Demo Example Box Girder

Bridge with Skew Abutments

RM Bridge V8i
September 2008

RM Bridge Professional Engineering Software for Bridges of all Types

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Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

Contents
1

General ...................................................................................................................... 1

The Structural Model ................................................................................................ 3

Cross Section Properties ........................................................................................... 4

The Structural Modeling ........................................................................................... 6

Geometry of the Pre-stressing Cables ....................................................................... 8

Construction Stages ................................................................................................ 10

6.1

Construction Stage 1 ....................................................................................... 10

6.2

Construction Stage 2 ....................................................................................... 10

6.3

Construction Stage 3 ....................................................................................... 10

Traffic Loads........................................................................................................... 11
7.1

Lane Calculation Files .................................................................................... 12

7.2

Superposition File Build-up ............................................................................ 13

Results ..................................................................................................................... 14

Fiber Stress Check .................................................................................................. 15

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General

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

General
This example demonstrates the design of a 4 span pre-stressed concrete box girder
bridge.

Figure 1: Structural system, 3D-view.

The following facilities are demonstrated:

Creation of the structural system
Definition of a box girder with variable dimensions.
Definition of the structural system (Node-Element-Assignment, Cross section
and material assignment, etc.).
Sub-structure modelling including modelling of bearings
Construction Stage analysis
System activation for different construction stages
Cross Sectional property variation (as cable ducts are grouted)
Construction sequence loading
Creep and Shrinkage loading during different construction stages
Accumulation of stresses from the different construction stages
Fibre stress checks for the different construction stages
Traffic load and static load analysis
Traffic loading
Load combinations
Fibre stress checks
Any type of load train can be specified in RM for the traffic loading. The loading is evaluated using influence lines. Envelopes for all internal forces and displacements are set
up and stored in such a way that they can be further used - either individually or as part
of various load combinations at a later time.

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Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

General
2

Design Code Checks

Fibre stress checks in each construction stage and the final stage.

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The Structural Model

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

The Structural Model

Four span box girder bridge with skew ends

Figure 2: Structural system, isometric view.

Figure 3: Plan View showing the skew ends.

Material Properties (specification in accordance with the German Standards)

Bridge:
B 45
Support elements:
B 45
Pre-stressing steel:
1570/1770
Reinforcing steel:
TC 55

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Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

Cross Section Properties

4

Cross Section Properties

Three different cross sections are used in this example. One circular cross section (for
the piers) and two box sections (in the centre portion of the span and at the end of the
span). The box sections are prepared in the GP-program.

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Cross Section Properties

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

Figure 4: Cross section dimensions.

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The Structural Modeling

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

The Structural Modeling

Figure 5: Abutment, at the skew end of the bridge isometric view.

The box girder is modeled with beam elements, the bearings are modelled with spring
elements and the abutment is modeled with another spring element. (The whole abutment can be represented with a spring having stiffnesses in all six directions using an
auxiliary calculation separate from the program).
The end of the bridge deck girder is defined with two nodal points -One on the top of
the girder and the second one on the top of the abutment.
Eccentric connections are used to correctly model the connection between the deck, the
substructure elements (plus bearings) and these two nodes.
Eccentric connections are specified by their components in the global X-, Y-, Zcoordinate directions.

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The Structural Modeling

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

Figure 6: Model of the end of the box girder.

Note:
The nodal points along the girder are not placed on the girder centroid, but on the top of
the girder.
The advantage is that the road (or rail) elevation of the project is usually known and is a
specific distance from the top of the girder and not from the centroid of the girder.
Eccentric connections are used to connect the girder centroid to the nodal points on the
top.
A special input code is used when assigning the cross sections to the beam elements so
that the program generates the correct eccentric connections for the corresponding cross
sectional values.
The cross section geometry, in this example, is specified using the interactive facility in
the program GP. The cross section geometry can be tied to the varying cross fall using
dynamic formulae that are station value related. The cross section geometry can also be
tied to the varying width of the deck (where applicable) in a similar way.

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Geometry of the Pre-stressing Cables

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

Geometry of the Pre-stressing Cables

Figure 7: Cable geometry and cable group assignment..

Figure 8: Cable geometry isometric view.

Different pre-stressing cables can have different geometry in one section. Two geometrys are defined and assigned to the various cable groups:
The bridge deck is built in two stages and the cable groups are split into the same two
construction stages.
Stage I Elements 9 to 32 inclusive
Stage II Elements 1 to 8 plus Elements 33 to 40
The cable groups are activated in their appropriate construction stage.
Cable groups 2: + 5:

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Cables for Construction Stage I. The cables go from the beginning of element 9 at the end of the first span through the second
and third spans to the end of element 32 at the beginning of the
fourth span

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Geometry of the Pre-stressing Cables

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

Cable groups 1 + 4:
Cable groups 3: + 6:

Cables for Construction Stage II. The cables go from the beginning of element 1 to the end of element 8 in the first span.
Cables for Construction Stage II. The cables go from the
beginning of element 33 to the end of element 40 in the fourth
span.

Pre-stressing Force Distribution:

The distribution of the pre-stressing forces showing the effects of friction, wobble and
wedge slip losses is shown in Fig. 9 below.
The program simulates the different tensioning steps in detail.
Stress Cable group 1 + 4 at the beginning of element 1 by a certain percentage
over the allowable steel stress limit (value 1.08 in Fig. 18).
Apply a 6 mm wedge slip.
Stress Cable group 2 + 5 the left end (element 9 beginning).
Apply a 6mm wedge slip.
Re-tension the cables at the right end of the cable (element 32 end).
Apply a 6mm wedge slip.
Stress Cable group 3 + 6 at the end of element 40. Apply a 6mm wedge slip.

Figure 9: Tendon schedule.

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Construction Stages

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

10

Construction Stages

6.1 Construction Stage 1

The active members (elements) in construction stage I comprise:
Spans 2 and 3 plus a short cantilever on each side of spans 2 and 3 respectively.
Columns 201, 301, 401
Cable groups 2 and 5 are active and tensioned in this stage.
The following loading cases are considered:
Loading case No. 101: .......... Self-weight Stage 1
Loading case No. 501: .......... Prestressing Stage 1, (tensioning cable groups 2 + 5)
Loading case No. 601: .......... Creep and schrinkage using CEB90 (load and time
dependent)

6.2 Construction Stage 2

The active members (elements) in construction stage II comprise:
The whole structural system.
Prestressing Stage II, (tensioning cable groups 1, 3, 4, 6 at the beginning of the stage).
The following loading cases are considered:
Loading case no. 102:
stage 2
Loading case no. 202:
(pavement, guard-rails, etc.)
Loading case no. 502:
1, 3, 4, 6
Loading case no. 602:
(load and time dependent)

self-weight of the elements added in

additional dead-load in the final stage
pre-stressing stage 2, tensioning cables
Creep and schrinkage using CEB90

6.3 Construction Stage 3

The active members (elements) in construction stage III comprise:
The whole structural system (N. B. As the active system is the same as in the previous
stage, no individual system activation is necessary).
The following loading cases are considered:
Loading case no. 603:
Creep and schrinkage using CEB90 (load and time
dependent). All loading cases are used automatically in the calculation.

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Traffic Loads

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

11

Traffic Loads
The traffic loading calculation is carried out in accordance with the German design code
(DIN) in this example. The basic procedure for using the LIVE loading facility is therefore demonstrated. The LIVE loading facility can be similarly used for calculating traffic loading in accordance with any other design code.
The whole roadway must be divided into lanes. The most critical lane must be defined
as the main lane. The load train must be defined for each lane. The max/min envelopes
are calculated for each lane using influence lines. The influence lines and their summation are stored for future use (saves a lot of time during future computations).
The definition of the lane loading and the superposition of the individual envelopes are
shown diagrammatically below.
The German code requires that the main lane load (in this example 2.75 kN/m) should
be placed in the same lane as the lane carrying the 60 ton truck load.
The section is shown in a sketch below.
The traffic loads with eccentricity on the extreme right side of the bridge are indicated.
The same loads must also be applied to the left side of the bridge and a symmetrical
arrangement should also be considered.
SLW-Loading calculation
SLW60 - m 1,15
Calculation of the dynamic factor ( m 1,15 )

1,4 0,008 * l y

29 1,4 0,008 * 29 1,168

33 1,4 0,008 * 33 1,136
m 1,15
PSLW 60 600kN *1,15 690kN 3 * 230kN

Additional main lane load :

5,0

= main lane load * dynamic factor lane load

kN
kN
kN
* 1,15 3 2 2,75 2
2
m
m
m

SLW30 - 1,0
PSLW 30 300kN *1,0 300kN 3 *100kN

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Traffic Loads

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

12

Traffic loads applied on the extreme right side of the bridge carriageway (left side load
is symmetrical but mirrored)

Figure 10: Traffic lanes on the right hand side of the deck girder.

7.1 Lane Calculation Files

Right:

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- Lane 1

lane1.sup

- Lane 5

lane5.sup

- Lane 2

lane2.sup

- Lane 6

lane6.sup

- Lane 3

lane3.sup

- Lane 7

lane7.sup

- Lane 4

lane4.sup

- Lane 8

lane8.sup

Left:

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Traffic Loads

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

13

7.2 Superposition File Build-up

lane1.sup

SupAnd

lane2.sup

SupAnd

lane3.sup

SupAnd

lane4.sup

SupAnd

totalri.sup

SupAdd
lane5.sup

SupAnd

lane6.sup

SupAnd

lane7.sup

SupAnd

lane8.sup

SupAnd

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SupOr

total.sup

totalle.sup

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Results

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

14

Results

Figure 11: End-results Mz (Construction stage + traffic + settlement + dead load).

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Fiber Stress Check

Demo Example Box Girder Bridge with Skew Abutments

15

Fiber Stress Check

Fiber stresses can be calculated and printed for the chosen points in the cross section.
Only the stresses at the top and bottom of the section are calculated in this example.

Figure 12: Cross section showing the stress check points.

Figure 13: Fiber stress at the top and bottom of the deck after 9125 days.

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