Integral abutment bridges under thermal loading : field monitoring and analysis.

Details

• Creators:
  LaFave, James M. ; Fahnestock, Larry ; Brambila, Gabriela ; Riddle, Joseph K. ; Jarrett, Matthew W. ; Svatora, Jeffrey S. ; Wright, Beth A. ; An, Huayu
• Corporate Creators:
  Illinois Center for Transportation
• Corporate Publisher:
  Illinois. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
• Corporate Contributors:
  Illinois. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Materials and Physical Research ; United States. Federal Highway Administration ; Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Jointless bridges
  • Bridge abutments
  • Skewed structures
  • Thermal analysis
  • Mechanical loads
  • Thermal stresses
  • Thermal fatigue
  • Integral Abutment Bridge
  • Field Monitoring
  • Skewed Bridges
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-ICT-17-017
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Illinois ; United States
• Description:
  Integral abutment bridges (IABs) have gained popularity throughout the United States due to their low construction and maintenance costs. Previous research on IABs has been heavily focused on substructure performance, leaving a need for better understanding of IAB superstructure behavior and interdependent effects. This report presents findings of a field monitoring program for two Illinois IABs (which supplements findings from a parametric study portion of the overall project that are summarized in a previous volume). The field monitoring program included collecting data about (i) global bridge movements; (ii) pile, deck, girder, and approach-slab strains; and (iii) rotations at different abutment interfaces. Field results have been compared to finite-element models of each bridge in order to provide further insight into IAB behavior. Field monitoring results corroborated that IAB longitudinal expansion and contraction is somewhat less than theoretical free expansion and contraction, and is influenced by bridge skew as well. Significant girder stresses were observed, particularly at the girder bottom flange, which should be considered in design. Pile strain values indicate there is likely some reserve pile-deformation capacity typically available.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  R27-115
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32745/dot_32745_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.54 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:dee2bcbba8d5f9a3fafd3d4a26c7cd356033c0caf3b58e2e97d12183217d5d9e