TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROAD COMPOSITE BRIDGES

ABSTRACT:
The composite road bridges have come to be widely used in recent years. This study describes
the most common type of composite bridge and examines various aspects relating to
materials, design and construction, to highlight the new developments.

1. INTRODUCTION.
In the 1970s steel bridges were no longer able to compete with pre
stressed concrete bridges in France and went into a marked decline. However, since the early
1980s steel construction has gradually become re-established for bridges with medium spans
of about 60 meters.
This is due to a combination of factors which we shall describe in this study. The most
important of these are the design of simple structures, the fact that steel plants became able to
produce very high quality thick steel plates and the adoption of modern design rules
associated with corresponding computer software. But two other factors were very important :
In the early 1980s the French administration decided to have a double tender with competition
between composite bridge design and pre stressed concrete bridge design as soon as it was
justified from a technical point of view. In the same time, the technical information became
available for the design engineers.

2. THE MARKET FOR COMPOSITE ROAD BRIDGES.

Figure 1 shows the market share of composite road bridges as a percentage of the total deck
surface constructed. This share has been increasing in France since the early 1980s, a rise
which is mainly accounted for by bridges with medium spans of between about 50 and 70
meters.

Figure 2 shows the phenomenon clearly. However, steel bridges are still not very competitive
in France for short spans, despite current attempts to develop solutions for this size of bridge.
By classifying bridges according to type, a census of road bridges constructed between 1992
and 1995 shows that a single type of structure accounts for the success of steel bridges: the
twin beam composite bridge. This classification, shown in Table 1, has been drawn from the
Bulletin "Ponts Métalliques".

It has been estimated that between 30 and 40 thousand tons of steel are consumed annually in
French steel bridges. In recent years in addition to road bridges a large number of bridges has
been constructed for the TGV high speed rail network.

3. DESIGN AND USUAL STRUCTURAL FEATURES.

The most common type of structure consists of a reinforced concrete slab which is connected to
two steel beams. These beams are cross braced by I-girders every 8 or 10 meters.

Figure 3: Usual transverse cross section.

These cross girders are welded to T-shaped vertical stiffeners. These structures are usually entirely
welded, with the exception of the temporary bolted wind bracing which is used during
construction before concreting the slab.
There are a large number of variations from Figure 3, the main ones of which are:
 Slab of constant depth,
 Slab with transverse pre stressing, for very wide bridges,
 Slab also supported by cross girders.
In this case the top flange of the cross girders are
welded to the top flanges of the main girders. The cross girders are also more closely spaced, as
their center-to center distance is reduced to four meters in order to support the thinner slab. A
flat steel vertical stiffener is also used in low height short span bridges. The flange of the usual T
type of vertical stiffeners is welded to the upper flange of the main girders, but tapers off and
stops before reaching the lower flange of the main girder in order to avoid a reduction in fatigue
strength. However, the stiffeners on supports are brought fully into contact with and welded to
both flanges. The features shown in Figure 4 are those in the Caramany bridge in the seismic
zone of the Pyrenees.
Figure 4: Example of structural Figure 5: Thick plates on supports.
Features. (150 mm)
Generally speaking, current French regulations concerning plate buckling, which are based on
Euler's elastic theory, specify one or two longitudinal stiffeners. These are flat steel plates
which are welded to the webs and which are interrupted before each vertical stiffener. These
interrupted stiffeners make no contribution to the strength of the beams. They are provided to
resist the "breathing" of the webs.

4. MATERIALS.
Twin beam structures have been made possible by advances in steel plants. The availability
on the market of thick plates of up to 150 mm has meant that it has become possible to design
beams with a single plate flange as is shown in Figure 5. This leads to a considerable
economic gain in comparison to flanges which consist of several layers. However, such
thicknesses require steel of very high quality to reduce the risks of brittle fractures. Similar
advances have been made as regards rolled sections. We shall also examine two other aspects
: longitudinally profiled flanges and thermo-mechanical steels.

4.1. THICK PLATES.

The most commonly used grade of steel is S 355 N. This normalized steel is specified in
European Standard EN 10113. The risk of brittle fractures is controlled by quality selection in
accordance with French standard A 36-010. This standard defines: the basic grade (40J
guaranteed at -20°c) for thicknesses of less than 80 mm, L grade (27J guaranteed at -50°c) for
thicknesses between 80 and 150mm. It should be noted that web plates can be made from S
355 K2 steel.

4.2. LONGITUDINALLY PROFILED FLANGES.

This type of flange was used for the first time for a bridge in 1982 at Joigny-sur-Meuse on an
75 meter single span. It is also of interest to note that the design of variable depth beams
combines for this bridge mechanical effectiveness and aesthetic appeal.
The longitudinally profiled sheets are available in compliance with three European
standards: EN10025, EN10113-2 and EN10155. They can therefore not be obtained in
thermo-mechanical steel to EN10113-3.
Different types of longitudinally profiled sheets can be manufactured. The most
important of these are shown in Table 2:

The main limitations are a result of the rolling techniques used in the steel plants which
determine the slope and the maximum variation in thickness. The range of available
geometries is nevertheless sufficient to allow the envelope curve of bending moments to
be generally respected.

4.3. THERMO-MECHANICALLY ROLLED STEEL.

These steels are available for both plates and rolled sections. Several small composite bridges
have been built in the recent years using S 460 M rolled sections.
A development in the use of plates in the grades S 355 M and S 460 M is expected in the
future. An experimental two girders bridge with S 460 ML plates up to 80 mm has been
successfully built ( Remoulins bridge ). The advances which have been made in the control of
rolling (temperature and mechanical deformation in the rolling mill) have meant that
extremely fine grain steel can now be produced in the grades S 355 M and S 460 M. The
basic and L grades are equivalent to those of normalized steel. It is highly likely that thermo-
mechanically rolled steel (M) will replace normalized steel (N) in the future.
Table 3 : Carbon Equivalent Values.
Grade S 355 S460
Type N M N M
EN10113 0,43 0,39 0,45
0,45 0,40 0,46
(63 à 150) (40 à 63) (16 à 40)
example t=50mm 0,40 0,34 0,52 0,39
plates
example t=50mm
0,37 0,26 0,43 0,34
beams

Table 3 shows that fine grain thermo-mechanical steel has much better carbon equivalent
values, which means that its weldability is excellent. S 460 M has the same carbon equivalent
as S 355 N, which makes its use possible. S 355 M grade steel also becomes easier to weld so
that the S 355 grade M steel becomes less expensive to use than N steel.

4.4. WEATHERING STEEL.

The use of weathering steel has been very limited in France. The "protective film" which is
formed is often considered to be of unaesthetic aspect. In addition, we suppose this film
makes eventual fatigue cracks difficult to detect by inspection.
 5. DESIGN

5.1. REGULATIONS.

The "revival" of composite bridges during the early 1980s coincided with the publication of
new regulations in 1981. These were very modern and based on the limit states concept. They
permit simplified design calculations which are completely justified in the case of composite
bridges. The main features of these regulations are as follows:
 Internal forces and moments are calculated on the basis of the assumption that the
concrete is un cracked over the entire length of the bridge;
 Plastic justification of the strength of sections at ultimate limit state in the areas of the
positive bending moments;
 Limitation of stresses at serviceability limit states, where stresses in the negative
bending moments areas are calculated using the cracked cross section;
 The need for an initial calculation with a modulus ratio usually n = 6;
 Taking into account concrete creep where concrete is compressed by a second
calculation with an adapted modulus ratio, usually n = 18;
 Limiting the cracking of supported slabs by the inclusion of a minimum amount of
longitudinal reinforcement. The cross section of the reinforcement must be at least 1%
of the cross section of the concrete in zones under tension during construction or in
service;
 To reinforce the slab, it is assumed that in the transverse direction, the slab is simply
supported on the beams. In addition, the warping of cross sections is ignored.
 Subsequent additions have be made to these 1981 regulations, in particular:
 Recommendations concerning the control of slab cracking, including cracking at the
early age (1995), recommendations concerning justification with respect to fatigue
(1996).

5.2. SOFTWARE.

Some very user friendly software are available which grandly facilitate the work of the
engineers. They reproduce in chronological order most of the operations involved in the
construction, such as erection of the metallic framework, temporary loading during
construction, concreting the various slab segments, jacking down after the concrete has
become resistant, concrete shrinkage and creep, standard or exceptional traffic loading.
Composite frame structures change in nature in the construction process during the different
phases of concrete laying and setting. The description of this complex phasing of construction
must be made easy for the designer using the software to avoid mistakes.

The main definitive results which are of interest to the designer are made rapidly accessible in
the form of graphic outputs.
One software is even able to generate composite bridges designs. It determines the
distribution of material thickness in the steel frame on the basis of a few items of data relating
to the spans of the bridge, its width, functional data concerning the road which it is to carry
and the traffic loads for which the bridge has to be designed for. This design process
optimizes the location of butt welds with reference to the ratio between the cost of steel and
the hourly cost of welding work. It also designs the webs with the aim of minimizing the
number of stiffeners which are required. The design engineer thus possesses a tool which
performs the tedious task of designing and specifying a steel frame. The risks of error are
reduced and the valuable time which is saved can be used to improve the design of details.
 6. CONSTRUCTION.

Twin beam composite bridges are usually entirely welded at the exception of the wind
bracing. The beams are made in a factory and then transported separately to the site generally
in segments of length between 20 and 40 metres. They are butt welded together on site and
joined to the cross beams. The steel structure is usually launched, even when the height of the
bridge varies slightly. The slab is often cast in situ using a mobile formwork. In this case and
for bridges with more than one span, the concrete segments are usually cast in a sequence
such that those which are above the piers are laid last. This is to try to avoid producing
tensions in the early age concrete above the piers when other concrete segments in the centre
of the adjacent spans are cast in place. Figure 7 (a) shows a particular concreting sequence
which is economical as it minimizes the number of displacements of the mobile formwork.

For long bridges with two spans the simple two displacement method must be replaced by a
more sophisticated casting sequence shown in Figure 7 (b) in order to limit more effectively
the tensions in the reinforced concrete slab and control its cracking.
For continuous bridges with a total length of less than about 200 metres, a jacking of internal
supports is usually carried out after realisation of the slab. This is a only jacking down since
the bridge is built with an initial precamber in the zero moment position.

In the case of the Remoulins bridge shown in Figure 8, as in the case of the very large twin
beam bridge over the river Oise in Figure 9, it is possible to observe the temporary supports
which correspond to the height level by which the bridge will be lowered when the concrete
slab has been laid.
In the case of bridges with short spans which must be constructed over trafficked roads or
railways, a technique of launching with a part or even the total length of the connected
concrete slab is occasionally used. This technique can be made extremely safe and does not
disturb the operation of the infrastructure below it. For example, neoprene-teflon skids can be
placed under the framework at certain fixed points which have been stiffened to reduce elastic
instabilities of the webs under the weight of the concrete. For spans in excess of 25 meters
longitudinal prestressing is essential in order to avoid excessive cracking in the concrete slab
during the pushing operation. The Cannes and Rocquencourt bridges , shown in Figures 10
and 11, were the first to have been built in this way.
 7 - FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS.

The twin beam cross girder structure is extremely economical and it would seem difficult to
improve its design. However, these common structures will change in certain respects:

 Double composite action could advantageously be used over intermediate supports to

minimize the thick lower flange and increase the flexional and torsional rigidity.
 As a result of their low weight and high flexibility composite steel and concrete frames
are well suited for seismic zones. In addition, the concrete in the slab can play a role in
damping oscillatory movements in the bridge induced by an earthquake.
 Thermo-mechanical steels will be used in a larger number of situations because it is
more easily welded on site. However, this type of steel is not yet available with
longitudinal profiling. In the cases where the fatigue justification allows it, the thermo-
mechanically rolled steel used can have a higher elastic limit. S 460 M sheets could be
advantageously used above supports. These steels make possible to reduce the stiffness
of zones over piers and lower the negative moments which occur there and cause slab
cracking.
 In this case retention of the grade S 355 M or N for the web can be considered.
Eurocode 3 section 1-5 permits this type of hybrid beam with certain justifications.
 Prefabricated slabs will be more widely used in future as they have definite advantages
such as rapid assembly and reduced shrinkage. The slabs could be made from high
performance concrete containing silica fume without problems arising from the greater
early age shrinkage of this material.
 In more general terms, use of all the systems which permit selective prestressing of the
slab before it is connected to the steel framework will develop at an increased rate. For
bridges where the slabs are pushed prestressing will be more frequently applied by using
pre-bending. This prestressing system consists of jacking down the internal support of
the composite structure prior to launching, while it is still resting on its assembly area.
This method was first developed for the Croix-Verte box girder bridge at Avignon. It
was then successfully applied for several twin beam motorway overpasses in
Strasbourg.
  Temporary wind bracing on twin beam bridges could be left in place permanently in
order to increase their resistance to Saint-Venant torsion.
 Longitudinal stiffening of webs could be improved by applying Eurocode 3 section 1-
5.

 Current calculations will be slightly modified by the introduction of Eurocode 4 part 2

which allows cracked analysis.

Finally, in parallel with progress as regards the usual types of twin beam bridge, engineers
will always conceive of new types of structures such as the Antrenas bridge over the A-75
Cévennes motorway which is 86 metres in length and an exceptional architectural statement (
see figure 13 ).

REFERENCES :

Fascicule spécial n° 81-31-bis, Circulaire N° 81-63 du 28 Juliet 1981 relative au

règlement de calcul des ponts mixtes acier-béton parue au Bulletin Official du
Ministère des Transports.
SETRA : Ponts Mixtes. Recommandations pour maîtriser la fissuration des dalles.
46, avenue A. Briand - BP 100 92223 BAGNEUX CEDEX FRANCE.
( référence SETRA : F-9536 septembre 1995 ).

SETRA, CTICM, SNCF : Ponts métalliques et mixtes. Résistance à la fatigue. Guide

de conception et de justifications. ( référence SETRA : F-9611 mai 1996 )