THE STRENGTHENING OF STRǍULEŞTI BRIDGE

OVER COLENTINA RIVER IN BUCHAREST

Ass. Prof., PhD, Alexandru DIMA1

Lecturer, PhD, Ionuţ Radu RĂCĂNEL2
1
Bridges Department, Technical University of Civil Engineering, Bucharest, Romania
2
Bridges Department, Technical University of Civil Engineering, Bucharest, Romania

Summary
The roadway bridge Străuleşti over the Colentina River, erected in 1935, is placed
on Aeroportului Street. The superstructure consists from a steel riveted bridge
deck, in a solution of semi-through truss (U frame) with a span L of 30.70 m (10
panels), having a way width of 5.00 m and a height of the main truss girders H of
3.10 m.

The deck consists in a simple concrete slab placed over “ZORES” profiles which
are disposed over 6 stringers that are continuous over the cross girders. The
chords of the main truss girders have only one plate as web and the diagonals in
tension have two plates forming the web. The bridge deck has various and
numerous construction deficiencies (insufficient beam cross sections to support the
Class “E” convoys, the transverse U frames don’t have the adequate rigidity to
ensure the general stability of the top compressed chord and the beams
slenderness are over the allowed values).

In this paper two strengthening solutions are presented: the indirect solution by
disposing steel tension rods for the girders supporting the way (stringers and cross
girders) and also for the bottom chords of the main truss girders and the direct
solution consisting in the strengthening of the joints connections or in the
replacement of the diagonals or verticals.

The strengthening process was made considering the sectional stresses established
using 3D finite element models according to the strengthening stages: one model
for the unstrengthened structure, but without the concrete slab and the second one
for the strengthened structure in order to obtain the sectional stresses
corresponding to Class “E” of convoys.

KEY WORDS: bridge, riveted bridge deck, strengthening, tension rods