New construction method for arch bridges

Tubular steel arches filled with concrete act as falsework and structure
BY TETSUO KAWAMURA, YASUHIRO FUJIMOTO, WILLIAM D. PALMER, JR.

he reinforced concrete arch: to the structural engineer, its the ideal compressive material in the ideal compressive shape. To the builder, however, the concrete arch is an expensive headache. Japanese builders traditionally have used one of two construction methods for this problematic structure. The first involves building an elaborate truss and scaffolding on temporary riverbed piers. It works, but the temporary structure is seismically unstablea real concern in Japanand does not always maintain formwork deflection to necessary tolerances. With the second method, an arch-shaped steel lattice falsework is built to support the concrete arch framework. While somewhat more elegant than truss and scaffolding, this method is expensive and suffers from a lack of stiffness in the falsework, requiring a complicated concrete casting sequence. Now, a Japanese builder is using a new construction method, called concrete lapping with pre-erected composite arch (CLCA), that satisfies both designer and builder. For P. S. Concrete Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, CLCA eliminates the shortcomings of the traditional arch construction methodsand meets stringent cost and scheduling requirements.

Figure 1. Each half-arch assembly is swung down around hinges at its springings to join at the arch crown, then the joined steel arch tubes are pumped full of concrete.

The CLCA method

C LCA uses rectangular cro s s section tubular steel arches filled with concrete (the composite s t ru c t u re) to act as the false work to form the re i n f o rced concre t e bridge arch. The composite struct u re provides a stiff and stable framework that can withstand rela t i vely strong eart h q u a k e s, does not disturb the ri verbed, and requires no dismantling. The first step in the process is to

construct reinforced concrete abutments on each side of the river using conventional techniques. Next, an assembly consisting of several tubular steel half arches is built standing upright on its end on opposite sides of the river. Each half is swung down around hinges at its springings to join at the arch crown (Figure 1), then the joined steel arch tubes are pumped full of concrete. Reinforced concrete is placed around the composite structures,

Figure 2. Hinges are placed at the springings of each arch, to which four 0.6-meter-square steel tubes are attached using preassembled sections up to 7.5 meters long.

Figure 3. Each half of the four arches is carefully aligned and joined together using a rectangular steel frame at the crown. initially using conventional techniques (at the hinge area), and finally using movable platforms which work their way up the composite arches from each side of the river. The bridge is finished using conventional methods. P. S. Concrete has used CLCA to construct two bridges in Japan, the Asahi Bridge (58 meters) and the Joshi Bridge (82 meters). Ultimately, it will be possible to build span lengths exceeding 200 meters using refinements of the CLCA techniques pioneered on these two bridges. were underdesigned for the larger CLCA construction moments. To handle the extra loads, large concrete anchors were cast outside each abutment. Hinges were placed at the springings of each arch, to which four 0.6meter-square steel tubes were attached using preassembled sections up to 7.5 meters long (Figure 2). The vertically supported half-arches were then lowered using cables and specially designed jacks tied to the anchor blocks. Each half of the four arches was carefully aligned and joined together using a rectangular steel frame (Figure 3). Only one plate on each half of the frame had holes; once the tubes were aligned, holes were drilled through the matching plates and the frames were bolted together. Next, concrete was pumped into each tube through access port s along their tops (Fi g u re 4). When

full to the level of a port, the conc rete was vibrated and the port sealed with a steel cover plate. After filling all four arches, the first wrapping concrete was placed at the a rch springing using tra d i t i o n a l ground-supported scaffolding and f o rm w o rk. Both tra n s verse and longitudinal reinforcing steel was used. To lighten the bridge, 0.6-met e r-diameter steel tubes, form i n g hollow sections within the arch assembly, were inserted in the longitudinal direction. Thirty-ton traveling forms were then erected and used to complete the concrete placement (Figure 5). Initially, hydraulic jacks were used to move each assembly. On higher sections, cables and mechanical comealongs were used. The upper face of an existing concrete section was roughened, reinforcing steel and the hollow tubes were placed, and the forms were set. Concrete pours were then made on alternating sides of the arch in 3-meter-long sections to maintain balanced loads. Cables running from the completed placements to the anchor blocks eased the load on the composite structure and reinforced concrete.

The Asahi Bridge

A somewhat modified CLCA construction technique was used for the Asahi Bridge because it originally was to be constructed using the steel lattice formwork method. Because the cast-in-place abutments were completed before the decision was made to switch to CLCA, they

Figure 4. Workers pump concrete into each tube through access ports along their tops.

Figure 5. Thirty-ton traveling forms were erected and used to complete the concrete placement. Initially hydraulic jacks were used to move each assembly. On higher sections, cables and mechanical comealongs were used.

Figure 6. After the arch was completed, workers start work on the roadbed columns using conventional reinforced concrete construction methods. After the arch was completed, construction crews removed the traveling forms using a crane and started work on the roadbed columns using conventional reinforced concrete construction methods (Figure 6). Finally, the deck was completed. or tieback cables were required.

Construction schedules
The Asahi Bridge was completed in the fall of 1988 after two 8month construction seasons one for the foundation work and another for the superstructure. The Joshi bridge also took two seasons and was completed in the summer of 1989. Tetsuo Kawamura and Yasuhiro Fujimoto are structural engineers with P. S. Concrete Co. Ltd., Tokyo. William D. Palmer is the American Concrete Institutes director of education.

Joshi Bridge
The larger Joshi Bridge was completely designed and constructed using the CLCA method. The main difference between the Asahi and the Joshi bridges is that Joshis abutments were designed to handle all construction loads, so no extra anchor blocks

Publication # C910009
Copyright 1991, The Aberdeen Group. All rights reserved