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The Tom's Creek Bridge is a small-scale demonstration project involving the use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite girders as the main load carrying members. The project is intended to serve two purposes. First, by calculating bridge design parameters such as the dynamic load allowance, transverse wheel load distribution and deflections under service loading, the Tom's Creek Bridge will aid in modifying current AASHTO bridge design standards for use with FRP composite materials. Second, by evaluating the FRP girders after being exposed to service conditions, the project will begin to answer questions about the long-term performance of these advanced composite material beams when used in bridge design. This thesis details the In-Service analysis of the Tom's Creek Bridge. Five load tests, at six month intervals, were conducted on the bridge. Using mid-span strain and deflection data gathered from the FRP composite girders during these tests the above mentioned bridge design parameters have been determined. The Tom's Creek Bridge was determined to have a dynamic load allowance, IM, of 0.90, a transverse wheel load distribution factor, g, of 0.101 and a maximum deflection of L/488. Two bridge girders were removed from the Tom's Creek Bridge after fifteen months of service loading. These FRP composite girders were tested at the Structures and Materials Research Laboratory at Virginia Tech for stiffness and ultimate strength and compared to pre-service values for the same beams. This analysis indicates that after fifteen months of service, the FRP composite girders have not lost a significant amount of either stiffness or ultimate strength. / Master of Science

The Route 601 Bridge in Sugar Grove, Virginia spans 39 ft over Dickey Creek. The Bridge is the first to use the Strongwell 36 in. fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) double web beam (DWB) in its superstructure. Replacement of the old bridge began in June 2001, and construction of the new bridge was completed in October 2001. The bridge was field tested in October 2001 and June 2002. This thesis details the field evaluation of the Rt. 601 Bridge. Using mid span deflection and strain data from the October 2001 and June 2002 field tests, the primary goal of this research was to determine the following AASHTO bridge design parameters: wheel load distribution factor g, dynamic load allowance IM, and maximum deflection. The wheel load distribution factor was determined to be S/5, a dynamic load allowance was determined to be 0.30, and the maximum deflection of the bridge was L/1500. Deflection results were lower than the AASHTO L/800 limit. This discrepancy is attributed to partial composite action of the deck-to-girder connections, bearing restraint at the supports, and contribution of guardrail stiffness. Secondary goals of this research were to quantify the effect of diaphragm removal on girder distribution factor, determine torsion and axial effects of the FRP girders, compare responses to multiple lane symmetrical loading to superimposed single lane response, and compare the field test results to a finite element and a finite difference model. It was found that diaphragm removal had a small effect on the wheel load distribution factor. Torsional and axial effects were small. The bridge response to multilane loading coincided with superimposed single lane truck passes, and curb-stiffening effects in a finite difference model improved the accuracy of modeling the Rt. 601 Bridge behavior. / Master of Science

The Route 601 Bridge spans 39 ft over Dickey Creek in Sugar Grove, VA and represents the first use of Strongwell's 36 in. double web beam (DWB) as the main load carrying members for a traffic bridge. The bridge was designed for AASHTO HS20-44 and AASHTO alternate military loading with a targeted deflection limit of L/800. For the preliminary design, conservative properties for the 36 in. DWB were assumed based on experience at Virginia Tech with Strongwell's 8 in. DWB used in the Tom's Creek Bridge. An elastic modulus (E) of 6,000 ksi and a shear stiffness (kGA) of 20,000 ksi-in2 were assumed and used with Timoshenko shear deformable beam theory to characterize the beams and determine the deflections. This thesis details the experimental work conducted in conjunction with the design of the Route 601 Bridge, which had two goals. First, a deck-to-girder connection was tested to determine if a bolted connection could develop composite action between the girder and the deck. This connection was shown to provide a significant amount of composite action when used with the 8 in. DWB and a composite deck, but little or no composite action when used with the 36 in. DWB and a glue-laminated timber deck. Second, eleven 36 in. DWB's were tested to determine their stiffness properties (EI and kGA) to insure that these properties were above the values assumed in the preliminary design, and all the beams had stiffness properties that were close to or above the assumed values. The eleven beams were also proof tested to a moment equivalent to five times the service load moment to insure the safety of the Route 601 Bridge, and one beam was tested to failure to determine the failure mode and residual stiffness of the 36 in. DWB. Finally, based on these results eight beams were chosen for the Route 601 Bridge. / Master of Science

Detta examensarbete ämnar besvara huruvida Tekla Structures kan fungera som ett lämpligt 3D-modelleringsprogram för konstruktionsgruppen Nyanläggning och Bro inom Grontmij Sverige. Med goda erfarenheter av Building Information Modeling, s.k. BIM, och 3D-modellering inom andra delar av Grontmij så fanns en önskan att optimera gruppens arbetsprocesser med den senaste kunskapen inom området. Arbetet har fokuserat på att praktiskt modellera en fallstudie baserat på ett av Grontmij tidigare genomfört anläggningsprojekt. För att säkerställa fallstudiens representativitet valdes en plattrambro med stor mängd armering som ansågs ha en komplex geometri vilket potentiellt skulle fördelaktigt kunna representeras i 3D. Vid skapandet av 3D-modellen och tillhörande ritningar delades processen in i tre steg; modellering, detaljering samt visualisering. Uppbyggandet av 3D- modellen påvisade unika för- och nackdelar i varje steg där också nedlagd arbetstid jämfördes med fallstudieprojektets tidplan. Resultaten visade att stegen modellering och detaljering (armering) uppvisade stora fördelar i relation till tidsåtgång. För steget visualisering, skapandet av 2D-ritningar enligt rapportens nomenklatur, var slutsatsen den omvända. Grontmij Nyanläggning och Bro rekommenderas därför att selektivt integrera Tekla Structures fördelar i sin framtida arbetsprocess samt fortsätta utvärdera programmet inom andra relaterade områden. / This thesis intends to answer whether Tekla Structures can function as a suitable 3D modeling software for the department of Transportation & Mobility within Grontmij Sweden. Given positive experiences from Building Information Modeling, so called BIM, and 3D modeling in other areas of Grontmij there was a desire to optimize the work processes of the department with the latest knowledge in the field. This report focuses on practical modeling of a case study, based on one of Grontmij’s previously conducted construction projects. To ensure a representative case study, a heavily reinforced slab-frame bridge was selected which was considered to have a complex geometry that potentially would be advantageously represented in 3D. The process of creating the 3D model and associated drawings was divided into three stages; modeling, detailing, and visualization. The construction of the 3D model demonstrated unique advantages and disadvantages in each stage where also this thesis’ work plan was compared with the case study’s time plan. The results showed that the steps modeling and detailing (reinforcing) showed benefits in relation to the time spent. For the visualization step, i.e. the creation of 2D drawings according to the terminology of this report, the conclusion was the opposite. Grontmij’s Transportation & Mobility department is therefore recommended to selectively integrate Tekla Structures’ advantages into their future work process and continue to evaluate the program in other related fields.

This thesis examines the development of a superstructure for a slab-on-girder wood-concrete composite highway bridge. Wood-concrete composite bridges have existed since the 1930's. Historically, they have been limited to spans of less than 10 m. Renewed research interest over the past two decades has shown great potential for longer span capabilities. Through composite action and suitable detailing, improvements in strength, stiffness, and durability can be achieved versus conventional wood bridges. The bridge makes use of a slender ultra-high performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) deck made partially-composite in longitudinal bending with glued-laminated wood girders. Longitudinal external unbonded post-tensioning is utilized to increase span capabilities. Prefabrication using double-T modules minimizes the need for cast-in-place concrete on-site. Durability is realized through the highly impermeable deck slab that protects the girders from moisture. Results show that the system can span up to 30 m while achieving span-to-depth ratios equivalent or better than competing slab-on-girder bridges.

This thesis examines the development of a superstructure for a slab-on-girder wood-concrete composite highway bridge. Wood-concrete composite bridges have existed since the 1930's. Historically, they have been limited to spans of less than 10 m. Renewed research interest over the past two decades has shown great potential for longer span capabilities. Through composite action and suitable detailing, improvements in strength, stiffness, and durability can be achieved versus conventional wood bridges. The bridge makes use of a slender ultra-high performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) deck made partially-composite in longitudinal bending with glued-laminated wood girders. Longitudinal external unbonded post-tensioning is utilized to increase span capabilities. Prefabrication using double-T modules minimizes the need for cast-in-place concrete on-site. Durability is realized through the highly impermeable deck slab that protects the girders from moisture. Results show that the system can span up to 30 m while achieving span-to-depth ratios equivalent or better than competing slab-on-girder bridges.

The topic of this thesis is design and evaluation of the bridge structure. Three variants of bridging were created, among which the variant with prestressed girder deck and seven spans was chosen to detail processing. The bridge construction is built on sliding steel girder in several stages. Construction is evaluated considering the ultimate serviceability state and ultimate limit state. Emphasis is also on evaluation of construction stages. The calculation of load effects and analysis of building in stages was done in Scia Engineer 19.1 software. Design and evaluation were done according to currently valid European standards.