Engineering Commons^™

Durability And Fatigue Behavior Of Cip Concrete Connections For Accelerated Bridge Construction, Peng Zhu

Doctoral Dissertations

Continuous longitudinal and transverse U-bar joint connections between flanges of the decked bulb-Ts (DBTs) or between precast panels for accelerated bridge construction are investigated. The procedure for selecting durable closure pour (CP) materials for the connections is discussed firstly. The accelerated construction is quantified as two categories: overnight cure and 7-day cure of CP materials. Candidate materials are selected first based on literature review as well as tests of compressive strength and flow and workability. Then, performance criteria for selecting durable CP materials for both categories are developed based on durability tests of selected candidate materials. These durability tests include …

Stability Analysis Of Single And Double Steel Girders During Construction, Sean Justin Coffelt

Masters Theses

Built-up steel I-girders are very commonly used in bridge construction. Their spans are typically very long, and they are susceptible to lateral torsional buckling if not enough lateral support is provided. This thesis includes guidelines for preventing lateral torsional buckling of steel I-girders under dead and wind load, accompanied with finite element analysis of double girder systems. The first portion includes capacity envelopes for single girders with single and double symmetric cross sections under various loading conditions and boundary conditions for double and single symmetric cross sections with double girders subjected to dead loads only. The second portion is dedicated …

Seismic Analysis Of Integral Abutment Bridges Considering Soil Structure Interaction, Reza Vasheghani Farahani

Masters Theses

Integral abutment bridges are jointless bridges in which the deck is continuous and connected monolithically with the abutment walls supported typically by a single row of piles. This thesis focuses on the effects of two major parameters on the seismic behavior of an integral abutment bridge in Tennessee by considering soil-structure interaction around the piles and in back of the abutments: (1) clay stiffness (medium vs. hard) around the piles, and (2) level of sand compaction (loose vs. dense) of the abutment wall backfilling. Modal and nonlinear time history analyses are performed on a three dimensional detailed bridge model using …

Increasing The Structural Engineer’S Influence Over Sustainability By Using Integrated Design Teams, Mary Elizabeth French

Masters Theses

Sustainability is quickly becoming a “buzz word” in today’s environmentally conscious world from political leaders to building professionals to design experts to consumers as they rethink their impact on current healthy, efficient indoor/outdoor environments as well as long term benefits to future generations.

This paper seeks to investigate ways to increase the structural engineer’s influence over the sustainability of the building industry by using integrated design teams. It explores current practices within the building industry, in particular the housing industry and the ways in which the integrated design team differs from most current practices. It strives to promote the positive …

Behavior Of Precast Bridge Deck Joints With Small Bend Diameter U-Bars, Cheryl Elizabeth Chapman

Masters Theses

The Interstate Highway System plays a vital role in our economic development by providing a continuous corridor for transporting goods and services. Currently, there is a need for repair and expansion of the existing highways, which include all bridges along its path. Because of the high demand for the highway system, repair and expansion must occur rapidly and efficiently. In recent years, precast bridge deck systems have become an efficient way to reduce construction time during repair.

This thesis presents the experimental research of the behavior of the U-Bar joint detail used in precast bridge deck systems. This detail consists …