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Box Girder Rak-11 3001 Lecture 05 2
Box Girder Rak-11 3001 Lecture 05 2
School of Engineering
Department of Structural Engineering and Building Technology
Rak-11.3001 Design of Bridges
17.10.2012
Contents
1 Introduction
1.3 Advantages
1.4 Disadvantages
2 Structural Behavior
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2.1 Analysis
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3 Construction Methods
4 Conclusions
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5 Sources
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1 Introduction
A box girder bridge is a bridge in which the main beams comprise girders in the shape of a
hollow box. The box girder normally comprises either prestressed concrete, structural steel, or
a composite of steel and reinforced concrete. It is typically rectangular or trapezoidal in crosssection. Box girder bridges are commonly used for highway flyovers and for modern elevated
structures of light rail transport. The box girder can also be part of portal frame bridges, arch
bridges, cable-stayed and suspension bridges of all kinds.
Box girder decks are cast-in-place units that can be constructed to follow any desired
alignment in plan, so that straight, skew and curved bridges of various shapes are common in
the highway system. Because of high torsional resistance, a box girder structure is particularly
suited to bridges with significant curvature.
A box girder has high torsional stiffness and strength, compared with an equivalent
member of open cross section. This is of particular advantage in structures curved in plan
like highway ramps, but in straight structures this will also contribute to the efficient
support of eccentric loads and to the effective distribution of load in transverse direction.
Box girder will have large flange widths. Increased flange widths make it possible to use
large span/depth ratios. This is an advantage if construction depth is limited. Also it can
lead to more slender structures which are mainly considered more aesthetical.
The space enclosed within in the girder may be used for the passage of services such as
gas pipes, cables, water mains etc. In some cases bottom flange can also be used as
another deck that accommodates traffic.
Maintenance of a box girder can be easier, because the interior space can be made directly
accessible. Alternatively, this space may sealed providing a noncorrosive environment.
Box girders are generally aesthetic. This is due slender form and also a result from the
uncluttered undersurface. Trapezoidal box girders are more pleasing to the human eye.
The shape of the box girder can vary a lot. This makes them easier to design for
aerodynamic shapes, which is an advantage especially for long span bridges.
Fig: Typical components of a box girder bridge with composite concrete deck
Shear keys
A shear key is a shaped joint between two prefabricated elements that can resist shear through
the geometric configuration of the joint.Shear keys are provided in the webs and flanges of
precast segments of a Box-Girder. They serve two functions. The first is to align the segments
when they are erected. The second is to transmit the shear force between segments during
construction.
Diaphragms
Diaphragms are adopted in concrete box girder bridges to transfer loads from bridge decks to
bearings. Since the depth of diaphragms normally exceeds the width by two times, they are
usually designed as deep beams. By the provision of diaphragms, transverse bending stresses
caused by the moments, resulting from differential deflection of top and bottom slabs are
eliminated. The use of diaphragms at supports which are at definite locations of concentrated
loading significantly diminishes the differential deflections near the supports and should
always be provided.
1.3 Advantages
High stiffness against torsion compared to normal plate girders
Good option when building bridges that curve in plane
Smaller economical construction depth when compared to plate girders
It has high structural efficiency and torsional strength which minimizes the prestessing
force required to resist a given bending moment. Prestressing is not required for spans
up to 60m.
Their closed shape makes them more efficient in corrosion resistance than plate
girders, as the shape drastically reduces the exposed surface area
The upper flange can act also as a part of the deck structure
Bracings can be hidden in the space available inside the girder and the structure
becomes more aesthetic from outside.
1.4 Disadvantages
One of the main disadvantages of box decks is that they are difficult to cast in-situ due
to the inaccessibility of the bottom slab and the need to extract the internal shutter.
Either the box has to be designed so that the entire cross section may be cast in one
continuous pour, or the cross section has to be cast in stages.
Box girders are more expensive to fabricate, and they are more difficult to maintain,
because of the need for access to a confined space inside the box.
Girders are not efficient as trusses in resisting loads over long spans.
Typically higher construction costs compared to I-section steel girder
Design part is complex
Box girder bridges are reasonable to use when:
Example a) Swanport bridge over River Murray, near Murray Bridge in South Australia
Country
main span
Canada
334.35 m
Stolma Bridge
Norway
301 m
Raftsundet Bridge
Norway
298 m
Sundoya Bridge
Norway
298 m
France
280.773 m
Ujina Bridge
Japan
270 m
Neckar Viaduct
Germany
263 m
Gateway Bridge
Australia
260 m
Brazil
260 m
United States of
America
259.08 m
10 C & O Bridge
(Source: http://en.structurae.de/structures/stype/index.cfm?id=6167)
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Torsional warping
Distortion
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For a simple uniform box section subject to pure torsion this warping is unrestrained
and does not give rise to any secondary stresses. But if, for example, a box is supported and
torsionally restrained at both ends and then subjected to applied torque in the middle, warping
is fully restrained and torsional warping stresses are generated. Similar restraint occurs in
continuous box sections which are torsionally restrained at intermediate supports.
2.1 Analysis
There are many methods for analysis
Simple line analysis or beam analysis
Grillage analysis[ref]
BEF Analysis (Beams on elastic foundation)
Space frame analysis
Finite element method
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Fig 2,4 : Bending moment and stresses due to eccentric loading (Ref Bridge deck behavior, E C
Hambly)
All-welded construction permits the simple cross section shown. This consists of a web plate,
fillet welded to a single thick plate at each flange. A change in flange thickness is achieved by
tapering the thickness at the end of the thicker plate, and butt welding it to a thinner plate. An
alternative is to use multiple-flange plates, with widths successively reduced to the outside,
permitting longitudinal fillet welds to be provided between the plates at the stepped edges.
All-welded construction permits the simple cross section shown. This consists of a web plate,
fillet welded to a single thick plate at each flange. A change in flange thickness is achieved by
tapering the thickness at the end of the thicker plate, and butt welding it to a thinner plate. An
alternative is to use multiple-flange plates, with widths successively reduced to the outside,
permitting longitudinal fillet welds to be provided between the plates at the stepped edges.
3 ConstructionMethods
1. Segmental Construction
The bridge deck is constructed sequentially beginning from the pier, one section at a time. In
pre-cast segmental bridge, the precasted concrete segment is constructed at the factory, then
transported to the site and hoisted into place. As the new segment is suspended in place by the
crane or gantry, workers install steel reinforced that attaches the new segment toproceeding
segment. Each segment of the bridge is design to accept connections from both proceeding
and succeeding segment. This process is repeated until the span is completed.
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Fig 3,4: Incrementally launched deck for Neckarburg Arch Bridge in Germany,
1977 (Juan and Joseph, 2004)
(Incremental launching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Kf9e6JgF4)
5. Segmental Cast-in-place with Traveler Formworks
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This method of construction still utilizes the segmental method of construction and balanced
cantilever but the segment is casted in-situ. Thetraveler formworks which is hang onto the
previously casted segment is used to form the segment. After the segment has been casted,
after three to four days, the temporary stressing will be applied to hold the segment to it place.
The formworks then will be push forward to the next segment and the same process repeat
until the middle of the span on both directions, creating a balanced cantilever structure. The
figure below shows the construction by traveler form using balanced cantilever method.
Fig: Classification according to construction method, span length, total bridge length and
construction progress
(Source:http://books.google.fi/books?id=2UmAsMxsFEC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fi&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage
&q&f=false)
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4 Conclusion
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5 Sources
Literature
http://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/kmk/esdep/master/wg01b/toc.htm
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