• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.531-542
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• 2011

The time-dependent temperature distribution across the section in bridges is determined on the basis of the three-dimensional finite element analyses and numerical time integration in this study. The material properties which change with time and thermal stress of concrete are taken into account to effectively trace the early-age structural responses. Since the temperature distribution is nonlinear and depends upon many material constants such as the thermal conductivity, specific heat, hydration heat of concrete, heat transfer coefficients and solar radiation, three representative influencing factors of the construction season, wind velocity and bridge pavement are considered at the parametric studies. The validity of the introduced numerical model is established by comparing the analytical predictions with results from previous analytical studies. On the basis of parametric studies for four different bridge sections, it is found that the creep deformation in concrete bridges must be considered to reach more reasonable design results and the temperature distribution proposed in the Korean bridge design specification need to be improved.