U.S. flag An official website of the United States government.
Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

i

Pile Deformation Stresses and Strains in Integral Abutment Bridges

File Language:
English


Details

  • Creators:
  • Corporate Creators:
    Illinois. Department of Transportation. Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
  • Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Publication/ Report Number:
    PRR 171
  • Resource Type:
    Tech Report
  • Geographical Coverage:
  • Edition:
    Final Report, 2008-2019
  • Corporate Publisher:
    Illinois. Department of Transportation. Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
  • Abstract:
    Integral abutment bridges have definite advantages, including less deck deflection than bridges with simply supported members, simpler construction, and lesser maintenance of the abutment and superstructure supports. This investigation examined the extent of strains induced by thermal expansion and contraction in driven piles and the reinforcing bars that connect the pile cap to the abutment diaphragm. Bridges selected for strain gage instrumentation had single and multiple spans. Three bridges used HP 12 x 53 piles oriented in the “strong” X-X axis and one bridge used shell piles. Strain gages and wires were armored with epoxy and attached to piles and reinforcing bars. Results indicated that piles had variable stresses as function of depth from the top of the pile to their points of fixity. Deflections in several piles did not conform to the deformed shape of a cantilever pile with fixed end loading as predicted by theoretical mechanics. Some piles exhibited the onset or presence of a plastic hinge. Differences in soil compressive strengths at various depths also influenced the deformation behavior of the pile. Mean stresses that were established in several piles were substantial and generated some concern as to factors of safety of piles with respect to fatigue life. HP piles were evaluated in terms of their expected fatigue life by the widely used Goodman failure equation and related fatigue data of ASTM A36 structural steel and ASTM A706 and A615 rebars. The effects of mean and alternating stresses and corrosion fatigue data of A36 steel were also included. Rebars at the pile cap were particularly vulnerable where several had clearly sustained stress levels significantly beyond the AASHTO high cycle fatigue limit for reinforcing bars. Recommendations to extend the life of piles subjected to stresses above their yield strength and corrosion in soils with low resistivity include: (a) thermally sprayed zinc or aluminum coatings; (b) hot dip galvanizing of the piles; (c) coating the piles with fusion-bonded epoxy and (d) cathodically protecting them with replaceable magnesium or zinc or aluminum sacrificial anodes, depending on the prevalent soil resistivity.
  • Format:
    PDF
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:59e0c2fb2877cebc8678a507089e9c9da5d809a0039b84aa76a65868bbb98fb6089f00c9f77cf20cd3c1ec2db2a98c635c218a21986827bf7314a4b63c1019ca
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 2.05 MB ]
PREVIOUS
File Language:
English
ON THIS PAGE
Details
ROSA P serves as an archival repository of USDOT-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by USDOT or funded partners. As a repository, ROSA P retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
BACK TO TOP