01025493

Component

In current AASHTO design practices, bridges are designed on an elemental basis. AASHTO code specifies that each structural element is to be designed for the loads it will experience during the life of the bridge. The calculated loads are enveloped to produce maximum loads. This approach, elemental design, is structurally sound, in general conservative, and has resulted in the design and construction of safe and reliable bridges. Designers use a matrix approach to evaluate a set of what are essentially initial-state load conditions. This paper describes development of a "baseline" bridge model and suggests certain modifications to the traditional bridge design process to take advantage of modern computing capabilities to create a refined baseline model. The baseline model is an analytical model which accounts for the full system behavior of the structure, as opposed to the elemental approach which envelopes loads and conditions to evaluate separate components of the bridge structure. The baseline model is a three-dimensional structural model employing finite element software. A sample baseline model is developed and evaluated for a simple span steel composite concrete stringer bridge. Advantages and challenges for application of the baseline model, as part of a modified overall bridge design process, are presented and discussed.

01020180

06-1593

English

15p

2006

Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting

CD-ROM

Figures (7) ; References (9) ; Tables (1)

Base lines; Bridge design; Computer models; Cost effectiveness; Finite element method; Structural analysis

Three dimensional models

Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2006 Paper #06-1593

BTRIS, TRIS, TRB

Mar 3 2006 10:44AM