THE FINITE PRISM IN ANALYSIS OF THICK SIMPLY SUPPORTED BRIDGE BOXES

A COMBINATION OF FOURIER SERIES AND FINITE ELEMENT EXPANSION IS USED TO STUDY THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURES OF CONSTANT CROSS-SECTION SWEEPING A SOLID VOLUME ALONG A STRAIGHT OR CURVED GENERATOR. THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL PROBLEM IS REDUCED TO A SERIES OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL ONES BECAUSE OF DECOUPLING OF TERMS, THUS OFTEN RESULTING IN CONSIDERABLE ECONOMY. THE ACCURACY OF THE METHOD IS SHOWN IN STRAIGHT AND CURVED BEAM EXAMPLES AND A PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO A TYPICAL CONCRETE BRIDGE BOX IS GIVEN. /AUTHOR/