The usage of linear 3D FEA is widespread within the bridge design community, and although this tool provides substantial benefits in the design process, there are certain practical issues related to the application of this analysis tool. A situation in which such an issue prevails is when linear 3D FEA is used to analyze restraint forces due to thermal shrinkage or expansion in concrete slab frame bridges. Effects related to restraint forces in concrete are difficult to model and predict as these forces differ significantly in nature from external loads, and dealing with them in practical design situations is complicated. In this thesis, cracking due to restraint forces in concrete slab frame bridges was investigated using 3D non-linear FE-analyses in the software package ATENA 3D. Using volumetric finite elements, attempts were made to realistically capture the load response and cracking behavior of concrete slab frame bridges subjected to restraint forces induced by temperature differences among members. The initial parts of this thesis aims to find appropriate modelling techniques and material models for the prediction of cracks due to restraint forces in base restrained walls using a previously reported experimental research project as reference. Comparative simulations were performed, using crack widths and crack patterns as comparate. Overall good correspondence was obtained with an exception of deviation in cracks formed at locations near the restrained corners where crack widths were overestimated in the simulations. The technique used to model the restrained boundary proved to be highly influential in the context of obtaining realistic results. Subsequent to the comparative study, a parametric study was performed where the correlation between crack widths and selected attributes was investigated. The parameter which exhibited the most distinct influential effect on the results was the length-to-height (L/H) ratio of the wall. The applicability of a crack control approach intended for crack width estimation in liquid retaining and containment structures made of concrete exposed to thermally induced restraint forces, given in EN 1992-3, was then evaluated for use in design of concrete frame bridges. This approach proved to return conservative results for walls with low L/H-ratios when compared to results produced in the numerical simulations. Finally, a NLFE (non-linear finite element) model of a concrete slab frame bridge designed by the consultancy company Tyréns AB was composed and tested. Different procedures of applying temperature differences between front wall and bridge deck were evaluated. This study indicated that the width of cracks induced by lateral restraint forces decreased when temperature was modelled applying a discrete thermal gradient to members in contact with back filling material compared to using a uniform temperature in these members when temperature differences between bridge deck and wall was simulated. The interacting effects of permanent external load effects and restraint forces were also investigated. Crack widths from NLFE simulations were then compared with corresponding results calculated using linear FEA results as input for design equations given in EN 1992-1-1. The latter resulted in estimated cracks more than 10 times wider than that obtained in the simulations, while crack widths predicted using the EN 1992-3 approach showed better correspondence to the NLFE results.

The Tubed Mega Frame is a new concept for constructing high-rise buildings,based on the idea of moving the main bearing system to the perimeter of thebuilding by using a number of large hollow columns, mega tubes, connected byperimeter walls at certain levels. The concept is under development by Tyréns ABand has not yet been implemented in reality. This thesis is part of the ongoing workprocess and has the aim of shedding light on the issues and problems with the newconcept when it comes to the perimeter walls. The perimeter walls are an essential part of the Tubed Mega Frame structure sincethey provide the main lateral stability of the structure by connecting the mega tubesand transferring lateral loads between them. It is therefore of big importance thatthe walls are designed and constructed to withstand all the loads they wouldpossibly be exposed to.In this thesis a perimeter wall in a prototype building of the Tubed Mega Framehave been analysed, designed and tested using non-linear FE-analysis in the pursuitof create a better understanding in how the perimeter walls works and should bedesigned. To begin with, a global analysis was performed to obtain the forces acting on themost critical perimeter wall. The stresses in the wall were then analysed in order tocreate an appropriate strut-and-tie model used to determine the reinforcementdesign for the specified perimeter wall. The perimeter wall was designed for amaximum shear force of 14.5 MN and corresponding moment of 87 MNm usingstrut-and-tie model according to American standards, ACI 318-11. The final step was to verify the design using the non-linear FE-analysis programATENA. A model of the reinforced wall was analysed with two different loadcases; one were the resistance was determined by unidirectional deformation untilfailure and one were the effects of cyclic loading was considered by initialdeformation corresponding to service loads prior to failure loading. The resistanceobtained from the first load case was 46.8 MN and for the second 19.1 MN usingmean values for material properties. In order to obtain a design resistance of the wall in the non-linear analysis, a globalsafety factor was determined by using the ECOV method. The design resistance were 39.9 and 13.5 for the two load cases respectively. / Tubed Mega Frame (TMF) är ett nytt koncept för att bygga höghus som bygger påidén om att flytta det bärande systemet till omkretsen av byggnaden med hjälp avett antal stora ihåliga pelare, megatuber, anslutna med omslutande tvärväggar påvissa våningsplan. Konceptet är under utveckling av Tyréns AB och har ännu integenomförts i verkligheten. Detta examensarbete är en del i den pågående processenoch målet är att belysa frågor och problem som finns med det nya konceptet närdet gäller de omslutande tvärväggarna. De omslutande tvärväggarna är en vital del av Tubed Mega Frame eftersom debidrar till huvudsakliga sidostabiliteten i byggnaden genom att sammankopplamegatuberna och överföra horisontalkrafter mellan dem. Det är därför av stor viktatt väggarna är konstruerade och tillverkade för att stå emot alla de belastningarsom de skulle kunna vara utsatta för. I detta examensarbete har en tvärvägg i en prototypbyggnad för Tubed MegaFrame analyserats, dimensionerats och testats med syftet att bidra till en bättreförståelse för hur tvärväggarna fungerar och bör utformas. Till att börja med har en global analys utförts för att erhålla de krafter som verkarpå den mest kritiska tvärväggen. Spänningarna i väggen analyserades sedan för attskapa en lämplig fackverksmodell som sedan användes för att bestämmaarmeringsutformning för den specificerade tvärväggen. Väggen dimensioneradesför en maximal tvärkraft på 14,5 MN och ett motsvarande moment på 87 MNmgenom att använda fackverksmetoden enligt amerikanska standarder, ACI 318-11. Det sista steget var att kontrollera konstruktionen med hjälp av det ickelinjära FE-analysprogrammet ATENA. En modell av den armerade väggen analyserades medtvå olika lastfall. I det första lastfallet genom att i en riktning deformera väggen tillbrott. I det andra lastfallet beaktades tidigare uppsprickning genom att först belastaväggen med en deformation motsvarande dess brukslast och sedan belasta väggen imotsatt riktning tills brott uppstod. Bärförmågan var 46,8 MN och 19,1 MN förrespektive lastfall, beräknat med medelvärden för materialegenskaper. För att erhålla en dimensionerande bärförmåga för väggen ur den ickelinjäraanalysen bestämdes en global säkerhetsfaktor med hjälp av ECOV-metoden.Dimensionerande bärförmåga var 39,9 MN och 13,5 MN för respektive lastfall.

Shear cracks are formed when high oblique tensile stresses, e.g. in thin webs, exceed the tensile strength. A known example of this phenomenon is the extensive shear cracks that were found on the box-girder bridges Gröndal and Alvik, which were mainly caused by insufficient amount of shear reinforcement. In order to avoid this incident (inadequate amount of shear reinforcement), the reinforcement stress is often being assumed as a ultimate limit load in order to fulfill requirements regarding crack control in the service-ability limit state (SLS). This method has led to a overestimation of the reinforcement amount in bridge-design. The aim of this master thesis is therefor to study the shear crack phenomenon and investigate if the amount of shear reinforcement in bridges can be reduced. The first part of this thesis studies the shear cracking behavior in concrete in a plane stress state, while the second part focus how design standards as well as manuals treats shear cracks. Shear cracking in the reinforced concrete panels has been studied with non-linear finite element analysis and compared to experimental testings performed by the University of Toronto. Three different loading conditions for the panels has been analyzed: pureshear, compression or tension combined with shear. The panels are to represent parts of a web in a box-girder bridge that are subjected to in-plane stresses. The non-linear finite element analysis was performed in the FE-program Atena where mainly the crack propagation and crack pattern were studied. The material model in Atena is a smeared crack model with either fixed or rotated crack direction. The panel analysis, in SLS, gave various results. For loading conditions pure shear and tension/shear, the response of the FE-analysis gave a similar result regarding crack pattern but differed in size of crack width. For compression/shear, only micro-cracks developed and did not reflect the result from the real panel tests. This may be the consequence of a too stiff FE-model and the fact that, in the real tests, some cracks occurred due to out-of-plane bending. With methods described in Eurocode 2 and the Swedish handbook for EC2, a shear crack calculation model was created in order to determine the reinforcement stress and crack width. As a reference for the shear crack calculations, a wing structure (1 m strip) has been used which is part of a railway bridge located in Abisko. These calculations were done in order to investigate if the amount of shear reinforcement could be reduced and at the same time fulfill crack control demands in SLS. The bridge department at Tyréns AB concluded, according to a truss model, that the wing section should be reinforced with a amount of 14.1 cm2/m2 while our model showed that the crack width demand could be fulfilled with a equivalent amount of 9.82 cm2/m2, i.e. a reduction around 30%.