Post-tensioned segmental concrete box girders have been in use in the United States since the early 1970s. This unique bridge system uses post-tensioning to connect many smaller concrete bridge segments into very efficient long span bridges. However, because of the slender components, localized transverse bending becomes more critical when compared to more conventional bridge types. Bridge owners are finding that ratings for standard loads and permit trucks are often controlled by the transverse behavior of the girders near concentrated wheel loads. The popular analysis methods used today range from two dimensional frame models to three dimensional finite element models of the entire bridge. Currently, engineers must make sound engineering judgments on limited available information, while balancing safety and economy. To quantify and understand longitudinal and transverse behavior, the results from three live load tests of single cell segmental concrete box girder bridges are presented. Each bridge was instrumented with longitudinal and transverse strain sensors on at least two cross sections as well as rotation and deflection sensors, when possible. Two dimensional transverse frame models and three dimensional shell models were compared to the test results for each subject bridge. The two dimensional frame analyses using the common bottom web pin and roller boundary conditions provide mean absolute percent error in excess of 250%. Conversely, the newly introduced boundary conditions using pin supports at the top and bottom of each web was shown to reduce mean absolute percent error to 82%, which is on the same order of magnitude as longitudinal beamline analysis. The three dimensional shell models were insensitive to several changes including mesh fineness, number of spans modeled, and support conditions. Using uniform surface loading, the transverse modeling procedure was shown to provide significantly more accurate results than the common two dimensional frame models. A faster and more convenient analysis method using a program generated, structure specific, influence surface was also outlined. This method produced similar results when compared to the uniform surface loading method, while allowing additional automation for easier load application. / Ph. D.

Dans le cadre de l’utilisation de plus en plus courante des BFUP dans des structures techniquement ou architecturalement complexes et de la recherche d’optimisation de la quantité de matériau mis en œuvre, cette thèse s’intéresse au fonctionnement des jonctions en BFUP. Son objectif principal est de mettre en évidence les phénomènes physiques qui interviennent dans la jonction et de mieux les retranscrire dans les méthodes de calcul afin de mieux en maîtriser la sécurité et d’optimiser la matière mise en oeuvre.Le travail de thèse s’articule en quatre étapes :- Une étude bibliographique a permis d’établir les bases de connaissances permettant de dimensionner les campagnes expérimentales et de proposer une structure de modélisation des jonctions âme-membrure.- Le développement d’un modèle analytique avancé permettant de prédire le comportement d’une poutre en Té soumise à une sollicitation combinée de flexion longitudinale (et donc de cisaillement longitudinal dans la table) et de flexion transversale.- L’étude expérimentale, à l’échelle du matériau, du comportement des BFUP sous sollicitation de cisaillement pur. Cette étude permet d’enrichir les connaissances sur le comportement des BFUP (données encore indisponibles dans la carte d’identité des différents matériaux) et constitue également une donnée d’entrée pour la compréhension quantitative des phénomènes qui interviennent dans la jonction, à l’échelle de la structure, lorsqu’elle est sollicitée en cisaillement longitudinal.- Enfin, l’essai à rupture de 6 poutres en Té à l’échelle 1 a permis d’étudier le comportement expérimental des jonctions soumises à des sollicitations de cisaillement longitudinal. Les résultats expérimentaux de cette étude ont été comparés aux différentes prédictions analytiques possibles, y compris le modèle proposé.Ces travaux de thèse ont permis d’apporter de nouveaux outils de dimensionnement (notamment dans le cadre de l’étude de la résistance des jonctions en BFUP sous sollicitation de cisaillement pur). Ils mériteraient d’être complétés par des essais de poutres soumis à une sollicitation concomitante de flexion longitudinale et de flexion transversale, pour mieux conforter les méhodes d’analyse proposées / Ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) are increasingly used for technically or architecturally complex structures and research is going on to optimize design and save implemented material quantities. In this context, this thesis focuses on the mechanical behavior of junctions in UHPFRC structures. The main goal is to highlight physical phenomena occurring in the junctions in order to optimally transpose them into calculation methods. In this way, both safety and cost-efficience should be better controlled.This thesis is divided in four steps :- A literature review enabled to establish the background knowledge allowing to design the experimental campaigns and to suggest a modeling for web-flange junctions.- An advanced analytical model was developed in order to predict the behavior of a T-beam subjected to combined longitudinal bending (and therefore longitudinal shear in the table) and transverse bending.- The expérimental study, at the material scale, of UHPFRC behavior under pure shear stress, allowed enriching the knowledge in this field (data still unavailable in the identity card of current UHPFRC mixes). It also constituted an input for the quantitative understanding of the phenomena occuring in the junction, at the structure scale, when it is loaded in longitudinal shear.- Finally, the test of 6 full scale T-beams up to failure made it possible to study the experimental behavior of the junctions subjected to longitudinal shear stresses. The experimental results were compared with the various analytical predictions, including the proposed model.A new approch has thus been proposed to design junctions under longitudinal shear. It should be completed with experiments on T-beams under combined longitudinal and transverse bending to further validate the proposed analysis methods

No description available.

The inverted T-beam bridge system is a bridge construction technique that follows accelerated bridge construction processes. The system was discovered in France and first adopted in the U.S. by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. In 2012 the system was modified and adopted by Virginia, with research being carried out at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). The research focused on multiple items involving the system, but the most relevant one is that regarding the transverse bending behavior of the system for different geometries, and joint types between adjacent precast beam members. The study found that using a joint system without any mechanical connection between adjacent beams was most efficient, and gave adequate performance under monotonic loading. The study recommended cyclic load testing be carried out on this joint type, as well as a welded joint similar to those found in decked bulb-T systems. The research contained herein presents the setup and results of this testing. From the work it was found that the no-connection joint behaves adequately under cyclic loading at service loads, however surface roughening between precast and cast-in-place concrete must be adequate. The welded connection behaves well, granted the surfaces to be welded are properly prepared. From these results it is recommended to evaluate different surface roughening techniques, and repeat the cyclic testing using the best. The surface roughening technique chosen should be used to provide guidance on this aspect of construction with inverted T-beams. / Master of Science / The inverted T-beam bridge system is a new type of bridge system intended for use in short to medium length bridges. The system was discovered in France in 2004, where a similar type was being used. It was first modified slightly, and adopted in the in Minnesota. In 2012, the system was again modified to increase its strength and its construction speed, and was then adopted in Virginia. The modifications to the system in Virginia focused on the connections between the individual units making up the bridge, and the geometry of each of these units. The focus of this research was to quantify the long-term performance of two of the connection types currently used on bridges in Virginia. This was achieved by subjecting a test specimen to repeated loads in the laboratory at Virginia Tech. The loading used in the laboratory represented the conditions that a real bridge of this type would be subjected to. The research showed that the two connection types performed well under the repeated loading conditions. However, it was concluded that the concrete surfaces which are in contact with one another must be properly roughened, so that the system maintains its strength. The importance of this research is due to the fact that the large costs associated with maintaining the nation’s bridge infrastructure can be substantially reduced due to this system’s quick and simple construction. In addition to this, road users experience less disruption because of the shortened construction times.

The inverted T-beam bridge system provides an accelerated bridge construction alternative for short-to-medium-span bridges. The system consists of adjacent precast inverted T-beams finished with a cast-in-place concrete topping. The system offers enhanced performance against reflective cracking, and reduces the likelihood of cracking due to time dependent effects. The effects of transverse bending due to concentrated wheel loads are investigated with respect to reflective cracking. Transverse bending moment are quantified and compared to transverse moment capacities provided by a combination of various cross-sectional shapes and transverse connections. A design methodology for transverse bending is suggested. Tensile stresses created due to time dependent and temperature effects are quantified at the cross-sectional and structure level and strategies for how to alleviate these tensile stresses are proposed. Because differential shrinkage is believed to be one of the causes of deck cracking in composite bridges, a study on shrinkage and creep properties of seven deck mixes is presented with the goal of identifying a mix whose long terms properties reduce the likelihood of deck cracking. The effects of differential shrinkage at a cross-sectional level are numerically demonstrated for a variety of composite bridge systems and the resistance of the inverted T-beam system against time dependent effects is highlighted. End stresses in the end zones of such a uniquely shaped precast element are investigated analytically in the vertical and horizontal planes. Existing design methods are evaluated and strut-and-tie models, calibrated to match the results of 3-D finite element analyses, are proposed as alternatives to existing methods to aid designers in sizing reinforcing in the end zones. Composite action between the precast beam and the cast-in-place topping is examined via a full scale test and the necessity of extended stirrups is explored. It is concluded that because of the large contact surface between the precast and cast-in-place elements, cohesion alone appears to provide the necessary horizontal shear strength to ensure full composite action. Live load distribution factors are quantified analytically and by performing four live loads tests. It is concluded that AASHTO's method for cast-in-place slab span bridges can be conservatively used in design. / Ph. D.