ICE - Institution of Civil Engineers - Virtual Library

The purpose of this study is to establish a reliable and effective analytical procedure to simulate the dynamic response of the high-speed railway bridge-train-earthquake interaction system, so as to investigate the running stability of the bullet train and the earthquake performance of the elevated bridge. As a preliminary effort to realize the final goal aforementioned, exploying a developed 15-degree-of-freedom bullet train model and a three-dimensional finite element bridge model, a three-dimensional dynamic response analysis of the Shinkansen bridge-train interaction system under seismic load is carried out within the elastic range of the structures in this paper. The validity of the bridge-train and the accuracy of the seismic analysis algorithm is validated by comparing with the results of a general program.

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Analytical Procedure

• Dynamic differential equations of elevated bridge

• Dynamic differential equations of train

• Analytical Model

• Validation of Analytical Procedure

• Seismic analysis Results

• Concluding Remarks

• References

This study presents an analysis of the seismic response characteristics and seismic performance of arch concrete bridge. Nonlinear analysis using three-dimensional analytical model was conducted considering 18 modified ground motions. A linear analysis was applied to observe the dynamic response characteristics for the arch bridge after dampers installation. Finally, the damper location effect on the bridge seismic response was studied using a linear analysis.

• Abstract

• 1. Introduction

• 2. Arch Bridge Analyzed

• 3. Analytical Idealization

• 4. Input Seismic Motion

• 5. Natural Perlods and Natural Mode Shapes

• 6. Seismic Response Analysis

• 7. Damping Effect

• 8. Damper position effect

• 9. Conclusion

• References

• Introduction

• Evaluation of Life-Cycle Cost

• Calculation of earthquake damage probability

• Numerical Example

• Conclusion

• References

• Introduction

• Load models

• Bridge Girder Resistance Models

• Reliability Analysis Procedure

• Reliability indices

• Sensitivity analysis

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgments

• References

• Introduction

• Alignment constraints

• Dynamic response

• Acceptance criteria

• Techniques for dynamic analysis

• Design to meet the criteria

• Future developments

• Noise and vibration

• Track-structure interaction

• Seismic performance

• Construction methods

• Maintenance

• Safety requirements

• References

Nonlinear dynamic response of monorail bridges incorporation train-bridge interaction under extreme ground motions is investigated by means of a dynamic elasto-plastic seismic response analysis for spatial steel framed structures. The effect of train's dynamic system on seismic performances of monorail bridges is also investigated. Two types of monorail bridges are investigated: a conventional type with steel track-girder and an advanced type with composite track-girder and simplified lateral bracing system. During the strong earthquake, the monorail train is assumed as standing on the track-girder of the monorial bridge. It is observed that considering the monorail train as additional mass in numerical modeling may overestimate the live load effect on seismic performance of monorail bridges.

• Introduction

• Numerical models

• Seismic response analysis

• Concluding remarks

• References

• 1. Outline of Tsugaru Strait Bridge

• 2. Characteristics of the bridge

• 3. Outline of Nagisa Bridge

• 4. Construction of Nagisa Bridge

• 5. Conclusion

• Acknowledgement

• References

Genesis Power Limited (trading as “Genesis Energy”) has started the Huntly “e3p project” (385MW CCGT plant) at Huntly Power Station. As part of the Huntly e3p project, Genesis Energy are required to supply the contractor Mitsubishi Corporation with a heavy haulage route suitable to transport overweight and oversize components from the Port of Auckland to Huntly Power Station, some 100 km south of Auckland. Genesis Energy engaged Connell Wagner to provide engineering consultancy services to9 assist with identifying and upgrading the route. The chosen route follows the Transit New Zealand designated heavy haulage route through urban Auckland to State Highway 1 (SH1) and then to Huntly. This project includes crossing 35 structures, 27 of which require upgrading or temporary bridging or bypassing in some form or another.

• Synopsis

• Load Details

• Transport Route Constraints and Route feasibility

• Waikato River Crossings Options

• Preferred Transport Route

• Bridge Assessment Process

• Bridge Bypass Routes

• Consultation and Consents

• Transportation Considerations

• Load and Bridge Monitoring

• Summary

• Acknowledgement

For a corrugated steel web I-girder, the flanges provide its flexural strength while the web solely provides its shear capacity. Failure of the corrugated web occurs by steel yielding, web buckling or interactively between them. Lateral torsion and local flange buckling of corrugated web girders represent another two possible failure criteria. The shear behaviour of the corrugated webs is investigated focusing on the different failure modes which affect the web design. An investigated focusing on the different failure modes which affect the web design. An interaction equation that considers buckling and yielding of the web is proposed. Numerical analyses are preformed to investigate the buckling modes of the corrugated web, verify the validity of the proposed equation and explore the post-buckling strength of corrugated web girders. The numerical model is extended to determine the critical moment causing lateral instability for these girders. The applicability of the critical moment design equations, currently used for traditional girders, to corrugated web girders is examined. The numerical model is also used to scrutinize the local buckling behaviour of the compression flange of corrugated web girders. The applicability of the currently used limiting values for the flange outstand-to-thickness ratios to corrugated web girders is investigated.

• Introduction

• Failure Modes of Corrugated Steel webs

• Lateral Torsion Buckling of Corrugated Web Girders

• Local Buckling of Corrugated Web Girders' Flanges

• Conclusions

• References

Advanced bridge analysis and design methods have been simplified with the aid of modern bridge software tools. This paper covers three topics: 1. automated Vehicle Load Optimisation to various international design standards (this technique uses influence surfaces which are a powerful tool for generating the complex load patterns in accordance with the provisions of the bridge codes); 2. Composite Analysis Methods (these are now developed such that advanced 3D models incorporating finite elements can be analysed to produce composite member load effects such a overall bending, torsion, and web shear); and 3. Integrated Analysis and Design Techniques (this involves the provision of links between the various stages of design and analysis, such that section properties and structural analysis results can be calculated as well as design checks carried out under the one seamless interface). The above three bridge analysis and design methods are highly developed in SAM Integrated Bridge Design Software.

• Synopsis

• Introduction

• Automated Vehicle Load Generation By Influence Method General

• Composite Analysis Method

• Integration Of Bridge Analysis and Design Process

• Conclusion

• 1.0 Introduction

• 2.0 Advantage: Integral Bridge!

• 3.0 Design Issues

• 4.0 The Advice Note of UK

• 5.0 Conclusion

The paper presents the steel arch pedestrian bridge with composite polymer deck in the central span, concrete-steel concrete beams for access spans. The main arch girder is designed as a bent steel pipe with angle of inclination by 70° to the road surface. The deck of the main span is curved in plane with 400 m radius. Some aspects of the design studies are presented with description of respective analyses. A special attention is paid to the dynamics is paid to the dynamics, wind and thermal analysis.

Two problems regarding dynamics of the designed footbridge are also presented in this paper. A FEM based procedure for tuning of natural frequencies of the footbridge was developed and applied to avoid excitation from pedestrian dynamic loading. Basic concept of used procedure are presented together with brief description of modifications to the original design which were developed using this procedure. Second topic evaluated with regard to this unique construction was related to dynamic action of pressure wave caused by cargo truck passing underneath. Unsteady CFD simulations were performed to obtain aerodynamic load functions. These loads were used with structural dynamics transient calculation to obtain footbridge response. The influence of aerodynamic forces was evaluated in terms of pedestrian comfort and safety. Parametric study of the influence of vehicle speed, structure clearance, cabin deflectors and distance between lorries grouped in convoy is also presented.

• Summary

• 1. Introduction

• 1. Description of the bridge

• 3. Method of analysis

• 4. Frequency tuning of structure

• 5. Dynamic action of footbridge from compression wave of truck passing underneath

• 6. Conclusions

• References

• 1.Introduction

• 2.Important Concrete Arch Bridges in Croatia

• 3.Innovations in the Design

• 4.Conclusions

• 5.References

• Introduction

• Bridge geometry

• Node selection

• Finite element model

• Fatigue assessment

• Conclusions

• References

Steel orthotropic decks provide a lightweight form of construction, essential for weight-critical structures. However, their cost and poor record of fatigue durability has discouraged their use for mainstream construction. As a result, steel decks are generally considered an option of last resort, only used where the minimisation of self-weight is essential, such as long-span and moveable bridges.

An innovation is proposed to overcome these problems and transform the design of steel decks. The innovation is based upon the use of laser welding to produce an enclosed “sandwich panel” profile. The sandwich profile overcomes many of the constraints to structural performance associated with the use of conventional orthotropic steel decks.

As well as enhancing the global structural characteristics of the deck, fatigue durability is further enhanced by the laser welding process used to fabricate the panels. An extensive range of fatigue tests are presented on the welds used to join the panels. A jointing arrangement is described which offers outstanding fatigue strength and exceptional economy in assembly and fabrication.

Laser welds are extremely cheap to produce and the use of proprietary rolled sections offers significant savings in construction costs compared to conventional steel deck designs. The sandwich design thus has the potential to provide a competitive, lightweight alternative to the concrete decks used in general bridgeworks.

Further testing of a complete deck assembly is required to exploit the future potential of the system.

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Current State of the Art in Steel Deck Designs

• A New Design Concept for Steel Bridge Decks

• Production of Steel Sandwich Panels by Laser Welding

• Sandwich Panel Design for Bridge Deck Applications

• Fatigue Durability of Laser Welded Joints

• Economic Viability of Sandwich Panel Decks

• Support and Jointing Arrangements For Sandwich Panel Decks

• Conclusions

• References

The current and future trends in long-span bridge design in China is introduced with the emphases on recent long-span bridge projects, bridge deck configuration and material, design codification of long-span bridges and improvement of aerodynamic performance. The recent long-span bridge projects include thirty-six completed suspension, cable-stayed and arch bridges with a main span over 400m, and ten major bridges under construction. The bridge deck configuration and material are then presented with prestressed concrete decks, steel-concrete composite decks and steel box decks together with several popular cross sections. In the third part, four design specifications including static and dynamic design for highway long-span bridges are briefly outlined. The recent engineering experience gained from several aerodynamic vibration control projects of long-span bridges is shared in the last part.

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Recent Long-Span Bridge Projects

• Bridge Deck Configuration and Material

• Design Codification For Long-Span Bridges

• Improvement of Aerodynamic Performance

• Conclusions

• References

• 1 Introduction

• 2 3D solid method of calculation of lateral load distribution

• 3 Calculation of lateral load distribution of common bridge

• 4 Conclusion

• 5 Reference

• 1.0 Introduction

• 2.0 Evolution of Underpass

• 3.0 Design Aspects

• 4.0 Construction Challenges

• 5.0 Quality Control Aspects

• 6.0 Closure

• References

The design of through truss bridges was popular for its economical material use and ease of construction before World War II. However, this type of bridge loses its competitive advantage when compared to concrete box girder bridges, prestressed concrete girder bridges, and steel plate girder bridges because of the considerable amount complexity required in both the design and fabrication processes of the through truss bridge. A steel pony truss bridge becomes an attractive alternative only if the aesthetics criteria prevail. The majority of bridge engineers practicing their expertise today are rarely exposed to the design and analysis of through truss bridges. The out-of-plane buckling of the compression chord governing the strength of a pony truss bridge presents a design challenge. The current AASHTO specifications do not specifically address a direct design guideline. To overcome the design problem, an energy approach using the analogy of the buckling of a bar on an elastic foundation under distributed axial loads is proposed to analyze the upper chord of a pony truss bridge. The energy approach results in a satisfactory design on the new downtown Kirkwood, Missouri. There are thousands of pony truss bridges that were built half a century ago. Many of these bridges still serve the public as important traffic carriers on secondary highways and countryside roads around the world today. It is the intent of the author to present the unique design approach applying the theory of lateral stability to a pony truss bridge. Illustrated in this paper is the development of an optimized of design methodology of these structures' elements through the implementation of a spreadsheet to perform several iteration processes. It is also anticipated that the methodology developed herein can also be used to calculate the demand/capacity ratio to be used for rating through truss bridges from the bridge maintenance and repair standpoint.

• Abstract

• Background information

• The new bridge

• Design issues

• Engineering solutions

• The pony truss bridge design sequences

• A numerical design example

• Limits and constraints to applying the theory

• Conclusion

• References

The fast growth of the European countries and the great increase of vehicle production have determined two immediate consequences on the organization of the viability.

On one side, a road network suitable for high speed communication has been developed or in some cases created.

On the other, within and around cities, urban and local traffic has dramatically increased often without any clear planning or strategy and without any care about the interference between roads and urban network.

Traffic demand has implied, through the years, an increasing number of roads with different level of importance and the related consequence of limiting or planning their intersections.

The most economical and feasible way to face the new demand for intersections deriving from the increased number of roads and the mentioned problems has been to create a great number of flyovers and tunnels, with a clear preference for the first ones because of limited cost and ease of construction.

Especially during the fifties, the need for a fast and massive reconstruction determined the creation of economical and easily repeatable structures such as simply supported decks for the case of the bridges.

In Italy, differently from other European countries, there has been no meaningful evolution within the field of flyovers and the main typologies have not substantially changed form the ones with simply supported pre-stressed concrete beams used for the reconstruction after the World War II.

The mentioned solutions have proved to be quite unreliable with reference to durability because of scarce detailing and because of the presence of bearings and expansion joints, actually known as critical points for the activation of corrosion phenomena.

The paper illustrated a case study for the retrofitting of existing bridges aiming to reduce the need for future maintenance.

• Summary

• Introduction

• Frp and external prestressing: Resia bridge in Bolzano (Italy)

• Conclusion

• References

• Introduction

• The Existing Structure

• Assessment for 40 tonne Assessment Live Load

• Strengthening Requirement

• Strengthening design and Construction

• Main Longitudinal Boxes

• Pier Cross Boxes

• Procurement

• Construction

• Conclusion

• Acknowledgements

• Introduction

• Cable element analysis

• Modeling of a pedestrian suspension bridge

• Loadings

• Specification of the case study bridge

• Studying of analytical results

• Symbols

• References

• Background and the purpose of the study

• Bridge Construction in Japan

• Historical value and targets of repair and strengthening

• Procedure of repair and strengthening

• Proposal of manual for repair and strengthening of historical bridges

• Acknowledgement

• References

• Notes

• Synopsis

• Background

• The existing Tainui Bridge

• Super loads

• Project methodology

• Strenthening works

• Conclusion

• Acknowledgment

Mangatawhiri River Bridge is one of the many reinforced concrete bridges on State Highway 1 (SHI) of the New Zealand road network linking the Auckland and Hamilton sector of the North Island. The bridge is skewed at 45 degrees and has 3 simply supported spans of 19 m long standard prestressed concrete U-girders. The bridge was designed and constructed in 1993 for HN-HO 72 loadings of Transit New Zealand Bridge Manual.

Genesis Power Limited (trading as “Genesis Energy”) has started the Huntly “e3p project” (385MW CCGT plant) at Huntly Power Station. As part of the Huntly e3p project, Genesis Energy are required to supply the contractor Mitsubishi Corporation with a heavy haulage route suitable to transport overweight and oversize components from the Port of Auckland to Huntly Power Station, some 100 km south of Auckland. Genesis Energy engaged Connell Wagner to provide engineering consultancy services to assist with identifying and upgrading the route.

The greatest of the loads is a 377 tonne generator set with a gross total transport load of 517 tonne. Mangatawhiri River Bridge is one of the several bridges on this route to Huntly. The analysis of this bridge concluded that the existing abutment and pier cross beams of its substructure were deficient in torsion/shear capacity.

The crucial issue in the design was the ability to correctly model the interface between the existing structure and the proposed new structures. Sensitivity analyses using 3D models were carried out to arrive at a realistic design. A number of strengthening options were reviewed (eg. steel brackets, tie restraints to the abutment, external prestressing, tie-shotcrete composite action) prior to concluding with the current designs.

The abutment strengthening consists of a new reinforced concrete frame with a beam supported by twin piles and interconnected to the existing beam. A level difference has been maintained between the top of the new and existing beams to facilitate the construction work. This arrangement also prevents any direct transfer of load to the new structures from the superstructure. The piles are positioned away from the existing structure such that the new piles can be driven without significant influence to the existing system.

The pier strengthening consists of a new beam under the existing pier headstock. The analytical model consisted of compression only members in between the new and old beams.

The load transfer from the existing to the new relies solely on their contact as the beam rotates.

This paper discusses the analysis of the bridge and the evaluation of a practical and effective means of strengthening.

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Existing Bridge

• Design Loadings

• Assessments

• Materials

• Abutment Headstocks

• Strengthening Options

• Strengthening Measures

• Structural demand and capacities of the strengthened abutment Headstock

• Combined Actions

• Pier Headstocks

• Strengthening Measures

• Construction

• Conclusions

• References

• Acknowledgement

• Introduction

• Significance of research

• Partial creep factor

• Effect of creep on moment redistribution of pre-stressed concrete: A case study of Pathum Thani Bridge

• Conclusions

• Reference

Despite the use of design procedures and construction practices that have been developed over many years, unexpectedly early deterioration of concrete structures has become a matter of considerable concern in many countries.

This paper contains a brief view of the need for inspections of structures to be accompanied by well-targeted testing, carried out by well qualified dedicated technical staff, with results being interpreted by experienced engineers in order that owners of structures receive cost-effective quality advice for the management of their structures.

Monitoring in the form of observations and testing over a period of time produces an indicator of the rate of deterioration of a structure. Case studies are presented that demonstrate the benefits of testing of structures.

• Introduction

• The Need for Testing, a Clients Perspective

• Causes of Deterioration

• Visual Inspection

• Testing

• Planning for Testing

• Types of Testing

• Bellevue Bridge Case Study

• Conclusions

• References

International funding agencies are now often requiring that Governments seeking funding for infrastructure development must demonstrate that they are able to improve the effectiveness of the management of their existing infrastructure before development funds are made available. Government Agencies are now accepting that their structures – for example, buildings and bridges – will be managed more cost-effectively if the condition of the structures is accurately known. For agencies with a large number of structures, there is often a problem in prioritising the structures for investigation as the only records available generally consist of visual inspection reports.

The paper outlines how structures may be prioritised for condition monitoring by undertaking three-phase management studies. The first phase is a desk study where previous inspection reports are reviewed and relevant data inputted into a rating equation that is used to prioritise structures for investigation. The second phase consists of preliminary site inspections of selected structures, the results of the inspections being used to check the validity of the rating equation and its amendment if considered necessary. The third phase consists of site investigations to the higher priority structures, where the causes, extent and severity of deterioration are determined. The condition of structures and the causes of any deterioration must be accurately determined by testing and monitoring, if the structures are to be managed cost-effectively and if safety and operational requirements are to be achieved.

Case studies are presented to demonstrate the benefits of this three-phase process.

• Abstract

• Introduction

• Performance of Bridges

• Time-Dependant Deterioration of Structures

• Bridge Manager's Role

• Value of Management Studies

• Case Study: Alkali-Silica Reaction in Southwest England

• Conclusions

• References

Synopsis Traffic-induced vibration analysis of girder bridges including a very short-span bridge is carried out to investigate the effects of vehicle models and initial conditions of vehicles on dynamic responses of short-span bridges. Girder bridges are idealized as a plane beam system. The simultaneous differential equations for coupling vibration of bending of the bridge and the moving vehicle are derived by means of modal analysis. Newmark's β method is applied to solve the derived equations governing the coupling vibrations. It is observed that the effect of vehicle's initial condition on dynamic response of the very short-span bridge is greater than that of the short or medium-span bridges. An interesting result obtained is that the vehicle model with 5-DOFs considering unsprung mass provides a conservative result for the very short-span bridge, while that with 2-DOFs, which neglects the unsprung mass, gives a conservative result for short and medium-span bridges.

• Synopsis

• Introduction

• Analytical Procedure

• Analytical Models

• Parametric Study

• Concluding Remarks

• Appendix

• References

• Introduction

• Situation in the Czech Republic

• Acoustic emission method

• State of the art

• Czech AE R&D project

• Measuring equipment

• Laboratory measurements

• Measurements on the bridges

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgements

• References

• Introduction

• Condition monitoring of bridge structures

• Assessment of bridge structures

• Selecting maintenance strategy

• Conclusions

• References

Over the last 15 years, there have been numerous models put forward for the prediction of the time-dependent behaviour of concrete and consequently concrete structures. The development of these models from a number of different sources has meant that the engineer now has a choice to make when undertaking creep and shrinkage prediction and it is difficult to know which is best suited for this purpose. Some are considerably more complex than others requiring greater amounts of input focusing on material data, concrete properties, environmental conditions, specimen geometry, and loading conditions.

Studies at Cardiff have explored the sensitivity to change, in both the short-term and over time, of the individual parameters that comprise the input to the commonly used creep and shrinkage models, have investigated the ability of such models to satisfactorily predict the behaviour of a real structure (and their dependency on the designer's ability to correctly replicate the actual stress history of the element under consideration) and have established a database of the actual behaviour of three pre-stressed concrete viaducts with which these studies can be compared. This paper summarises the findings of these studies and discusses their application to the whole-life design and maintenance of such structures. It seeks to further the understanding of the time-dependent performance of such structures and to establish tried and tested analytical models for describing their long-term serviceability behaviour.

• Introduction

• Sensitivity

• Suitability

• Reliability

• Conclusions and Recommendations

• Acknowledgements

• References

• Cable-stayed footbridge in Ranzari

• Footbridge over Nervión River in Etxebarri

• Narón-Neda footbridge in Ferrol Firth

• Footbridge over Torío river in León

• 1. Introduction

• 2. Tender invitation

• 3. Special proposal

• 4. Detail design

• 5. Construction stage

• 6. Summary

A footbridge on top of the Gunung Machincang was the vision of Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed to add to the attractions of Langkawi. Swiss Architect/ Planner Dr Peter Wyss was invited to design the form and shape for the bridge.

Dr Wyss said the 1.8m-wide bridge had two 3.6m-wide triangular platforms that provided a spectacular viewing-cum-resting area for visitors.

“In contrast to a straight bridge, where you can see its end from the starting point, the curved bridge offers changing perspectives as one proceeds along it,” he said.

“The most difficult task was installing the prefabricated part of the bridge with the use of a Russian Kamov helicopter, which has a carrying capacity of 4.5 tonnes,” he said.

The curved footbridge is a cable stayed bridge with a curved length of 125m and spans across 2 hilltops at the top station of the Machincang Cable Car. The main structural system consists of:

1. 82m Steel pylon

2. 125m curved length Steel decking system of inverted triangular truss.

3. Stay cable system using BBR CON A Stay.

This paper will illustrate the construction process and highlight the difficulties and the methods employed to overcome such difficulties and to complete the project.

• 1. Introduction

• 3. Podest Platforms

• 4. Foundation System

• 5. Structural System

• 6. Stay Cables

• 7. Construction Methodology

• 8. Quality Control And Assurance

• 9. Acknowledgements

Traditionally engineers have considered sulfate attack on concrete structures as a “below ground” problem. However, investigation work, undertaken by Consulting Engineers Parsons Brinckerhoff, has amassed considerable evidence of sulfate attack on the above ground components of concrete structures.

The paper will review the findings of the research project with respect to the prevalence of attack, its extent, and the identification of structures at risk. Improvements in the identification of sulfate attack are discussed and the performance of sulfate resisting cements and blended cements reviewed.

Relevant reviews will be presented from the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States that demonstrate that sulfate attack of above ground components of highway structures is more widespread than previously thought, sometimes as a result of lack of diagnosis or mis-diagnosis.

• Introduction

• Sulfate Attack

• Parsons Brinckerhoff Funded Research Project

• Mechanisms

• Structures at Risk

• Results from Site Investigations

• Case Study

• Conclusions

• References

• Introduction

• Brief characteristics of lightweight concrete

• Bridge applications of HPLC – main fields

• Lightweight aggregate for HPLC

• Research on HPLC for bridge applications

• Bridge Applications of LC and HPLC in Poland

• Concluding remarks

• References

• 1 Introduction

• 2 Literature Review

• 3 Experimental Work

• 4 Results and Analysis

• 5 Conclusions

• Introduction

• Selected Bridges

• Load Models

• Resistance Model

• Reliability Analysis of Selected Bridges

• Finite Element Analysis

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgments

• References

In The Netherlands, many large traffic bridges are made with a so-called orthotropic steel deck. This orthotropic deck consists of a deck plate stiffened by troughs in longitudinal direction, cross-beams and main girders. With increasing of traffic loads and the number of vehicles, the deck structures of those bridges are suffered from serious fatigue cracks in the deck plates, which finally lead to fatigue failure.

A nationwide investigation in The Netherlands showed that there are more bridges with orthotropic decks suffering from the fatigue cracks. This problem looks very serious. What should we do when the cracks are observed? What are the causes of the cracking? Are the bridges with cracks in the decks still safe for the users? When and which operation (reparation or replacing) should be taken for bridges with serious fatigue cracks? What is the remaining life of the cracked bridge deck etc.?

To be able to answer those questions, the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management has started therefore several research projects for the steel bridges made with orthotropic decks. One of these projects is the “Remaining life”, which focuses on developing a crack growth model for the determination of the remaining life of the cracked orthotropic steel bridge decks. Due to the complexity of the problem, experiments and numerical analyses have been carried out in five phases.

In the first phase, the feasibility of the approach using finite element method has been investigated. This phase ended with a positive conclusion [1]. In the second phase, experiments and numerical analyses have been carried out for a wide flat plate with a central semi-elliptical crack, loaded by four point bending moments. A crack growth model has been developed based on a large number of FEM analyses [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The comparison of the results of the numerical model and the experiments was so satisfactory that phase 3 will be continued.

In the phase 3, the experiments and the numerical research will be carried out on a deck plate with two trough legs and a cross-beam web loaded. The deck plate is same as for phase 2 and the loading case is similar to that of the second phase. The crack pattern is expected to be the same as in the bridge decks. Comparing the phase 3 with the phase 2, the influence of the trough legs and cross-beam web on the crack growth will be determined. In this paper, a part of the numerical and the experimental work of phase 3 is presented.

• Problem of steel bridges with orthotropic decks

• Deck plate with two trough legs and a cross-beam web (phase 3) Geometry and loading

• Conclusions and recommendations

• References

• Introduction

• Reliability-based bridge evaluation

• Railway bridge structures

• Road Bridges

• Assessments of temporary bridges in extreme loading conditions

• Reconstructions by replacement

• Concluding Remarks

• References

• Introduction

• Existing Bridge

• Structural Assessment and Strengthening

• Structural Evaluation

• Deck: Precast, prestressed DHC plank units

• Adopted Strengthening Option

• Pier Cross-head

• Summary

• Acknowledgements

The analysis of element and system failure probabilities has been emphasised in the area of highway bridge assessment recently. However, little attention has been given to the financial consequences of failures when performing such analyses. This paper summarises the methods used for calculating the bridge element and system reliabilities. It then focuses on evaluating the corresponding failure consequences. The results of reliability analysis and evaluation of failure consequences obtained are employed to study the element and system risks (where risk = probability of failure × consequences of failure). Based on the results for element and system risks, a method is proposed for the modification of the target reliability index that accounts for the system effects, for use in highway bridge assessment.

• Introduction

• Reliability Analysis

• Evaluation of Consequences of Failure

• Element and System Risk Analysis

• Proposed Method for Adjustment of Target Reliability Index

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgements

• References

• Introduction

• Background

• Seismic (and Wind) Assessment and Retrofit

• Traffic Load Model Development

• Truss Bridge Live Load Capacity Assessment

• Box Girder Deck Fatigue Assessment

• Concluding Remarks

• Acknowledgements

• References

• Introduction

• Overall Programme

• Site Constraints

• Form Of The Bridge

• How To Move The bridge

• How To Lift The Bridge

• Tolerances To Be Achieved

• Control Measures To Achieve Tolerances

• Foundations

• The Weekend

• The Achievement

• Acknowledgements

• 1. General

• 2. Preconditions for use of the method

• 3. Design Considerations

• 4. Construction Aspects

• Literatures

• Reasons for the project

• The conceptual design

• Construction and lifting

• Acknowledgements

• References