scholarly journals Influence of Construction Joint and Bridge Geometry on Integral Abutment Bridges

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5031
Author(s):  
Wooseok Kim ◽  
Jeffrey A. Laman ◽  
Farzin Zareian ◽  
Geunhyung Min ◽  
Do Hyung Lee

Although integral abutment bridges (IABs) have become a preferred construction choice for short- to medium-length bridges, they still have unclear bridge design guidelines. As IABs are supported by nonlinear boundaries, bridge geometric parameters strongly affect IAB behavior and complicate predicting the bridge response for design and assessment purposes. This study demonstrates the effect of four dominant parameters: (1) girder material, (2) bridge length, (3) backfill height, and (4) construction joint below girder seats on the response of IABs to the rise and fall of AASHTO extreme temperature with time-dependent effects in concrete materials. The effect of factors influencing bridge response, such as (1) bridge construction timeline, (2) concrete thermal expansion coefficient, (3) backfill stiffness, and (4) pile-soil stiffness, are assumed to be constant. To compare girder material and bridge geometry influence, the study evaluates four critical superstructure and substructure response parameters: (1) girder axial force, (2) girder bending moment, (3) pile moment, and (4) pile head displacement. All IAB bridge response values were strongly related to the four considered parameters, while they were not always linearly proportional. Prestressed concrete (PSC) bridge response did not differ significantly from the steel bridge response. Forces and moments in the superstructure and the substructure induced by thermal movements and time-dependent loads were not negligible and should be considered in the design process.

Author(s):  
Shehab Mourad ◽  
Sami W. Tabsh

Interest in the use of integral bridges has increased in recent years because of their economy, reliability, and strength. However, most of the published research on integral bridges has been concerned with determination of the thermal effect, creep analysis, and seismic behavior. Few studies on live load analysis of integral abutment bridges have been carried out. The pile load behavior of integral abutments supporting composite steel superstructures subjected to gravity loads is investigated. The applied loading is composed of one or more side-by-side HS20-44 trucks. The finite element method is used to analyze the three-dimensional bridge system and determine forces in the piles. A parametric study is performed to obtain the effects of the number of trucks and their location, superstructure geometry, pile spacing and stiffness, pile connection type, and wingwall length on the pile loads. A simple, approximate procedure for computing pile loads is developed on the basis of the findings of the finite element analysis. The results indicate that the abutment-wingwall system does not behave as a rigid block as in the conventional case of a footing on flexible piles. Also, the generated bending moment in the piles caused by gravity load is significant and cannot be neglected in design.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (Special Issue on First SACEE'19) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Bruno Briseghella ◽  
Fuyun Huang ◽  
Gabriele Fiorentino

Integral abutment bridges (IABs) are becoming rather common due to the durability problems of bearings and expansion joints. Monolithic connections between the deck and sub-structure allow, on one side, to increase the structure redundancy and reduce the maintenance costs. However, from the other side, soil-structure effects are also introduced due to the interactions between the abutment and the backfill and between the pile and soil induced by thermal variations, long-term effects (creep and shrinkage) and dynamic loads, such as earthquakes. Several authors have investigated the soil-structure interaction for IABs both theoretically and experimentally, but there is still a lack of common line guidelines and codes. After a literature review of the main studies regarding the seismic response of IABs, this paper introduces some recent contributions given by investigators in this field. In particular, the following topics are discussed: (a) an experimental study on an innovative deck to pier/abutment joint; (b) the possibility of using prestressed concrete or ultra-high performance piles in IABs; (c) a pile isolation technique based on a pre-hole filled with damping materials; and (d) a research project supported by European Union inside the Horizon 2020 SERA project on the seismic behaviour of novel integral abutment bridges. The paper clearly demonstrates the potential applications of the proposed technologies for IABs built in seismic zones.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 713-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley A. Huntley ◽  
Arun J. Valsangkar

Integral abutment bridges accommodate thermal superstructure movements through flexible foundations rather than expansion joints. While these structures are a common alternative to conventional design, the literature on measured field stresses in piles supporting integral abutments appears to be quite limited. Therefore, field data from strain gauges installed on the abutment foundation piles of a 76 m long; two-span integral abutment bridge are the focus of this paper. Axial load, weak- and strong-axis bending moments of the foundation piles, as well as abutment movement and backfill response, are presented and discussed. Results indicate that the abutment foundation piles are bending in double curvature about the weak axis, as a result of thermal bridge movements, and bending also about the strong axis due to tilting of the abutments. A simple subgrade modulus approach is used to show its applicability in predicting behaviour under lateral loading. In the past, much emphasis has been placed on the lateral displacements of piles and less on variations of axial load. In this paper, a new hypothesis, which offers insight into the mechanisms behind the observed thermal variations in axial load, is proposed and assessed. The data from the field monitoring are also compared with the limited data reported in the literature.


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