Numerical and field data analysis of integral abutment bridges

In comparison to conventional jointed bridges, integral abutment bridges (IABs) have lower construction and maintenance costs, making them increasingly more popular amongst departments of transportation across the United States. Most design guidelines have been created based on substructure considerations because little research has been conducted on superstructure demands. This thesis documents an IAB investigation that employed field monitoring and nonlinear analysis. Numerical simulations were used to study nonlinear bridge models for IABs with composite steel I-girders subjected to thermal loadings. A parametric study was conducted, evaluating the influence of various primary and secondary parameters. Structural responses such as girder superstructure elastic stress and pile substructure inelastic strain are influenced by bridge length, pile type and size, superstructure rotational stiffness, and bridge skew. As as a companion to the numerical simulations, field monitoring was conducted on a 30-degree skew, four-span continuous IAB located in northern Illinois. Field instrumentation includes strain gages, tiltmeters, and displacement transducers. This thesis documents data that has been collected from May 2014 to March 2016; thus, field results presented are representative of roughly 2 years of data collection, with the bridge undergoing seasonal cycles of temperature changes. A finite element model for the monitored bridge is also presented, and its results compare well with what is seen in the field. Overall, the field monitoring effort is a means to validate assumptions made during the design and modelling process of the parametric study.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2016

Author dc:creator

• Wright, Beth Ann

Contributors dc:contributor

• LaFave, James M.
• Fahnestock, Larry A.

• Integral Abutment Bridges
• Skewed Bridges
• Field Monitoring
• Thermal Loading
• Steel I-Girders
• Steel H-Piles
• Pile Strain
• Girder Stress
• Superstructure-Substructure Interaction
• Effective Expansion Length
• Numerical Models.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Beth Wright

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/90651

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F90651