Author: Paul ZiaPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bridges
Languages : en
Pages : 152
Book Description
The major focus of this research was to validate the concept of connecting two adjacent simple-span girders with a link slab to form a jointless bridge deck so as to eliminate the standard deck joint between the girders. Laboratory tests were conducted on two large-scale specimens to study the performance of the link slab and the girders. The test results indicated that the contribution of link slab to structural continuity is negligible since the stiffness of the link slab is much less than that of the beams with composite decks. Therefore the beams can be treated as simply supported structures without considering the link slab. Furthermore, the stresses in the link slab are controlled primarily by the predominant bending effect due to the end rotations of the beams rather than the axial load effect. A simplified method of analysis is proposed in which the end rotations of the two adjacent girders under a given loading are determined first. Then the end rotations are imposed on the ends of the link slab and the induced moment in the link slab is thus calculated. A design guideline for the link slab is also proposed and illustrated by a design example. The reinforcement for the link slab is designed to control the crack width in the link slab according to the AASHTO criterion.
