01663055

Component

The structural efficiency of four prestressed concrete bridge superstructures suitable for short-span bridges is evaluated. The investigated systems are box beams, double-tee beams, slab beams, and pre-topped inverted tee beams. Selection of such sections was based on the following characteristics: no cast-in-place deck usage, high popularity of use among highway agencies throughout the United States, and expedited bridge construction availability by using ultra-high performance concrete at closure pours. A parametric analysis was carried out to investigate their performance up to a span range of 75-feet long, and a comparison table was established between certain parameters such as beam geometric properties, weight of section, required strand area, and efficiency when the span length was reached. The study was performed by designing a common short-span, 2-lane concrete bridge superstructure located in Florida and varying the total strand area and section depths until the 75-foot span length was reached for every section. The most efficient system was found to consist of an adjacent inverted tee with a precast concrete deck. It was determined that this inverted tee is the most efficient and lightest section (with the smallest cross-section area), required only 20 strands, and had a depth of only 28 inches for the complete superstructure.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AFF30 Standing Committee on Concrete Bridges.

18-05280

English

14p

2018

Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Beams; Bridge construction; Bridge superstructures; Concrete bridges; Girders; Parametric analysis; Prestressed concrete; Structural analysis

Florida

Bridges and other structures; Construction; Highways

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2018 Paper #18-05280

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 8 2018 11:20AM