LONG-TERM BEHAVIOR OF CONTINUOUS PRECAST CONCRETE GIRDER

BRIDGE MODEL
By Antonio R. Mar,1 Member, ASCE, and Manuel Valdes2

ABSTRACT: Continuous concrete box girder bridges composed of precast reinforced and prestressed concrete
beams with a U cross section and a cast-in-place top slab are frequently used for medium spans due to their
competitiveness. The service behavior of such bridges is very much influenced by their segmental construction,
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due to time-dependent materials behavior that makes it difficult to accurately predict the stresses, strains, and
deflections at long term. A 1:2 scale model of a two-span continuous bridge was tested in order to study its
behavior during the construction process and under permanent loads. Time-dependent concrete properties, as
well as support reactions, deflections, and strains in concrete and steel, were measured for 500 days. Important
time-dependent redistributions of stresses and internal forces throughout the bridge were also measured. The
test results were compared with analytical predictions obtained by means of a numerical model developed for
the nonlinear and time-dependent analysis of segmentally erected, reinforced and prestressed concrete structures.
Generally good agreement was obtained, showing the adequacy of the model to reproduce the structural effects
of complex interactive time-dependent phenomena.

INTRODUCTION deflections, stresses, and crack width, as required to satisfy the

The use of high-performance building materials and the de- serviceability limit states, and therefore creating uncertainties
velopment of powerful means for lifting and transportation, at the design stage.
together with an adequate combination of precast and cast-in-
place, pretensioning and posttensioning techniques, have im- OBJECTIVES OF PRESENT INVESTIGATION
pelled the development of continuous precast concrete box Although much progress has been made in todays bridge
girder bridges, specially suitable for medium spans. engineering, segmentally erected, prestressed concrete bridges
A typical bridge consists of precast reinforced, pretensioned often exhibit excessive long-term deflections, as reported by
or posttensioned-in-factory beams with a U cross section over Vitek in 1997. In addition, very little experimental work has
which a cast-in-place, continuous slab is poured in several been reported on the time-dependent behavior of precast con-
steps. The beams are supported over the bridge piers and/or tinuous concrete bridges such as those described above. The
the end cantilevers of other previously placed beams, the joint use of such bridges is increasing very quickly; therefore, a
between them being initially a temporary hinge. In addition, better understanding of their complex behavior is needed to
longitudinal continuity is provided to the structure by means avoid similar problems in the future. Furthermore, reliable an-
of posttensioning bars or tendons, after sealing the joint by alytical models, design, and construction recommendations are
injecting a high-strength mortar between the end diaphragms desirable. For this purpose, analytical and experimental re-
of the beams. Depending on the span length, the precast beams search work is currently under development at the Universitat
can be either reinforced, pretensioned, or posttensioned in fac- Politecnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.
tory. This solution allows building, without important addi- Many analytical models have been developed to predict the
tional cost, of bridge decks with multiple box sections, vari- nonlinear and time-dependent structural response of concrete
able depth, or curved-in-plan beams, which are aesthetically
comparable to those constructed in situ, as shown in Fig. 1.
Creep and shrinkage of concrete and relaxation of pre-
stressed steel, combined with the segmental construction pro-
cess, lead to time-dependent deflections and redistributions of
stresses and internal forces. Also, if the beam or slab is not
prestressed over the piers, cracking occurs due to negative
bending moments, affecting also the state of stresses, strains,
and deflections. In fact, in this kind of structure, the time-
dependent redistributions of internal forces can be very dif-
ferent from those expected in a typical continuous postten-
sioned concrete bridge, due to cracking of the reinforced
concrete beams. Cracks can also appear at the top slab, even
at center span, due to restrained shrinkage of the concrete slab
when it is poured after the beam is hardened. All these phe-
nomena interact, making it difficult to accurately estimate the
1
Prof., Dr. of Civ. Engrg., Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, School
of Civ. Engrg., Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail:
mari@etseccpb.upc.es
2
Lect., Dr. of Civ. Engrg., Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, School
of Civ. Engrg., Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: dvaldes
@etseccpb.upc.es
Note. Discussion open until July 1, 2000. To extend the closing date
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of
Journals. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and
possible publication on June 2, 1998. This paper is part of the Journal
of Bridge Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 1, February, 2000. ASCE, ISSN FIG. 1. Continuous Precast Concrete Girder Bridge, Curved in
1084-0702/00/0001-00220030/$8.00 $.50 per page. Paper No. 18436. Plan

22 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 2000

J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30

 frames (Mar 1984; Elbadry 1988; Kang 1989; Abbas and
Scordelis 1993). However, less effort has been made to sim-
ulate the effects on the structural response of segmental con-
struction in both longitudinal and transverse directions (Cruz
et al. 1998; Murcia and Herkenhoff 1994; Mar et al. 1996).
In the present investigation, an analytical model has been de-
veloped that takes into account most of the changes that take
place during construction of bridge structures, as well as their
interaction with the nonlinear and time-dependent behavior of
concrete and steel.
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Much experimental research has been done, both at the ma-
terial and structural levels, to characterize the physical phe-
nomena that take place and to calibrate the analytical models
developed. However, laboratory tests are usually made on sim-
ple specimens at a reduced scale. Although their results pro-
vide reliable information on the behavior of the tested struc-
ture, sometimes they do not truthfully represent the behavior
of actual structures. This is due to scale effects, differences in
the construction procedures or environmental conditions, or
the specificity of the test carried out.
Measurements made on actual constructed bridges (Vitek
1997) provide very valuable but limited information that usu-
ally is not enough to characterize the behavior of the whole
structure. It is usual, for example, to measure displacements
and strains at a reduced number of points, but not reactions at
the supports or prestressing forces along the tendon. Accurate
information about the time-dependent concrete properties is
usually not available. In addition, the randomness of the results
can be considerable, due to the randomness in material prop-
erties, geometry, and distribution of loads.
For all these reasons, a large-scale laboratory model of a
bridge was designed, constructed, and tested (Valdes 1997)
using the same materials and construction process as in actual
bridges, but carrying out exhaustive control of the most rele-
vant parameters influencing the structural behavior. The ana-
lytical models developed were calibrated using the test results
and used to study the influence of several parameters in order
to provide design and construction recommendations. In this
paper, the laboratory tests are described and their main results
compared with those obtained numerically.
LABORATORY TEST
Design Criteria of Model
The total length of the model was limited by the length of
the laboratory test floor (24 m). The structural scheme, cross-
section type, material properties, and construction process
were chosen to accurately reproduce those of a typical bridge.
In addition, the following considerations were taken into ac-
count:
1. The dimensions of the cross section, cover, and separa-
tion between reinforcing bars should be large enough to
allow the use of normal concrete (maximum aggregate
size, 18 mm). Moreover, the smaller cross-section di-
mensions of the model should not modify the time-de-
pendent deformations, due to creep and shrinkage of the
concrete, with respect to the prototype. For that purpose,
1/2-scale factor was chosen for the model.
2. The stresses and strains produced by the permanent loads
in the model should be similar to those in a prototype to
real scale. In order to satisfy such a condition, the value
of the load per unit of surface should be maintained. For
that purpose, sand was placed inside the U beam, and
hollow-core concrete slabs were placed on top of the
bridge as an additional dead load.
The actions considered for the design of the model were
self weight; dead load (2.75 kN/m2); live load, consisting of a
J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30
uniformly distributed load of 4.0 kN/m2; and a truck load,
consisting of three-point loads of 25 kN each separated 1.5 m
longitudinally. Such a load has been obtained by reducing, for
reasons of scale, to 1/4 the load defined by the Spanish code
of practice for bridge design. A 20% increase in the positive
bending moment at both spans was considered to account for
the effects of cracking over the support and of behavior of
time-dependent materials. Prestressing losses due to creep,
shrinkage, and relaxation of steel were also considered at the
design stage, as well as the evolution of the longitudinal and
transverse structural schemes during construction.
Geometry, Materials, and Construction Process
The model consisted of a 24 m long continuous box girder
bridge of two spans of 9 and 15 m, respectively. It was com-
posed of two precast concrete beams with a U cross section
of 56 cm in depth, a bottom slab 16 cm thick and 1.7 m wide,
and 1/12.5 inclined webs 15 cm thick. The smallest beam, of
10.5 m in length and made of reinforced concrete, covered the
shorter span and had a 1.5 m cantilever. The other beam, 13.5
m in length, was posttensioned with six tendons of five strands
of 15 mm (0.6 in.) diameter each, placed at the bottom slab
with a straight layout. This beam was supported at the end of
the reinforced concrete beam and at the other bridge end. At
each of the three supports of the bridge, elastomeric pads were
placed on top of load cells.
A 13 cm deep and 4.0 m wide reinforced concrete cast-in-
place slab, connected to the precast beam by means of rein-
forcement crossing the joint, was poured in three steps, gen-
erating the box girder section of 68 cm total depth, as shown
in Fig. 2. The amount and position of the mild reinforcement
of the beams and the slab are shown in Table 1.
The characteristic compressive strength of the concrete at
28 days was 50 MPa for the beams and 30 MPa for the slab.
Reinforcing and prestressing steel strengths were 500 and
1,860 MPa, respectively. The most important steps in the con-
struction process are shown in Table 2 and illustrated in Fig.
3. Figs. 4 and 5 show the bridge during construction (at step
5) and under permanent loads, respectively.
Instrumentation
The bridge was instrumented from the very beginning of
the fabrication of each element, so that the whole construction
process was documented. About 120 measure points were con-
trolled to know the reactions, displacements, and strains. In
addition, exhaustive control of the geometry, amount, and po-
sition of the reinforcement, posttensioning forces, tendon lay-
outs, and concrete thickness was carried out. Consequently,
the load distribution due to self-weight and the mechanical
properties of the cross sections were known with accuracy.
Reactions and subsequent bending moments were known at
any time, thanks to load cells placed at each of the six support
points of the bridge. The instantaneous and permanent loads
FIG. 2. Longitudinal and Cross Section of Laboratory Model
(1:2 Scale)
JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 2000 / 23
 TABLE 1. Mild Reinforcement Layout in Beams and Slab
Bars
Distance to bottom As Diameter
Segment From To Layer (m) (mm2) Quantity (mm)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
1 (RB) x=0m x=7m 1 0.04 2,614.3 13 16
2 0.10 2,614.3 13 16
3 0.21 452.4 4 12
4 0.43 452.4 4 12
2 (RB) x=7m x=9m 1 0.04 2,614.3 13 16
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2 0.10 2,614.3 13 16
3 0.21 452.4 4 12
4 0.43 452.4 4 12
5 0.47 2,513.6 8 20
3 (RB) x=9m x = 10.5 m 1 0.04 904.8 8 12
2 0.10 904.8 8 12
3 0.21 452.4 4 12
4 0.43 452.4 4 12
5 0.47 2,513.6 8 20
4 (PB) x = 10.5 m x = 19 m 1 0.03 904.8 8 12
2 0.08 904.8 8 12
3 0.23 452.4 4 12
4 0.53 452.4 4 12
5 (PB) x = 19 m x = 24 m 1 0.03 904.8 8 12
2 0.08 904.8 8 12
3 0.23 452.4 4 12
4 0.38 452.4 4 12
5 0.53 452.4 4 12
6 (S) x=0m x = 3.3 m 1 0.64 3,418.7 17 16
2 0.60 1,922.7 17 12
7 (S) x = 10 m x = 12 m 1 0.64 3,418.7 17 16
2 0.60 1,922.7 17 12
8 (S) x = 3.3 m x = 10 m 1 0.64 8,245.0 41 16
2 0.60 1,922.7 17 12
9 (S) x = 12 m x = 24 m 1 0.64 1,922.7 17 12
2 0.60 1,922.7 17 12
Note: RB: Reinforced beam; PB: prestressed beam; S: slab.

TABLE 2. Construction Steps

Time (Days)
Absolute Relative
Step Operations (t) (t tp)
(1) (2) (3) (4)
1 Pouring of concrete at both beams 0 7
2 Erection of reinforced concrete (RC) beam 5 2
3 Posttensioning of longest beam 7a 0
4 Erection of prestressed concrete (PC) beam 9 2
5 Placement of sand for scale effects 24 17
6 Placement of formwork and reinforcement of 31 24
top slab
7 Pouring of top slab over RC beam (from x = 0 38 31
to 10 m
8 Injection of joint with high-strength mortar 40 33 FIG. 3. Construction Process
9 Posttensioning of joint by means of two 25 mm 42 35
diameter bars
10 Pouring of top slab over joint (from x = 10 to 43 36
12 m)
11 Pouring of top slab over PC beam (from x = 12 46 39 reference measure induced use of only mechanical extensom-
to 24 m) eters for delayed deflections.
12 Placement of first row of hollow core slabs for 79 72
scale effects To measure concrete and steel deformations, strain gauges
13 Placement of second row of hollow core slabs 80 73 were used, most of which were glued to reinforcing steel bars
to simulate dead load of the beam and slab at four critical sections: centers of both
14 Unloading of dead load 573 566
a
spans, intermediate support, and center of the posttensioned
Reference absolute time.
beam. Strain gauges were also glued to the tendons at the
center of the posttensioned beam, to several stirrups near sup-
ports, and to the continuity posttensioning bars. Embedded
applied to the concrete specimens to characterize the concrete gauges were placed in the top and bottom slabs at the center
properties were controlled by means of load cells. Instanta- of the posttensioned beam, as well as inside the concrete spec-
neous deflections were measured with both LVDTs and me- imens, to measure instantaneous and time-dependent concrete
chanical extensometers, including the camber of the postten- strains. LVDTs were also used in the concrete specimens to
sioned beam. The difficulties of the LVDTs to preserve the determine the deformation modulus.
24 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 2000

J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30

 Materials Tests Results
Two kinds of material tests, instantaneous and delayed, were
carried out to characterize the properties of each type of con-
crete used in the bridge. For that purpose, specimens were
used subject to the same environmental conditions as the
bridge. The instantaneous tests provided information about the
compressive strength and the deformation modulus at various
concrete ages, as shown in Table 3.
The values obtained for the mechanical concrete properties
at short term were inside the expected range. However, the
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compressive strength and deformation modulus obtained at

long term were slightly lower than at short term, probably due
to the dry environment, which did not provide enough mois-
ture for cement hydration, or due to shrinkage microcracks in
concrete specimens (Larrard and Atcin 1993).
The delayed tests helped to characterize the shrinkage and
creep strains throughout approximately 700 days. Results of
creep and shrinkage tests of specimens of the beam concrete
subject to permanent loads at the ages of 10 and 100 days are
shown in Table 4. For the first test, both the CEB and ACI
models fit the experimental results well, while for the speci-
mens loaded at 100 days, both codes overestimate creep
strains. Shrinkage strains are between 500 and 600 m/m.
They are slightly underestimated by the CEB and overesti-
mated by the ACI.
FIG. 4. Placement of Sand for Scale Effects Creep strains of the slab concrete were much larger than the
values predicted by any code. Shrinkage of the slab concrete
was also larger than that of the beam concrete, probably due
to differences in the concrete water/cement ratio and the ef-
fective thickness of the beam and the slab.
FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS
Structure Idealization: Geometry, Loads, and
Construction Process
A general step-by-step procedure for the nonlinear and time-
dependent analysis of reinforced concrete, prestressed con-
crete, and segmentally erected, composite steel and concrete
3D frame structures has been used to simulate the structural
behavior and to predict the test results (Mar 1998). The model
combines the features of previous models developed by the
first author and other researchers (Mar 1984; Cruz et al.
FIG. 5. Laboratory Model under Permanent Loads 1998).

TABLE 3. Short-Term Concrete Characterization Tests

Instantaneous Test Results (Mean Values) (MPa)
Concrete
Test location 7 days 10 days 28 days 60 days 90 days 150 days 490 days
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
Deformation modulus (Ec,t) Beam 36,900 40,800 40,700 38,800 42,100
Slab 26,800 27,100 25,200
Compression strength ( fcm,t ) Beam 55.2 60.6 66.9 64.1 61.0
Slab 29.4 35.5 35.7

TABLE 4. Long-Term Concrete Characterization Test

JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 2000 / 25

J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30

 The nonlinear materials properties, such as cracking and
yielding, the structural effects of the delayed deformations, and
the second-order effects are taken into account in the structural
analysis under loads and imposed deformations. The structural
response during the construction process and along the struc-
ture service life can be traced throughout the elastic, cracked,
and ultimate load level, providing valuable information about
the influence of the construction sequence on the short- and
long-term service behavior and carrying capacity of the struc-
ture. Complex phenomena such as delayed cracking or creep
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buckling can also be monitored.
The analytical tool developed is based on the displacement
formulation of the finite-element method (FEM) and incor-
porates the Hermitian two-node beam elements, prestressing
tendons with arbitrary layout, and prestressed cables to rep-
resent the stays in cable-stayed structures. Several kinds of
connections can be defined between ends of beams, such as
generalized hinges and rigid links with finite length. Special
elements to represent the shores as supports acting only in
compression are also defined.
The cross section of a beam element is divided into sub-
sections, and each subsection into filaments. A explicit 1D con-
stitutive equation is considered at each filament. The concept
of subsection allows adequate representation of the construc-
tion of elements in different steps. Several materials with dif-
ferent rheological behavior, such as structural steel and con-
crete or precast and cast-in-place concrete, can be considered.
Variations with time of the mechanical properties of different
parts of a cross section can also be simulated in a consistent
way. Variations of the environmental conditions (temperature,
humidity, exposed surface), which are due to changes in the
cross-section geometry that affect the time-dependent behavior
of the concrete, are also taken into account in the model.
The model can deal with pretensioned and posttensioned
bonded and unbonded tendons. Prestressing losses are ob-
tained throughout the structural analysis. Concentrated and
distributed loads, equivalent prestressing loads, imposed dis-
placements at supports, temperature variations, and time-
dependent deformations due to creep and shrinkage of con-
crete, as well as the relaxation of prestressing steel, are taken
into consideration.
The present model has been designed to simulate in a very
general way all kinds of structural changes that may occur
during the construction process and throughout the entire
structural service life. Changes in the longitudinal or trans-
verse geometry of the structure can be taken into account by
adding or removing elements or subsections of the cross sec-
tion. Temporary prestressing tendons, as well as stays and sup-
ports, can be placed, stressed, unstressed, or removed at any
time, and external support conditions and internal constraints
and connections between elements can also be modified at any
time.
Modeling of Materials Behavior
A multilinear stress-strain relationship with strain hardening
is used both for reinforcing and prestressing steel. The instan-
taneous nonlinear behavior of concrete has been considered by
means of a parabolic model that considers a post-peak de-
scending branch and load reversal. A smeared crack approach
is used with tension stiffening.
Segmental construction processes require accurate simula-
tion of the time-dependent behavior of the materials, especially
when prestressing or loading at early ages. For that purpose,
the parameters of the CEB model have been corrected to fit
the curves of creep and shrinkage obtained from the delayed
tests over concrete specimens.
In addition, in the present model, a Dirichlet expansion se-
ries is used to represent the creep function. Such approxima-
26 / JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 2000
J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30
tion allows performing a complete step-by-step analysis with-
out keeping the whole stress history of each filament at each
section of control. The parameters governing the expansion
series are fitted to the corrected CEB-FIP Model Code 1990,
as explained above.
Nonlinear Time-Dependent Analysis Strategy
The structural analysis strategy consists of a time-step-by-
step procedure in which the actual construction process and
load history of the structure can be reproduced. The time do-
main is divided into a discrete number of time intervals, and
a time-step-forward integration is performed in which incre-
ments of displacements, strains, and other structural quantities
are successively added to the previous totals as we march for-
ward in the time domain.
At each time step, the structure is analyzed under the ex-
ternal applied loads and imposed deformations originated dur-
ing the previous time interval, due to creep, shrinkage, tem-
perature variations, or construction loads. A direct stiffness
FEM based on the displacement formulation is used, in which
the resulting equilibrium equations will be nonlinear in order
to be valid for the current state of material properties and
geometry. A Total Lagrangian formulation is adopted to take
into account the geometric nonlinear effects. Several incre-
mental and iterative solution strategies to solve the nonlinear
problem have been implemented in a computer program called
CONS, which is an extension of program PCF3D, initially
developed without segmental construction (Mar 1984).
STRUCTURAL TEST RESULTS AND ANALYTICAL
PREDICTIONS
From the large amount of information obtained in this test,
only a few representative values will be presented. In Figs. 6
12, the time scale used is t-tp, tp being the instant of prestress-
ing and t the absolute time counted from the instant of fabri-
cation of the beams.
Deformations
Strains will be shown at two representative sections: the one
placed at the center of the prestressed beam (CPB), and the
one placed at the central support (CS).
Fig. 6 shows the strains at the top and bottom reinforcement
bars at the CPB section during construction and under per-
manent loads. Considerable increments of strains due to creep
and shrinkage of the slab and the beam can be observed in the
top reinforcement, while the strain at the bottom reinforcement
remains practically constant with time. Good agreement be-
tween experimental and analytically predicted strains in this
section is observed, having contributed the absence of cracking
to the accuracy of the predictions. The only significant differ-
ence is the evolution of the strain at the bottom reinforcement
at the CPB section just after the posttensioning, probably due
to differences between the real and simulated time-dependent
behavior at very early ages.
Fig. 7 shows the strains at the top and bottom reinforce-
ments of the slab, at the CPB section. The increment of strain
under permanent loads is remarkable, as it happens at the top
reinforcement of the beam. It can be seen that the strains at
the top reinforcement are well predicted by the model and are
considerably bigger than those at the bottom reinforcement of
the slab, due to the restraint imposed by the previously hard-
ened beam. Such an effect is only partially captured by the
model because no gradient of shrinkage and creep has been
considered along the slab depth, due to environmental condi-
tions.
Fig. 8 shows the strains at the top and bottom reinforce-
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FIG. 7. Strain at Reinforcing Bars of Slab at CPB Section

FIG. 6. Strain at Reinforcing Bars, at CPB Section

ments, respectively, of the beam at the CS section. The top

reinforcement [Fig. 8(a)] is placed at the tensile zone, where
cracking occurs during the construction process. In this case,
after an instantaneous increment of strain due to cracking, the
reinforcement slightly increases its strain with time, due to the
decrease of the tension stiffening effect with time. The bottom
reinforcement [Fig. 8(b)], which is placed at the compression
zone, considerably increases its strain with time.
Fig. 9 shows the development of the strain with time at the
reinforcement placed on the top slab of the same section. The
slab at this section cracks during construction, just after the
concrete slab over the longest span is placed. A remarkable
increment of tensile stresses with time is observed, since ten-
sion-stiffening effects are important.
It can be concluded that considerable complexity exists to
capture the strain distributions along the section depth, due to
the segmental construction. In fact, the top slab is poured over
a beam that is already cracked. In spite of this, the model has
captured the general sectional behavior, including the instant
of cracking and the evolution of strains at the compressive and
cracked areas. The main differences observed are probably due
to the difficulties of accurately reproducing the time-dependent
behavior of the cracked area, such as the evolution of the ten-
sion stiffening and the shear lag effects in the tensile zone. FIG. 8. Strain at Reinforcing Bars of Beam at CS Section

JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 2000 / 27

J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30

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FIG. 9. Strain at Reinforcing Bars of Slab at CS Section FIG. 12. Evolution of Deflection under Permanent Load and
Unloading

Support Reactions
Fig. 10 shows the experimentally obtained support reactions
from the beginning of the construction process. A very small
decrease of central reactions is observed after providing struc-
tural continuity. Therefore, a small redistribution of forces with
time takes place, with a decrease of the negative bending mo-
ment and an increase of the positive moments at the centers
of both spans, as shown in Fig. 11.
The comparison of the experimentally measured reactions
with those that were obtained numerically shows a generally
good agreement, especially during construction, although the
variation of the reaction under permanent load is slightly big-
ger in the test than in the numerical predictions. Bending mo-
ment redistributions of 12.6% of the maximum negative mo-
ment and 5% of the maximum positive moment were drawn
from the experimentally measured reactions.

Deflections
Fig. 12 shows the analytical and measured deflections at the
FIG. 10. Time Evolution of Total Load and Support Reactions center of the prestressed beam, starting from the placement of
permanent loads in the slab. Creep effects are remarkable, pro-
ducing a delayed deflection of 18.1 mm (which is about 1/825
of the span length).
The predicted maximum delayed deflection was 25%
smaller than the experimental one. The comparison has been
made by taking into account only the delayed deflection be-
cause of the difficulties in accurately measuring this parameter
during the construction process. However, the differences in
the prestressing camber and the instantaneous deflection due
to the application of the permanent loads were only about 5%
with respect to the measured values.
The disagreement in the delayed deflections is probably due
to the existence of inclined cracks produced by the shear-flex-
ure interaction (not taken into account in the numerical model)
and to the difficulties in accurately simulating the time evo-
lution of tension stiffening.
Shear lag combined with creep effects have a big influence
on long-term deflections, especially in box girder bridges
(Kristek and Bazant 1987) such as the one tested, due to the
large ratio between the slab width and web thickness. Since a
1D beam model cannot capture such an effect, an effective
width of the top slab was adopted of constant value along the
FIG. 11. Bending Moment Redistribution under Permanent bridge length. The value of the effective width, obtained ini-
Loads tially from a finite-element linear elastic analysis using shell
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J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30

 elements, was 1.40 m on top of each web. Such a value, which
represents 70% of the total slab width, is very similar to the
usual values proposed by some international codes (CEB-FIP
Model Code 90).
However, the effective width had to be reduced to 1.05 m
(about 52%) of the total slab width on top of each web in
order to fit the experimentally measured strains. This reduction
is probably due to transverse cracking of the slab, produced
by restrained shrinkage of the concrete. Such cracks, which
were observed in the model, reduce the contribution of the top
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slab to the structural stiffness.
The measured prestressing force at the continuity bars
crossing the joint remained practically constant with time. No
joint opening was observed during construction or after 500
days.
The loss of prestressing force at tendon 1 at the central
section of the longest beam, estimated by means of the nu-
merical model, is 17% of the initial posttensioning force,
which is a reasonable amount for this particular kind of bridge.
This value is consistent with the loss obtained from the mea-
sured tendon strain multiplied by the tendon modulus of elas-
ticity, after adding the expected value of the relaxation loss.
CONCLUSIONS
A large-scale model of a continuous precast concrete box
girder bridge has been tested in order to characterize its be-
havior during construction and under permanent loads after
500 days. Evolution of strains in concrete and steel, reactions,
and deflections have been measured. Time-dependent redistri-
bution of stresses, reactions, and internal forces have been
identified and quantified. In addition, analytical predictions of
the nonlinear and time-dependent behavior of the tested bridge
have been made and their results compared with those exper-
imentally measured. The following conclusions can be drawn,
related to the objectives of the present research work:
1. The laboratory tests have captured the most important
phenomena that take place at the material and structural
level in a large-scale model of a real segmentally con-
structed concrete bridge structure. Exhaustive control of
the geometry, material properties, environmental condi-
tions, load distribution, and construction sequence has
been carried out. Most of the variables have been mea-
sured at several points of control and the results checked
among them and over time. Therefore, it can be said that
reliable qualitative and quantitative information has been
obtained about the most important variables influencing
the structural behavior.
2. The segmental construction process has an enormous in-
fluence on the short- and long-term structural response.
At a given section, the stresses at the end of the con-
struction process can be very different from those that
would have been produced by a simultaneous construc-
tion and also very different from those existing at long
term. This is due to the evolution of the structural con-
figuration, the load history, and the effects of creep,
shrinkage, and relaxation.
3. Redistribution of stresses between concrete and steel can
be very important. For the tested structure, a 45% incre-
ment in the stress at the top reinforcement of the pre-
stressed beam occurs at the center of the longest span,
reaching a total stress of 400 MPa after 500 days. The
reinforcing bars placed at the top slab showed a stress
increment of 175%, reaching a total value of 300 MPa.
The increment of stress is already noticeable at an early
age of the concrete, probably due to shrinkage strain.
4. Redistributions of reactions and internal forces have also
been measured, although they are not very important for
J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30
the tested bridge, where the maximum negative moment
decreases 12.6% and the maximum positive moment in-
creases 5% after 500 days. Such small redistributions of
moments are probably due to a combination of the span
lengths ratio, position of the joint, permanent load level,
and amount of prestressing force for this particular struc-
ture.
5. When flexural cracking takes place, the increment of
strain under permanent loads is smaller at the tensile re-
inforcement than at the compressive reinforcement. If
cracking is very important and tension stiffening is small,
the tensile reinforcement remains practically constant
with time, as observed in the test at the upper reinforce-
ment of the beam over the central support. However,
when tension stiffening is important, as happens in the
slab, reinforcement incrementally increases its strain with
time, due to progressive cracking and loss of tension
stiffening.
6. The analytical model has been shown to adequately sim-
ulate the complex time-dependent behavior of the struc-
ture. Evolution of strains, stresses, internal forces, reac-
tions, deflections, and cracks was predicted with
reasonable accuracy. Therefore, it can be concluded that
the analytical model can be used as a powerful tool at
the design stage or during the erection of the structure
in order to optimize the construction process.
7. The top concrete slab shows transverse shrinkage cracks,
even at midspan, due to the restraint produced by the
beam and by the longitudinal slab reinforcement. Such
cracks reduce the contribution of the top slab to the sec-
tional stiffness. For the tested structure, the effective
width used in the analytical model necessary to repro-
duce the test deflections and strains proved to be 52%
of the total slab width.
8. Future experimental and analytical research work is
needed to better quantify the contribution of the top slab
to the structural stiffness, taking into account the inter-
action between creep, shrinkage, cracking, and shear lag
effects.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The present investigation has been developed under the Research
Project PB96-0954 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education. The
Spanish prefabrication company ALVISA, the construction company
COPCISA, and the quality control company COTCA have also cofi-
nanced the laboratory test and participated actively in the design and
construction of the structure. The writers want also to express their grat-
itude to their colleagues in the Structural Technology Laboratory of the
Technical University of Catalonia for their help.
APPENDIX I. REFERENCES
Abbas, S., and Scordelis, A. C. (1993). Nonlinear geometric, material
and time-dependent analysis of segmentally erected three-dimensional
cable stayed bridges. Rep. UCB/SEMM-93/09, University of Califor-
nia at Berkeley, Calif.
Cruz, P. J. S., Mar, A. R., and Roca, P. (1998). Nonlinear time-depen-
dent analysis of segmentally constructed structures. J. Struct. Engrg.,
ASCE, 124(3), 278287.
Elbadry, M. M. (1988). Serviceability of reinforced concrete struc-
tures, PhD thesis, University of Calgary, Canada.
Kang, Y. (1989). SPCFRAME: Computer program for nonlinear seg-
mental analysis of planar prestressed concrete frames. Rep. UCB/
SEMN-89-07, University of California at Berkeley, Calif.
Krstek, V., and Bazant, Z. P. (1987). Shear lag effect and uncertainty
in concrete box girder creep. J. Struct. Engrg., ASCE, 113(3), 557
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Larrard, F., and Atcin, P. C. (1993). Apparent strength retrogression of
silica fume concrete. ACI Mat. J., 90(6), 581585.
Mar, A. R. (1984). Nonlinear geometric, material and time dependent
analysis of three dimensional reinforced and prestressed concrete
frames. Rep. No. 1, UCB/SESM-84/12, University of California,
Berkeley, Calif.
JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 2000 / 29
 Mar, A. R. (1998). Nonlinear and time dependent analysis of segmen- viceability Models, Progress Rep., Comite Euro-International du Beton
tally erected three dimensional concrete frames. Res. Rep. Dept. of (CEB), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Constr. Engrg., Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Mar, A. R., Montaner, J., and Valero, I. (1996). Evaluacion de estados APPENDIX II. NOTATION
tensodeformacionales y flechas en puentes isostaticos prefabricados de
hormigon pretensado. Hormigon y Acero, No. 202, 2558 (in Span- The following symbols are used in this paper:
ish).
Murcia, J., and Herkenhoff, L. (1994). Analisis en el tiempo de puentes As = area of reinforcing steel;
continuos de hormigon construidos a partir de elementos prefabrica- CPB = central section of prestressed beam;
dos. Hormigon y Acero, No. 192, 5571 (in Spanish). CS = central support section;
Roca, P., and Mar, A. R. (1993). Numerical treatment of prestressing Ect = deformation modulus of concrete;
tendons in the nonlinear analysis of prestressed concrete structures. fcm,t = mean compressive strength of concrete at instant t;
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Khulna University of Engineering & Technology on 07/25/17. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Comp. and Struct., 46(5), 905916. PB = prestressed beam;

Valdes, M. (1997). Comportamiento durante construccion y bajo cargas
RB = reinforced beam;
permanentes de puentes continuos prefabricados de hormigon, PhD
thesis, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y
S = slab;
Puertos, Barcelona, Spain. t = time;
Vitek, J. L. (1997). Long-term deflections of large prestressed concrete t0 = instant of loading;
bridges. Bull. No. 235, Serviceability Models, Progress Rep., Comite t tp = time elapsed after prestressing;
Euro-International du Beton (CEB), Lausanne, Switzerland. cst = shrinkage strain of concrete; and
Vitek, J. L. (1997). Selected monitored bridges. Bull. No. 235, Ser- (t, t0) = concrete creep function.

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J. Bridge Eng., 2000, 5(1): 22-30