the railway connections to the south and parts of the Hamburg central station between December 24^th and December 31^st, 2007. Despite the new definition of substantial design‐parameters (load models for road and railway, permanent bearing‐system, temporary bearing‐system after December 31^st, 2007) and therefore a reduction of the available time by 4 months the task of building the new bridge was carried out successfully by the consortium comprised of Eiffel Deutschland Stahltechnologie GmbH, Bilfinger Berger AG ZN Hamburg and Jürgen Martens GmbH & Co. KG.     

Die neue Berliner Brücke in Halle – Erste deutsche Schrägseilbrücke in Verbundbauweise

The new Berliner Brücke in the city of Halle (Saale) – First German cable stayed bridge in composite construction. The new Berliner Brücke in the middle of the Händel ‐city of Halle (Saale) is a cable stayed bridge with a central pylon and a stiffening truss in composite construction. The stiffening truss with the outline of the deck is bent and the pylon is skew to the bridge centre line. The bridge is exposed to stress out of the working load, e.g. traffic loads, heavy traffic loads and tram loads. The bridge crosses partly electrified tracks of the DB AG facilities in the north of the main station. Innovations and optimisation of building costs are a product of the difficult conditions to satisfy the urban development demands.