Research on Steel Shell of a Road Bridge Made of Corrugated Plates during Backfilling

This paper presents the results and conclusions of the research conducted on a backfilled shell structure made of Super Cor SC-56B corrugated steel plates of a road bridge located in Gim?n, Sweden. The conclusions drawn from the tests can be helpful mostly for the assessment of the behavior of this type of steel–soil bridge structure under the load of backfilling. In consideration of an even more frequent application of this type of structure for small and middle-sized road and rail bridges, conclusions from the conducted research can be generalized to the whole class of such structural solutions.     

Static Load Tests of a Road Bridge with a Flexible Structure Made from Super Cor Type Steel Corrugated Plates

The way in which a new road bridge made from Super Cor steel plates was tested is described and the test results for three static load schemes in which one ballasting vehicle (a Scania truck) was used as the load are presented. The tested bridge has a box structure and it is located on the Gim?n River in Gim?n, Sweden on the Br?cke-Holm road. The bridge has an effective span of 12.315?m and a clear height of 3.555?m. The span’s steel shell is founded on two reinforced concrete continuous footings. The average measured displacements and strains (normal stresses) in selected points and elements of the steel shell structure were found to be much smaller than the ones calculated for the same load. The conclusions drawn from this research can be useful for assessing the performance of such steel shells and their interaction with the surrounding backfill. Since such steel–soil designs are used more and more often for small and medium-sized bridges on road and railway lines in Poland and in the world, the conclusions from the static load tests can be generalized to a whole class of similar bridge designs.     

Static Load Tests of a Corrugated Steel Plate Arch with Relieving Slab

This paper deals with a new arch road bridge made from structural corrugated plates, over the Plawna Stream on a local road between Bystrzyca Klodzka and Ladek Zdroj in Stary Waliszow, Poland. The bridge replaced the old stone arch bridge destroyed during the flood of 1997. The steel bridge is founded on two continuous footings made of reinforced concrete. Its effective span is 10.00?m and clear height is 4.02?m. The results of tests carried out on the bridge under three static load schemes after 4?years of service are presented. The average values of the measured displacements and strains in selected points and elements of the steel shell structure were found to be considerably lower than the ones calculated for the same load. Since designs of this type are now commonly used for small and medium-size bridges, the conclusions drawn from the presented tests can be generalized to the whole class of such bridge structures.     

Construction of a Horizontally Curved Steel I-Girder Bridge. Part II: Inconsistent Detailing

The erection of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges tends to be more complex than the erection of straight steel I-girder bridges. The erection of a curved steel I-girder bridge can be further complicated when the cross-frame members and girders are detailed inconsistently in an effort to force bridge components into some desirable geometric condition. Inconsistent detailing involves the intentional specification of cross-frame members that are either too long or too short to align with girder connector plates properly so as to force the girders into a given position, resulting in connection misalignments that must be resolved by applying external forces to the bridge components. The current research investigates the erection of a recently constructed horizontally curved steel I-girder bridge and highlights the fact that practice of inconsistent detailing can lead to very formidable and costly fit-up problems in the field; especially when girder sizes are large.     

Construction of a Horizontally Curved Steel I-Girder Bridge. Part I: Erection Sequence

In the case of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges, girder and cross-frame members are frequently detailed for erection in the no-load condition as a matter of convention. As a result, it is imperative that the erection sequence used to construct such bridges be comprehensively studied to ensure that the no-load condition can be achieved in the field and that significant superstructure component fit-up problems do not occur. The current research investigates the erection of a recently constructed horizontally curved steel I-girder bridge, in which significant difficulties were encountered during erection. The bridge erection is recreated through an analytical simulation using a detailed nonlinear finite element model. The analytical results demonstrate that a condition that closely resembles the no-load condition can be achieved in the field during construction with the proper implementation of temporary support structures; and that the difficulties encountered during the erection of the subject bridge superstructure could not be attributed to the erection scheme followed.     

Experimental and Analytical Studies of a Horizontally Curved Steel I-Girder Bridge during Erection

A series of studies on an experimental, full-scale curved steel bridge structure during erection are discussed. The work was part of the Federal Highway Administration’s curved steel bridge research project (CSBRP). The CSBRP is intended to improve the understanding of curved bridge behavior and to develop more rational design guidelines. The main purpose of the studies reported herein was to assess the capability of analytical tools for predicting response during erection. Nine erection studies, examining six different framing plans, are presented. The framing plans are not necessarily representative of curved bridge subassemblies as they would be erected in the field; however, they represent a variety of conditions that would test the robustness of analysis tools and assess the importance of erection sequence on initial stresses in a curved girder bridge. The simply supported, three I-girder system used for the tests is described and methods for reducing and examining the data are discussed. Comparisons between experimental and analytical results demonstrate that analysis tools can predict loads and deformations during construction. Comparison to the V-load method indicates that it predicts stresses in exterior girders well, but can underpredict them for interior girders.     

Construction and Testing of an Innovative Concrete Bridge Deck Totally Reinforced with Glass FRP Bars: Val-Alain Bridge on Highway 20 East

The Val-Alain Bridge, located in the Municipality of Val-Alain on Highway 20 East, crosses over Henri River in Québec, Canada. The bridge is a slab-on-girder type with a skew angle of 20° over a single span of 49.89?m and a total width of 12.57?m. The bridge has four simply supported steel girders spaced at 3,145?mm. The deck slab is a 225-mm-thick concrete slab, with semi-integral abutments, continuous over the steel girders with an overhang of 1,570?mm on each side. The concrete deck slab and the bridge barriers were reinforced with glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bars utilizing high-performance concrete. The Val-Alain Bridge is the Canada’s first concrete bridge deck totally reinforced with GFRP reinforcing bars. Using such nonmetallic reinforcement in combination with high-performance concrete leads to an expected service life of more than 75?years. The bridge is well instrumented with electrical resistance strain gauges and fiber-optic sensors at critical locations to record internal strain data. Also, the bridge was tested for service performance using calibrated truckloads. Design concepts, construction details, and results of the first series of live load field tests are presented.     

Field-Measured Response of an Integral Abutment Bridge with Short Steel H-Piles

Integral abutment bridges (IABs) with short steel H-pile (HP) supported foundations ( ? 4?m of pile depth) are economical for many environmentally sensitive sites with shallow bedrock. However, such short piles may not develop an assumed, fixed-end support condition at some depth below the pile cap, which is inconsistent with traditional pile design assumptions involving an equivalent length for bending behavior of the pile. In this study, the response of an IAB with short HP-supported foundations and no special pile tip details such as drilling and socketing is investigated. Instrumentation of a single-span IAB with 4-m-long piles at one abutment and 6.2- to 8.7-m-long piles at the second abutment is described. Instrumentation includes pile strain gauging, pile inclinometers, extensometers to measure abutment movement, earth pressure cells, and thermistors. Pile and bridge response during construction, under controlled live load testing, and due to seasonal movements are presented and discussed. Abutment and pile head rotations due to self-weight, live load, and seasonal movements were all found to be significant. Measured abutment movements were likely affected by both temperature changes and deck creep and shrinkage. Based on the field study results presented here, moderately short HPs driven to bedrock without special tip details appear to perform well in IABs and do not experience stresses larger than those seen by longer piles.