Effects of Skewed Abutments on Curved Bridge Construction Response
Open Access
- Author:
- Goodman, Tyler
- Area of Honors:
- Civil Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Daniel G Linzell, Thesis Supervisor
Patrick Reed, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- skew
curved bridge
horizontally curved
skewed abutments - Abstract:
- Bridges provide mankind with the opportunity to connect the once disconnected. Bridge design and construction are often restricted by existing roadways and landscapes that affect the geometry of bridges. Two popular situations are bridges that require a horizontal curve rather than a traditional straight bridge and bridges that require skewed abutments rather than abutments normal to the bridge’s girders. The construction of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges and bridges with skewed abutments has historically been a challenge for contractors and designers. A lack of understanding exists for the effects of curvature and skew on deformations and deflections. These deformations and deflections are most critical during the placement of the wet concrete deck when the girders lack the stability added by the stiffness of the hardened concrete. This study examined the effects of skewed abutments on superstructure response of a horizontally curved steel I-girder bridge during the placement of the wet concrete deck. For this, the performance of several two span bridges with varying skewed abutment orientations were compared to the normal case with abutments oriented radially relative to the radius of curvature. The main objective of this study is to examine the effects skewed abutments play on girder deflections and rotations in horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges. Generally skewed abutments caused reductions in girder deflections and rotations if the skew decreased a girder’s overall span length and increases were seen if the skew increased a girder’s overall span length.