Effect of secondary elements on bridge structural system reliability considering moment capacity

Secondary elements such as barriers, sidewalks, and diaphragms may increase the load carrying capacity of girder bridges. This in turn affects reliability. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential benefit of secondary elements on the system reliability of girder bridges, if these elements are designed with the structural system to participate resisting vehicular live loads. Simple span, two lane structures are considered, with composite steel girders supporting a reinforced concrete deck. For structural analysis, a finite element procedure is developed that combines a grillage model of the bridge deck with solid elements for edge-stiffening effects. Random variables considered are composite girder, barrier, and sidewalk flexural strengths (each in turn composed of many random variables), load magnitude (dead load and truck traffic live load), and live load position. System resistance parameters are estimated with a point integration method. System resistance is evaluated in terms of maximum load carried at ultimate capacity. It was found that the interaction of typical secondary element combinations has a varying effect on system reliability, depending on element stiffness, bridge span, and girder spacing.