Bridges consisting of steel plate girders and composite concrete deck slabs are common throughout North America. For a typical highway application, these composite bridges are constructed with a cast-in-place concrete deck; however, some composite bridge designs utilize precast concrete deck panels. For example, bridges built on temporary access roads which service resource industries throughout Western Canada often employ composite bridges that consist of steel plate girders and precast concrete deck panels. For spans between 18- to 36 metres, permanent bridges currently present the best economy; although, portable structures would be preferred on these temporary roads so that the bridge could be relocated after the road is decommissioned. This study proposes a shear connection between steel plate girders and precast concrete deck panels, which allows fastening, and unfastening, of these two components enabling a portable composite bridge. In total, ten connection concepts were developed during this study and a multi-criteria assessment was performed to evaluate each concept respectively. Based on the outcome of this multi-criteria assessment, and subsequent sensitivity analysis, a preferred connection was established and a finite element model was developed for the analysis of composite bridge girders. For the initial development of the finite element model, the test set up and experimental findings of a test program by other researchers was employed so that the finite element analysis results could be compared to those reported from a physical experiment. Following this initial finite element analysis, full scale composite bridge girders were modelled so that the influence of the proposed shear connection on the behaviour of a composite girder could be studied. The model was verified for its ability to capture the possible effects of flange buckling, web buckling, and lateral torsional buckling of the steel plate girder. It was then confirmed that these local responses do not influence the performance of the proposed portable composite bridge system. A parametric study was also performed in which the effect of shear connection stiffness and spacing on the behaviour of the composite girder was investigated. This parametric study allowed the sensitivity of the proposed connection to variations in these two parameters to be assessed and also allowed preliminary study of the performance of composite girders with alternative shear connection designs.

Corrosion of the reinforcing steel is a primary deterioration mechanism for reinforced concrete bridges. Heavy use of de-icing salts is believed to be a major contributor in Ontario to severe girder soffit spalling in certain cases. This thesis develops an assessment methodology to evaluate spalled bridges based on ultimate limit states. Specifically, a deterministic program is developed for assessment. It is subsequently compared to laboratory test results and used as a basis for a probabilistic reliability study. A modified area concept is proposed in this thesis to consider the effects of exposing reinforcement at various locations along the girder length. A multipoint analysis program, BEST (Bridge Evaluation Strength Tool), is developed that employs this concept, along with graphical spalling surveys and structural drawings, to evaluate reinforced concrete bridge girders. The program is adapted for a full bridge analysis and to consider the other effects of corrosion, such as bar section loss and bond deterioration. A case study bridge is evaluated to show that the BEST program offers a viable tool for the rapid assessment of spalled bridge girders and to facilitate the prioritization of rehabilitation projects. This evaluation indicates that the spatial distribution of the spalling along a girder, relative to bar splices and laps, has the most significant influence on structural capacity. Single girders show strength deficiencies in flexure and shear due to spalling. In general, the consideration of system effects improves the predicted bridge condition, while considering section loss and bond deterioration has the opposite effect. Laboratory work is used to validate the proposed model and identify a number of areas for future research. The laboratory test results also suggest that the current repair methods are effective in restoring bond and strength. In order to further explore potential uses for the BEST program, modifications are made so that it can be used to perform reliability analyses using Monte-Carlo simulation techniques. A simplified approach for estimating the reliability index as a function of the deterministic resistance ratio is proposed based on the reliability analysis results.

Highway bridges function as the arteries of our society. Hence, it is essential that they remain operational following an earthquake. Unfortunately, a significant number of bridges worldwide, including in Canada, were constructed prior to the development of modern seismic design provisions. In many cases, such bridges are expected to perform poorly during earthquakes. According to a report published in 2000 by Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), in eastern Ontario alone, there are over 70 bridges that are structurally deficient. Current methods to retrofit these bridges to bring them into compliance with the existing codes would entail substantial structural modifications. Examples of such modifications include the replacement of existing rocker bearings with elastomeric bearings, structural strengthening of piers, and enlarging the bearing surfaces. These methods involve substantial cost, effort, and materials. An alternative means to retrofit structurally deficient bridges is investigated in this thesis. This method involves using a combination of elastomeric bearings and fluid dampers to retrofit highway bridges. In principle, these devices work in the same way as shock absorbers in automobiles. They absorb shock and dissipate the vibration energy to the environment as heat. In the case of bridges, earthquakes impart the shock to the structure. Before these devices can be implemented in practice, there are many issues that need to be understood with respect to their performance and modelling. Moreover, a comparative assessment between popular retrofit options employing isolation systems needs to be undertaken to verify and provide a benchmark to assess their performance. The Mississippi River Bridge near Ottawa is chosen as a test structure to conduct this study. This bridge already contains an advanced isolation system, and has an extensive documentation available for modelling and verification. Various retrofit options will be studied and compared with the existing isolation design for this bridge. In all cases, the effect of soil-structure interaction is included. A comprehensive set of performance indices are used to evaluate the performance of various retrofit options. All the models are constructed in the open source software, OpenSees. The research demonstrates that the proposed approach is a viable retrofit method for highway bridges. Moreover, compared to advanced isolation systems, retrofit using elastomeric bearings with viscous dampers was successful on transferring lower loads to the substructure, and resulted in lower superstructure displacements. Though this study involved one bridge, it has provided a computational test bed to perform further studies and has provided valuable insight into the modeling and performance of retrofit solutions.

A new state-of-the-art CFD solver capable of simulating a broad range of complex engineering flows at real-life Reynolds numbers is developed. The method solves the three-dimensional incompressible unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations closed with statistical turbulence models. Three such models are incorporated in the solver: the standard k - e model with wall functions, the Spalart-Allmaras model and the detached-eddy simulation (DES) model. The numerical solver employs domain decomposition with structured Chimera overset grids to handle complex, multi-connected geometries. The governing equations are discretized with second order accuracy schemes both in space and time. The capabilities and versatility of the numerical method are demonstrated by applying it to simulate two widely different flow problems: a) flow past a geometrical complex array of multiple bridge piers mounted both on a natural river reach and on a flat bed experimental flume; and b) flow in mechanical, bileaflet, prosthetic heart valve with the leaflets fixed in the fully-open position. Overset grid systems with several millions of grid nodes are used and grid-refinement and other numerical dependency studies are carried out to explore the sensitivity of the computed solutions to various numerical parameters. For all simulated cases, large-scale unsteadiness appears naturally as a result of excited mean-flow instabilities and the computed mean flowfields are shown to be in good quantitative agreement with experimental measurements. By analyzing the instantaneous flowfields numerous novel insights into the physics of both flow cases are obtained and discussed extensively. The results of this thesis demonstrate the potential of the new method as a powerful simulation tool for a broad range of cross-disciplinary engineering flow problems and underscore the need for physics-based numerical modeling by integrating CFD with laboratory experimentation.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the current design specifications for use on prestressed, High Performance Concrete (HPC) bridge girders. An AASHTO Type IV and modified BT-56 girders were constructed with a 10,000 psi HPC to which a composite 7000 psi HPC deck was cast on top. The composite girders were tested in flexure, with the Type IV being tested to failure. The results of the flexure tests showed that the current AASHTO Specification for cracking moment and ultimate capacity are conservative. In addition to flexural testing, each composite girder was studied with respect to the deck contraction induced girder deflection. Each deck and girder were instrumented with strain gauges and string potentiometes. The results of the study indicated the induced deflections are significantly greater than deflections from the deck dead load, and should be considered to accurately predict bridge deflection.

While consumer demand for electronic equipment and more mature systems integration capabilities, it makes the system complexity of chip design increasing significantly. Also accompany an issue is how to efficiently and accurately verify that such a large-scale chip. In this thesis, we make 3D graphics SoC as a case study, investigate the various aspect, i.e. architecture design, system integration, verification methods and verification platform. This thesis proposes a verification methodology with unified test pattern from system modeling level to test chip level, and via increase of the abstraction level of test patterns, that avoided the way through the manual to generate the test patterns. Not only eliminate manual editing effort and reduce the possibility of error, but also allows developers to more focus on algorithm design and functional verification. In addition, through the pre-described of test scenario (Test-bench) which automated verification and comparison methodology. The efficiency of regression test will be increased. And it's much easier to meet the constraint of time to market. However, In order to demonstrate our chip on new prototyping based board. We not only modified the channel of 3DG chip, but also develop a high-performance bus bridge to keep the efficient of exchange data between two system buses which in platform board and our SoC. And shorten the longest path of the overall system so that system clock rate could be enhanced from 82.6MHz to 120.4 MHz system clock rate.

This research adopted CMCOT model (Cornell Multi-grid Coupled Tsunami Model) to simulate the wave ran up as the tsunami entered the shoaling water of coastlines, the inundation range on land, and the bridge scour caused by tsunami as it made its way upstream in the rivers. The inundation range was estimated with the fault parameters of Manila Trench and a simulation of bell-sphaped curve waves. The result indicated that if the height of bell-sphaped curve was the same as the maximum water level of the tsunami passed to Kaohsiung offshore, the inundation rage was generally consistent. In the simulation of different water level, we discovered that one meter of wave height was sufficient to inundate the entire coastland of Qijin and Gushan District and that the inundation rage would expand as the wave height increased. With the maximum simulated wave height of six meters, the inundation rage included Gushan, Qijin, Yancheng, Qianjin (small scope), Qianzhen, Fengshan, and Xiaogang District. As to the comparison of historical tsunami, according to the particle size analysis of geological survey from the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit, a layer of fine sediment could be found at specific depth, and its particle size (about 8£r) was significantly different than that of other layers. If this fine sediment was the border of tsunami sediment, the height of historical tsunami wave could be 4.9 meters. With regard to bridge scour, Gwando Bridge was chosen as research area. The result from the sediment simulation of COMCOT model was similar to the scour hole and sediment deposition formed by horseshoe vortex system. Based on the result, the scouring and depositing processes were mainly influenced by the particle size of the sediment. In the simulation, the results of different sediment particle sizes were as follows: (1) If the particle size of sediment was greater than 62£gm, the maximum scour depth was less than 4 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was under 3 cm. (2) If the particle size of sediment was between 4 and 62£gm, the maximum scour depth was between 4 and 5 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was between 3 and 4 cm. (3) If the particle size of sediment was smaller than 4£gm, the maximum scour depth was above 6.8 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was greater than 5 cm.

Most of the pollution found in highway runoff is both directly and indirectly contributed by vehicles such as cars and trucks. The constituents that contribute the majority of the pollution, such as metals, chemical oxygen demand, oil and grease, are generally deposited on the highways. These can become very harmful and detrimental to human health when they come in contact with our water system. The connecting tie between these harmful highway-made pollution and our water system, which includes our ground waters and surface waters, is rainfall. The main objective of this runoff study was to characterize and assess the quantity and quality of the storm water runoff of a bridge deck that discharged into a receiving water body. The bridge deck and the creek were located in the coastal margin region in the southeast area of Texas on the border of Harris and Galveston counties. Flow-activated water samplers and flow-measuring devices were installed to quantitatively determine the rate of flow of the bridge deck and determine different pollutant loading by sampling the receiving water body (Clear Creek). The collected samples were analyzed for total suspended solids, toxic metals, and other relevant constituents of concerns. The results illustrated that the runoff from the bridge deck exhibited low total suspended solids concentrations (which were highest in the creek). However, other metal constituents like the zinc and cooper concentration were high and above standards. The phosphate concentrations in the creek were the highest and exceeded EPA standards. Several nitrate concentrations were also noticeably above EPA standards.

The current bridge formula, Federal Bridge Formula B (BFB), established in 1974 to protect bridges against excessive overstress, is very restrictive on long combination vehicles due to an 80,000 lb gross vehicle weight limit. Without this limit the formula will not be able to protect bridges in the cases of longer trucks. A formula developed by the Texas Transportation Institute (T.T.I.) called the TTI-HS20 Formula addresses these issues. This formula, developed especially for bridges designed for the HS-20 truck, eliminates the need for the 80,000 lb limit. A generic formula developed to protect H15 and HS-20 bridges (James et al., 1986) was evaluated in a previous study (James and Zhang, 1991). The approach to evaluating the TTI-HS20 Formula follows the approach outlined in James and Zhang, 1991. Information was collected on two important elements: a set of test bridges representative of the lightest continuous bridges, and a set of test truck configurations representative of real truck traffic with a focus on long combination vehicles. Critical weights of the selected trucks for the representative bridges are calculated and plotted against the TTI-HS 20 formula and other proposed formulas. A final recommendation as to whether this formula should be adopted nationwide is made.

This research study is aimed at assisting the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in making a transition from the use of the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications for the design of prestressed concrete bridges. It was identified that Type C and AASHTO Type IV are among the most common girder types used by TxDOT for prestressed concrete bridges. This study is specific to these two types of bridges. Guidelines are provided to tailor TxDOT's design practices to meet the requirements of the LRFD Specifications. Detailed design examples for an AASHTO Type IV girder using both the AASHTO Standard Specifications and AASHTO LRFD Specifications are developed and compared. These examples will serve as a reference for TxDOT bridge design engineers. A parametric study for AASHTO Type IV and Type C girders is conducted using span length, girder spacing, and strand diameter as the major parameters that are varied. Based on the results obtained from the parametric study, two critical areas are identified where significant changes in design results are observed when comparing Standard and LRFD designs. The critical areas are the transverse shear requirements and interface shear requirements, and these are further investigated. The interface shear reinforcement requirements are observed to increase significantly when the LRFD Specifications are used for design. New provisions for interface shear design that have been proposed to be included in the LRFD Specifications in 2007 were evaluated. It was observed that the proposed interface shear provisions will significantly reduce the difference between the interface shear reinforcement requirements for corresponding Standard and LRFD designs.The transverse shear reinforcement requirements are found to be varying marginally in some cases and significantly in most of the cases when comparing LRFD designs to Standard designs. The variation in the transverse shear reinforcement requirement is attributed to differences in the shear models used in the two specifications. The LRFD Specifications use a variable truss analogy based on the Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT). The Standard Specifications use a constant 45-degree truss analogy method for its shear design provisions. The two methodologies are compared and major differences are noted.