Modelagem numérica comparativa da ponte Florestinha, construída em madeira e concreto

Resumo A possibilidade de executar estruturas com elementos que apresentam seções mistas de materiais como madeira e concreto traz benefícios, como o aumento da economia na construção e da durabilidade à abrasão. O objetivo do trabalho consiste em realizar a comparação dos resultados de deslocamento vertical obtidos em modelagem numérica utilizando-se o método dos elementos finitos, resultados teóricos encontrados pelo programa Orthotropic Timber Bridges e experimentais da ponte Florestinha. Foram realizados três modelos numéricos. Considerou-se para os modelos 1 e 2 que as vigas de madeira são roliças e, para o modelo 3, que as vigas são de seção quadrada. Com os resultados obtidos, constatou-se que o modelo 1 se aproxima dos dados experimentais e apresenta desvio padrão do erro para o deslocamento devido ao carregamento central de ± 0,69 mm, que corresponde a 1,56% do erro percentual médio, e para o carregamento lateral de ± 0,73 mm, que indica 1,12% do erro percentual médio. Os modelos numéricos 1 e 2 representaram satisfatoriamente os modelos experimentais, revelando que a aplicação do método dos elementos finitos foi satisfatória para a análise da ponte.

Health Monitoring of Stress-Laminated Timber Bridges Assisted by a Hygro-Thermal Model for Wood Material

Timber bridges are economical, easy to construct, use renewable material and can have a long service life, especially in Nordic climates. Nevertheless, durability of timber bridges has been a concern of designers and structural engineers because most of their load-carrying members are exposed to the external climate. In combination with certain temperatures, the moisture content (MC) accumulated in wood for long periods may cause conditions suitable for timber biodegradation. In addition, moisture induced cracks and deformations are often found in timber decks. This study shows how the long term monitoring of stress-laminated timber decks can be assisted by a recent multi-phase finite element model predicting the distribution of MC, relative humidity (RH) and temperature (T) in wood. The hygro-thermal monitoring data are collected from an earlier study of the Sørliveien Bridge in Norway and from a research on the new Tapiola Bridge in Finland. In both cases, the monitoring uses integrated humidity-temperature sensors which provide the RH and T in given locations of the deck. The numerical results show a good agreement with the measurements and allow analysing the MCs at the bottom of the decks that could be responsible of cracks and cupping deformations.

Some Shape, Durability and Structural Strategies at the Conceptual Design Stage to Improve the Service Life of a Timber Bridge for Pedestrians

The use of wood in the construction of bridges has increased in recent decades thanks to the characteristics of this material, i.e., environmentally-friendly and suitability within natural landscapes. Nevertheless, timber constructions may be affected by degrading effects due to biological and/or abiotic agents, and may be exposed to impacts or vibrations due to external forces such as wind, earthquakes or walking pedestrians. Consequently, bridge performance with respect to these aspects should be assessed from the early design stage. Within this context, in this study, some shape, structural and durability strategies dealing with the design of timber bridges for pedestrians are investigated in order to extend the service life of these constructions. More precisely, a methodology consisting of three steps, to be applied at the early conceptual design stage, is proposed. The three fundamental steps to be considered in the preliminary design of timber bridges are: (i) main boundary constraints and load-bearing system; (ii) durability; (iii) vibration levels. In the study, the presented methodology is applied and described for the design of a pedestrian and cyclist timber bridge over the Gravina torrent, in Apulia (Italy).