The Finite Element Analysis of Prestressed Concrete Channel Bridge with Three Girders

Abstract

Prestressed concrete(PC) channel bridge, consisting of a PC deck slab, two PC girders and two end crossbeams, is a new type of bridge structures. The PC channel bridges have been widely used in the structures such as highway, railway as well as urban rail transport. This paper presents a finite element method (FEM) analysis of mechanical behaviours of channel bridges with three girders in the construction, service and ultimate limit stage. The primary results include:(1) the channel bridges act elastically in the construction stage. (2) under the service loads, the deflections in the mid-span and the stresses on the whole concrete cross section could meet the requirements of the current codes. (3) the FEA results of flexural capacity of the channel bridges agree well with the results calculated according to the current codes, and the average loads of flexural capacity are about 3.26 times the design loads.