Analysis of Curved, Prestressed, Segmental Bridges

A method for the time-dependent analysis of curved, concrete box-girder bridges with nonprismatic cross section has been developed. The bridge can consist of precast segments, cast-in-place segments or any other form of staged or conventional construction. Time-dependent effects allowed for are creep and shrinkage of concrete, changes in material properties, temperature variations, and relaxation of prestressing steel. A computer program was developed to carry out the analysis. Input consists of a description of the bridge geometry, prestressing tendon details, material data, environmental data, and the construction sequence. Results are plotted for two examples. In the first, the axial stress of a curved bridge is compared with experimental results. In the second, the deflection history of a segmentally erected bridge is compared to experimental results.