Engineering Commons^™

Behavior Of Pile-Supported Integral Abutments At Bridge Sites With Shallow Bedrock, John Gordon Delano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The advantages of constructing bridges with integral abutments are recognized by transportation agencies worldwide. However, pile supported integral abutments are limited to locations where the depth of overburden can provide fixed support conditions. In Maine, there are often cases where the depth to bedrock prohibits integral abutment bridges from being used. The goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of constructing integral abutments in conditions that cannot provide the fixed support conditions that are traditionally assumed. A finite element model was created that incorporates realistic constitutive and surface interaction models. These models allow for a good prediction of …