• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.681-699
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• 2016

Steel box girders have two webs and two flanges on top that are usually connected with shear connectors to the concrete deck and are also known as tub girders. The end diaphragms of such bridges comprise of a stiffened steel plate welded to the inside of the girder at each end. The diaphragms play a major role in transferring vertical and lateral loads to the bearings and substructure. A review of literature shows that the cyclic behavior of diaphragms under earthquake loading has not been studied previously. This paper uses a nonlinear finite element model to study the behavior of the end diaphragms under gravity and seismic loads. Different bearing device and stiffener configurations have been considered. Affected areas of the diaphragm are distinguished.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.519-531
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• 2013

To have a better understanding of the torsional mechanism and influencing factors of PC composite box-girder with corrugated steel webs, ultimate torsional strength of four specimens under pure torsion were analyzed with Model Test Method. Monotonic pure torsion acts on specimens by eccentric concentrated loading. The experimental results show that cracks form at an angle of $45^{\circ}$ to the member's longitudinal axis in the top and bottom concrete slabs. Longitudinal reinforcement located in the center of cross section contributes little to torsional capacity of the specimens. Torsional rigidity is proportional to shape parameter ${\eta}$ of corrugation and there is an increase in yielding torque and ultimate torque of specimens as the thickness of corrugated steel webs increases.

• 한국철도학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국철도학회 1998년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.47-53
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• 1998

Many kinds of methods have been developed to carry out transverse analysis of prestressed concrete(PSC) box girder bridges. However, most bridge engineers only use the simple frame model to analyze PSC box girder in transverse direction because of its simplicity and easy usage. But, this frame model has many problems such that it can't consider warping, distortion and longitudinal load distribution. In this study, the results from simple frame model and 3-dimensional shell model with UIC load are compared to show its validity. The results from frame model are slightly larger than those of shell model in symmetric loading case. But, positive bending moment of top slab is larger in shell model than frame model in case subject to anti-symmetric loading. It shows that simple frame model can't always give conservative results, so a practical tool whose treatment is easy and whose product is reliable shall be developed as soon as possible.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.549-559
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• 2017

As few multi-tower single-box multi-cell cable-stayed bridges with corrugated steel webs have been built, analysis is mostly achieved by combining single-girder model, beam grillage model and solid model in support of the design. However, such analysis methods usually suffer from major limitations in terms of the engineering applications: single-girder model fails to account for spatial effect such as shear lag effect of the box girder and the relevant effective girder width and eccentric load coefficient; owing to the approximation in the principle equivalence, the plane grillage model cannot accurately capture shear stress distribution and local stress state in both top and bottom flange of composite box girder; and solid model is difficult to be practically combined with the overall calculation. The usual effective width method fails to provide a uniform and accurate "effective length" (and the codes fail to provide a unified design approach at those circumstance) considering different shear lag effects resulting from dead load, prestress and cable tension in the construction. Therefore, a novel spatial grid model has been developed to account for shear lag effect. The theoretical principle of the proposed spatial grid model has been elaborated along with the relevant illustrations of modeling parameters of composite box girder with corrugated steel webs. Then typical transverse and longitudinal shear lag coefficient distribution pattern at the side-span and mid-span key cross sections have been analyzed and summarized to provide reference for similar bridges. The effectiveness and accuracy of spatial grid analysis methods has been finally validated through a practical cable-stayed bridge.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제50권4호
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• pp.501-524
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• 2014

This paper presents a type of composite box girder with corrugated webs and concrete filled steel tube slab to overcome cracking on the web and reduce self-weight. Utilizing corrugated steel web improves the efficiency of prestressing introduced into the top and bottom slabs due to the accordion effect. In order to understand the loading capacity of such new composite structure, experimental and numerical analyses were conducted. A full-scale model was loaded monotonically to investigate the deflection, strain distribution, loading capacity and stiffness during the whole process. The experimental results show that test specimen has enough loading capacity and ductility. Based on experimental works, a finite element (FE) model was established. The load-displacement curves and stress distribution predicted by FE model agree well with that obtained from experiments, which demonstrates the accuracy of proposed FE model. Moreover, simplified theoretical analysis was conducted depending on the assumptions which were confirmed by the experimental and numerical results. The simplified analysis results are identical with the tested and numerical results, which indicate that simplified analytical model can be used to predict the loading capacity of such composite girder accurately. All the findings of present study may provide reference for the application of such structure in bridge construction.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제61권1호
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• pp.117-124
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• 2017

Load testing is one of the important tests to determine if the structural elements can be used at the intended locations for which they have been designed. It is nothing but gradually applying the loads and measuring the deflections and other parameters. It is usually carried out to determine the behaviour of the system under service/ultimate loads. It helps to identify the maximum load that the structural element can withstand without much deflection/deformation. It will also help find out which part of the element causes failure first. The load-deflection behaviour of the road bridge girder has been studied by carrying out the load test after simulating the field conditions to the extent possible. The actual vertical displacement of the beam at mid span due to the imposed load was compared with the theoretical deflection of the beam. Further, the recovery of deflection at mid span was also observed on removal of the test load. Finally, the beam was checked for any cracks to assert if the beam was capable of carrying the intended live loads and that it could be used with confidence.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.325-336
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• 2019

Concrete placement and temporary formwork of bridge deck overhangs result in unbalanced eccentric loads that cause exterior girders to rotate during construction. These construction loads affect the global and local stability of the girders and produce permanent girder rotation after construction. In addition to construction loads, the skew angle of the bridge also contributes to girder rotation. To prevent rotation (in both skewed and non-skewed bridges), a number of techniques have been suggested to temporarily brace the girders using transverse tie bars connecting the top flanges and embedded in the deck, temporary horizontal and diagonal steel pipes placed between the webs of the exterior and first interior girders, and permanent cross frames. This study includes a rigorous three-dimensional finite element analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of several bracing systems for non-skewed and several skewed bridges. In this paper, skew angles of $0^{\circ}$, $20^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, and $45^{\circ}$ were considered for single- and three-span bridges. The results showed that permanent cross frames worked well for all bridges, whereas temporary measures have limited application depending on the skew angle of the bridge.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제50권3호
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• pp.347-362
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• 2024

Controlling vibrations and noise in steel box girders is important for reducing noise pollution and avoiding discomfort to residents of dwellings along bridges. The fundamental approach to solving this problem involves first identifying the main path of transmission of the vibration energy and then cutting it off by using targeted measures. However, this requires an investigation of the characteristics of flow of vibration energy in the steel box girder, whereas most studies in the area have focused on analyzing its single-point frequency response and overall vibrations. To solve this problem, this study examines the transmission of vibrations through the segments of a steel box girder when it is subjected to harmonic loads through structural intensity analysis based on standard finite element software and a post-processing code created by the authors. We identified several frequencies that dominated the vibrations of the steel box girder as well as the factors that influenced their emergence. We also assessed the contributions of a variety of vibrational waves to power flow, and the results showed that bending waves were dominant in the top plate and in-plane waves in the vertical plate of the girder. Finally, we analyzed the effects of commonly used stiffened structures and steel-concrete composite structures on the flow of vibration energy in the girder, and verified their positive impacts on energy regionalization. In addition to providing an efficient tool for the relevant analyses, the work here informs research on optimizing steel box girders to reduce vibrations and noise in them.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.459-473
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• 2012

Post-tensioned concrete voided slab girders are widely used in highway bridge constructions. To obtain greater section hollow rate and reduce the self-weight, the plate thickness of slab girders are designed to be small with the adoption of flat anchorage system. Since large prestress is applied to the anchor end section, it was found that longitudinal shear cracks are easy to occur along the voided slab girder. The reason is the existence of great shearing effect at the junction area between web and bottom (top) plate in the anchor end section. This paper focuses on the longitudinal anti-cracking problem at the anchor end of post-tensioned concrete voided slab girders. Two possible models for longitudinal anticracking analysis are proposed. Differential element analysis method is adopted to derive the solving formula of the critical cracking state, and then the practical analysis method for longitudinal anti-cracking is established. The influence of some factors on the longitudinal anti-cracking ability is studied. Results show that the section dimensions (thickness of bottom, web and top plate) and prestress eccentricity on web plate are the main factors that influence the anti-cracking ability. Moreover, the proposed method is applied into three engineering examples to make longitudinal anti-cracking verification for the girders. According to the verification results, the design improvements for these girders are determined.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.605-616
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• 2017

Concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) composite girder is a new type of structures for bridge constructions. The existing design codes cannot be used to predict the thermal stress in the CFST truss girder structures under solar radiation. This study is to develop the temperature gradient curves for predicting thermal stress of the structure based on field and laboratory monitoring data. An in-field testing had been carried out on Ganhaizi Bridge for over two months. Thermal couples were installed at the cross section of the CFST truss girder and the continuous data was collected every 30 minutes. A typical temperature gradient mode was then extracted by comparing temperature distributions at different times. To further verify the temperature gradient mode and investigate the evolution of temperature fields, an outdoor experiment was conducted on a 1:8 scale bridge model, which was installed with both thermal couples and strain gauges. The main factors including solar radiation and ambient temperature on the different positions were studied. Laboratory results were consistent with that from the in-field data and temperature gradient curves were obtained from the in-field and laboratory data. The relationship between the strain difference at top and bottom surfaces of the concrete deck and its corresponding temperature change was also obtained and a method based on curve fitting was proposed to predict the thermal strain under elevated temperature. The thermal stress model for CFST composite girder was derived. By the proposed model, the thermal stress was obtained from the temperature gradient curves. The results using the proposed model were agreed well with that by finite element modelling.