Composite bridge design improvement for high-speed railways

Composite Bridge Design Improvement for High Speed Railways 1. Aims of the project and results (1) High speed railway trains bring new problems to bridge design which may impair the development of steel or composite railway bridges and may induce authorities in choosing the concrete solution. It was felt necessary to undertake new research activities to remove technical drawbacks for composite railway bridges, to provide answers to objections raised by national Authorities and also to transfer the know-how in various European countries in order to improve and promote the use of constructional steel in the European High Speed Railway System. (2) The limitations and specifications required by the railway Authorities in order to guarantee passengers comfort and to assure the durability of bridges are mostly met by continuous composite bridges. However a number of pending questions still needed to be examined in order to demonstrate the advantages and the economy of steel solutions. (3) These pending questions and the associated study reports no 1-7 with solutions and their titles are listed in the following table. The various reports quoted in the list are enclosed to this summary report. Tab.