Effect of Edge Stiffening and Diaphragms on the Reliability of Bridge Girders

Abstract

Secondary elements such as barriers, sidewalks, and diaphragms may affect the distribution of live load to bridge girders. The objective of this study is to evaluate their effect on girder reliability if these elements are designed to be sufficiently attached to the bridge so as not to It was found that typical combinations of secondary elements have a varying influence on girder reliability, depending on secondary element stiffness and bridge geometry. Suggestions are presented that can account for secondary elements and that provide a uniform level of reliability to bridge girders.

Evaluation of existing prestressed concrete bridges considering the randomness of live load distribution factor due to random vehicle loading position

“…Three different girder spacings were selected, namely, 2.2, 2.94, and 4.0 m. The girder spacings of 2.2 and 2.94 m and the slab thickness of 0.19 m are commonly used in the United States (Yousif and Hindi, 2007). As using fewer girders has become a favorable choice under many conditions, a larger girder spacing of 4 m, which was also used in Eamon and Nowak’s (2005) study, was also investigated in this study. As a result, a total of 15 simply supported prestressed concrete bridges with AASHTO-PCI (types II–VI) girders were considered.…”

High Performance Concrete in Highway Bridge in Cold and Arid Regions

“…The whole-situ concrete connections were more used now, the application effect of whole-situ concrete connecting structure was obviously better than steel plate connecting structure [2]. But the whole-situ concrete connection has its own shortcomings, if the structural setting was inappropriate, there were concrete cracking also, and influenced the performance of diaphragm [3,4]. The studies of the structure construction of diaphragms were more at home and abroad, but less of the transverse connections and the study were limited steel plate connection structures only, did not involve the whole-situ concrete connection structures [5,6].…”

“…The benefits of combining the two common materials have long been recognized and a variety of composite system has been developed and widely used in both buildings and bridges. Concrete filled steel tube composite [1][2][3][4][5] are the most favorable composite system for columns or structures with compression carrying members. The steel shell provides confinement to the concrete; in return, concrete provides supports that prevent premature local buckling or crippling of the steel and allow effective composite action, which leads to a remarkable increase of strength and ductility of the structure.…”