Investigate Live Load Distribution and Stability of Prestressed Concrete Girders During Construction

Details

• Creators:
  Aliasghar-Mamaghani, Mojtaba ; Bjelland, Aiden ; Tackett, Paul ; Koyuk, Baran ; Raj Selvaraj, Bhushan ; Ngamjarungjit, Tanakorn ; Stevens, Ryan ; Helwig, Todd ; Hebdon, Matthew
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Texas at Austin. Center for Transportation Research
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas Department of Transportation. Research and Technology Implementation Office ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Bridges
  • Concrete bridges
  • Stability analysis
  • Finite element method
  • Live loads
  • Load transfer
  • Girders
  • Mechanical stability
  • Prestressed concrete
  • Spliced Concrete bridges
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-26/0-7115-1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Texas
• Edition:
  Final Report (September 2022-June2025)
• Corporate Publisher:
  University of Texas at Austin. Center for Transportation Research
• Abstract:
  Prestressed concrete girders are widely used in bridge applications in the state of Texas. While the girders have traditionally been utilized for simply-supported bridges, continuous-girder applications have been used recently by employing spliced-concrete girders that allow significant increases in the spans. However, the larger spans introduce increased girder slenderness that can introduce potential stability limit states that historically have not been an issue with simple-span systems. In addition, the larger spans of the girders can also have an impact the live load distribution of the girders. This report documents a comprehensive investigation on the stability behavior of prestressed concrete girder systems throughout the erection and construction process and also considers the live load distribution of the in-service bridges. Full scale laboratory experiments were conducted to measure the flexural and torsional behavior of the girders in both the uncracked and cracked state. The results from the laboratory tests were utilized to validate three-dimension finite element models that were used to consider girder stability throughout the erection and construction stages of the deck. Because cracks that might occur during transportation and erection are often closed from the prestressing, cracked section properties were utilized to assess s the girder stability. The impact of diaphragms on the stability girder behavior and also live load distribution were studied. Recommendations are provided for diaphragm bracing, stability evaluation, and live load distribution in the girders.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  0-7115
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93167/dot_93167_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 37.60 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:790c1937a4bdef9108ead78bf07a3f4ac3401fc369bc16db016f0e11f0a74208dfbeb8165e2618d43aa562f175cef9f4bb4d976801354b457d5381b0c2c58796