Dr.SamiW.Tabsh,P.E.

CivilEngineeringDepartment
AmericanUniversityofSharjah
AASHTOLRFDDesignConsiderations
forPrestresed ConcreteBridges
Prestressed ConcreteBridges
Prestressed concreteoffersmanyadvantages
overothermaterials:
Costsavings Reducedinitialconstructioncosts
andlowermaintenancecosts.
Durability ConcreteBridgescaneasilywithstand
extremetemperaturechangesandcorrosive
chemicalsinavarietyofconditions.
Competitiveness thevalueofconcreteis
repeatedlyrecognizedincompetitivebidding
situations.
Prestressed ConcreteBridges
BridgetrendintheUnitedStates
TypesofBridges
Thestructuralsystemofprestressed concrete
bridgesmayconsistof:
Slab
Beam/girder
Rigidframe
Cantilever
Cablestayed
TypesofBridges
CompositeIGirder
TypesofBridges
Pretensioned concrete
Posttensionedconcrete
AASHTOBackground
AASHTObeganpublishingthe
StandardSpecificationsforHighway
Bridgesinthe1930s.
Upuntil1970,theallowablestress
design(ASD)wasthemainmethod
ofstructuraldesign.
Inthe1970s,AASHTObeganvaryingthefactor
ofsafetyforeachloadinrelationtothe
uncertaintyintheload,referredtoastheload
factordesign(LFD).
AASHTOBackground
AASHTOmadethechangefromASDtoLFDinthe
formofinterimrevisionstotheStandard
Specifications.AASHTOhadnevertotally
rewrittenitsStandardSpecifications.
Thisintroducedgapsandinconsistenciesinthe
LFDspecificationsthatmadeitdifficultto
maintainandmodernize.
Today,thebridgedesignprofessionhasmovedto
LoadandResistanceFactorDesign(LRFD).
DesignPhilosophy
TheLoadandResistanceFactorDesign(LRFD)
philosophyinAASHTOisbasedon:
whereq =factorrelatedtotheductility,
redundancyandoperationalimportance,
Q
i
=loadeffect,

i
=loadfactor(statisticallybased),
R
n
=nominalresistance,
| =strengthreductionfactor(statisticallybased).

q
E
ContentsofAASHTOsLRFD
MajorChangesofAASHTOsLRFD
ThemajorchangesintheLRFDspecification
fromthestandardLFDspecificationsare:
Newliveloadmodelandloaddistributionfactors.
Calibratedloadandresistancefactors.
Adoptionofthemodifiedcompressionfieldtheory,
andstrutandtiemodelingforconcretestructures.
Limitstatebasedprovisionsforfoundationdesign.
Considerationofshipcollision.
Guidanceonthedesignofcurvedsteelgirderand
segmentalconcretebridges.
SpanCapability
Foroptimizeddesign,considerthefollowingissues:
Continuousspansaremoreeconomicalthanaseriesof
simplespans.
Incontinuousspans,proportionthespanlengthssuch
thattheendspansare75%82%oftheinteriorspans.
ThisresultsinM
+
nearlyequalinallspans.
Formaximumeconomy,thelengthofdeckslaboverhangs
is0.280.35oftheinteriorgirderspacing.
Usethesamesizeforbothinteriorandexteriorgirders.
Usingfewergirdersatwidespacing(upto5m)ismore
economicalthanusingmanygirdersatsmallspacing.
CAST-IN-PLACE, POSTTENSIONED CONCRETE BOX GIRDER
SPAN RANGE (m) DEPTH/SPAN COST/SQ-FT
SIMPLE CONT
25-75 0.045 0.040 $75-$145
Advantages Disadvantages
Commonly used in the UAE
Low cost
Low depth/span ratio
High seismic resistance due to
large torsional stiffness
Longer construction time than
precast concrete
Labor intensive
Requires shoring for falsework
Note: Costsareforyear2000dollarsinCalifornia
PC/PS I-GIRDER
SPAN RANGE (m) DEPTH/SPAN COST/SQ-FT
SIMPLE CONT
15-40 0.055 0.050 $90-$170
Advantages Disadvantages
Simple construction method
Low cost
No false-work required
Require little or no maintenance
Has to be prismatic
Poor seismic resistance
Low negative moment capacity
Note: Costsareforyear2000dollarsinCalifornia
TypesofLoads
Ingeneral,loadsimposedonbridgescanbe
classifiedinto:(1)Permanent,and(2)Transient.
Permanentloadsareloadsthatarealways
presentonthebridgeanddonotchangein
magnitudeduringitslife.Theyinclude:
DC:weightofStructuralComponentsandAttachments
DW:WeightofWearingSurfacesandUtilities
EH:HorizontalEarthPressure
ES:EarthSurchargeLoad
EV:VerticalPressureofEarthFill
TypesofLoads
Transientloadsareloadsthatarenotalways
presentonthebridge,orchangeinmagnitude
duringitslife.Theyinclude:
BR:VehicleBrakingForce
CE:Vehicle Centrifugal Force
CT:Vehicle CollisionForce
CV:Vessel CollisionForce
EQ:Earthquake
LL:VehicleLiveLoad
IM:DynamicLoadAllowance
IC:IceLoad
PL:PedestrianLiveLoad
SE:Settlement
TG:TemperatureGradient
TU:UniformTemperature
WL:WindonLiveLoad
WS:WindonStructure
TypesofLoads
17
Earthquake
PedestrianLoad
Wind VehicleLiveLoad
TypesofLoads
18
Vessel Collision Vehicle Collision
IceLoad Settlement
LoadCombinations
Therearefiveloadcombinationsforthe
strength limitstate:
LoadCombinations
Therearetwoloadcombinationsfortheextreme
event limitstateandonefatiguelimitstate:
*determinedonaprojectspecificbasis.
*
LoadCombinations
Therearefourloadcombinationsforthe
serviceability limitstate:
ApplicationofDeadLoad
Inadditiontoselfweight,provisionsareoften
madeinthedesignfor:
1.0to1.5kPa forfuture
wearingsurfacetothedeck.
0.75kPa foruseofstayin
placemetaldeckformsin
projectsinvolvingstructural
steelorprecastconcrete.
Theweightoftheintegral
sacrificialwearingsurface
(thickness=10 to30mm).
ApplicationofLiveLoad
TheDesignLiveLoadisHL93consistsofadesign
truckordesigntandemappliedsimultaneously
withadesignlaneload,whichevergivesthe
largereffectonthebridge.
Fornegativemomentbetweeninflectionpoints,
90%oftheeffectoftwodesigntrucksspacedat
aminimumof15000mmcombinedwith90%of
thedesignlaneload.
ApplicationofLiveLoad
0.90x
15000mm
MIN
3
5

k
N
1
4
5

k
N
1
4
5

k
N
3
5

k
N
1
4
5

k
N
1
4
5

k
N
ForNegativeMomentBetweenInflectionPoints
9.3N/mm
35kN 145kN 145kN 110kN 110kN
9.3N/mm 9.3N/mm
4300mm
4300to
9000mm
1200mm
OR
designtruck+designlane designtandem+designlane
ApplicationofLiveLoad
DesignTruck,DesignTandem andDesignLane loadsare
appliedovera3.0mwidth,withinthe3.6mlanewidth.
145kN
145kN
35kN
1.8m
3.0m
3.0mlane
3.1kPa
DesignTruckLoad
DesignLaneLoad
1.8m
3.0m
Adpated from:Cole(PCAseminar)
ApplicationofLiveLoad
Theextremeliveloadeffect
shallconsideranumberof
transverselyloadedlanes
multipliedbyamultiple
presencefactortoaccount
fortheprobabilityof
simultaneouslane
occupationbythefullHL93
designliveload.
ApplicationofLiveLoad
Thedynamicload
allowance,IM,accounts
forthedynamicportion
ofthetruckloadonthe
bridge.Itisequalto:
DeckJoints:75%
Fatigue:15%
Allothercases:33%
appliedtothetruck
portionofliveload.
AnalysisofDeckSlab
AASHTOapprovesthe
analysisoftheconcrete
slabbysubdividingit
intostripsoriented
perpendiculartothe
supportingcomponents
(girder)andtreatingthe
stripasabeamonrigid
supports.
AASHTOsstripmethodforslabs
AnalysisofDeckSlab
=1140+0.833X
=660+0.55S
=1220+0.25S
Definitionofthestripwidth,SW(mm)
S
AnalysisofDeckSlab
AppendixA4.1includesliveloadmomentsfor
typicalconcretedecks,inlieuofmoreprecise
calculations,iftheymeetspecifiedcondition.
GirderDistributionFactors
TheAASHTOSpecificationsusethedistribution
factorconcepttoapproximatethesharingofloadby
thegirdersinabridge.
Thedistributionfactor(DF)allowsa3dimensional
loadtransfermechanismtobereplacedwithamuch
simpleronedimensionalsystem.
P
GirderDistributionFactors
Thegirderdistributionfactordependson:
Consideredlimitstate(flexureversusshear)
Locationofgirder(exteriorversusinterior)
Typeofbridgesuperstructure
Geometryofbridge(i.e.skewness,overhangwidth)
Spacingandstiffnessofgirders
Thicknessofthedeckslabandlengthofbridge
Theyareappliedasfollows:
M
design/girder
=DF (M
per lane
)
LL
V
design/girder
=DF (V
per lane
)
LL
GirderDistributionFactorsforMoment
GirderDistributionFactorsforShear
TableDistributionofLiveLoadperLaneforShearinInteriorBeams.
GirderDistributionFactorsforMoment&Shear
(d)
TableDistributionofLiveLoadperLaneforMomentinInteriorBeams.
TableDistributionofLiveLoadperLaneforShearinInteriorBeams.
Prestressed Concrete
Prestressing consistsofpreloadingthestructure
beforeapplicationofdesignloadsinsuchaway
soastoimproveitsgeneralperformanceby:
Reducingoreliminatingtensilestressesinthe
concrete
Controllingdeflection
Allowingtheuseofhighstrengthsteelandconcrete
Permittingtheuseofshallowerstructures
Eliminatingfatigueproblems
Increasingdurability
TypesofPrestressing
Prestressing ofconcretecanbeachievedby:
Prestensioning: requirestensioning
betweenrigidabutments,ina
fabricationplantandtransporting
theelementtothesite.Thus,itis
suitedformassproduction.
Posttensioning: requirestensioning
againsthardenedconcreteonsite.It
allowsforvaryingtheprestressing
eccentricityalongthememberto
suittheparticularloadeffectwithin
thestructure.
Pretensioned Concrete
Pretensioning Sequence:
1. Thesteelstrandsare
stretchedthroughtheform
betweentwoendanchors.
2. Apredeterminedamountof
stressisappliedtothesteel
strands.
3. Theconcreteisthenpoured,
encasingthesteel.
4. Strandsarecutwhenthe
concretereachesaspecified
earlystrength.
Pretensioned Concrete Pretensioned Concrete
PosttensionedConcrete
Posttensioningsequence:
1. Placesteelcageandpost
tensioningductsinformwork.
2. Castconcreteintheformwork
andcuretheconcrete.
3. Afterconcreteishardened,
thetendonsaretensionedand
anchoredagainstthemember.
4. Theductisthengroutedto
completetheposttensioning
operation.
PosttensionedConcrete
Prestress Losses
Levelofprestress varieswithtime.Lossesdueto
anchorageset,frictionandelasticshorteningare
instantaneous.Lossesduetocreep,shrinkageand
relaxationaretimedependent.
Concrete
Prestressed concretecanbenefitfromhigh
strengthconcrete(5070MPa)becauseweget:
TypicalStressStrainCurvesfor
ConcreteinCompression
Higherallowablestresses(to
prestress atanearlystage)
Increasedelasticmodulus
(lesslossofprestress dueto
elasticshortening)
Reducedcreepandshrinkage
(lesslossofprestress dueto
volumechanges)
Prestressing Steel
Widerangeofwires,strandsand
barsavailable
Highstrength(1860MPa for
strands&1000MPa forbars)
Diameters:
Wires<Strands<Bars
12.7mmdiameter,7wirestrand
(Area=98.7mm
2
)ismost
commoninprestressed concrete
Recently,the15.2mmdiameter,
7wirestrand(Area=140mm
2
)
hasbeenintroduced.
StressStrainCurvesfor
Prestressing andMildSteel
Prestressing Steel
Uncoated,stressrelievedorlowrelaxation,7
wirestrand,oruncoatedplainordeformedhigh
strengthbarsshallconformto(5.4.4.1):
Prestressing Steel
Materials:TypesofPrestressing Steel
FlexuralDesignConsiderations
DesignofPrestressed ConcreteMembers:
ServiceLimitState Flexure
determinemagnitudeandlocationofP/Sforce
Satisfystresslimits
Considerstagesofconstruction
Almostalwaysgoverns
StrengthLimitState Flexure
StrengthLimitState Shear
FlexuralDesignConsiderations
BehaviorofPrestressed ConcreteMembers
FlexuralDesignConsiderations
GeneralAssumptionsforFlexuralDesignof
Prestressed ConcreteMembers
ServiceLoadDesign:
Concreteisuncracked
Stressinprestressing steelislinearlyrelatedtostrain
Iteratetodeterminestrandpatternandsatisfystress
limits
CheckStrengthatCriticalSections:
Concrete
inelasticincompressiveregions
tensilestrengthisneglected
Prestressing steel
inelastic
StrengthReductionFactors
Theresistancefactorsforthestrengthlimitstate
forprestressed concreteare:
Flexure:
Tensioncontrolledregion: 1.00
Compressioncontrolledregion: 0.75
Shearandtorsion: 0.90
Compressioninanchoragezone: 0.80
Tensioninanchoragezone: 1.00
ServiceLimitState
1.ComputeStressesatRelease
NonCompositeSection(BareGirder)
Loads:
Girderselfweight
Initialprestress
Topofgirder:
Bottomofgirder:
t
gdl
t
i i
R t
S
M
S
e P
A
P
f + =
b
gdl
b
i i
R b
S
M
S
e P
A
P
f + =
ServiceLimitState
ComputeStressesatRelease
ServiceLimitState
2.ComputeStressesatService LimitStateAfter
LosseswithPermanent&TransientLoads:
LoadsonNonCompositeSection
Girder,deckdeadloads
Otherdeadloadsappliedbeforeplacingdeck(e.g.
diaphragms)
Finalprestress (afterlosses)
LoadsonCompositeSection
Barrierandfuturewearingsurface
Otherdeadloads(utilities,etc.)
Vehicularliveloadandimpact
ServiceLimitState
ComputeStressesatServiceLimitStateAfter
LosseswithPermanentandTransientLoads
Topofdeck:
Topofgirder:
Bottomofgirder:
bcg
I LL cdl
b
ncdl gdl
b
e e
L P bg
S
M M
S
M M
S
e P
A
P
f
+
+
+

+
+ =


tcg
I LL cdl
t
ncdl gdl
t
e e
L P tg
S
M M
S
M M
S
e P
A
P
f
+
+
+
+
+
+ =


tcd
I LL cdl
L P td
S
M M
f
+
+
+
=

ServiceLimitState
StressesatServiceLimitStateAfterLosseswith
PermanentandTransientLoads
ServiceLimitState
StressLimitsforPrestressing Tendons(5.9.31)
forPretensioned Construction:
ServiceLimitState
StressLimitsforPrestressing Tendons(5.9.31)for
Posttensioned Construction:
ServiceLimitState
Compression StressLimitsforConcrete (5.9.4.1.1
&5.9.4.1.2):
ForTemporary StressesBeforeLosses
(FullyPrestressed,Pretensioned orPost
tensionedComponents):0.60f
ci
ServiceLimitState
Tensile StressLimitsforConcrete forTemporary
StressesBeforeLosses(Pretensioned orPost
tensioned):
ServiceLimitState
Compression StressLimitsforConcrete atService
LimitState(SERVICEI)AfterLosses(Fully
Prestressed,Pretensioned orPosttensioned):
where
w
=1.0formemberswithspan/thicknessratio<15.SeeLRFD5.7.4.7.2.
ServiceLimitState
Tensile StressLimitsforConcrete atService Limit
State(SERVICEIII)AfterLosses(FullyPrestressed
Components,Pretensioned orPosttensioned):
StrengthLimitState
Thenominalflexuralstrengthofaprestressed
concretesectionatultimateisequalto:
)
2 2
( ) ( ' 85 . 0 )
2
(
f
f w c p ps ps n
h
a
h b b f
a
d f A M + =
)
2
(
a
d f A M
p ps ps n
=
Rectangular:
Flanged(TorL):
ps ps
c
f A T
a b f . C
c a
=
' =
=
85 0
1

StrengthLimitState
Equivalentrectangularconcretestressblockatnominal
flexuralresistance (5.7.3.2)
StrengthLimitState
TheStrengthreductionfactorforflexure,|,
dependsonmaximumnettensilestrain,c
t
,at
nominalresistance,M
n
:
c
t
=0.003(d
t
c)/c
StrainDiagram
c
t
d
t
0.003
d
p
c
StrengthLimitState
P/S
Transition Tension -
Controlled
Compression-
Controlled
1.00
|
0.005
0.75
NetTensileStrain,c
t
| =0.583+83.3c
t
0.002
| =0.583+0.25(d
t
/c1)
StrengthLimitState
Theminimumflexuralreinforcementisbasedon
(LRFD5.7.3.3.2):
M
r
=| M
n
> 1.2M
cr
NotethatthecrackingmomentM
cr
isobtained
from:
where f
r
=0.97f
c
r c
nc
c
f S
S
S
>
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ = 1 M - ) f (f S M
dnc cpe r c cr
Conclusions
Therearemanybenefitsforusingprestressed
concreteinbridgestructures.
NewAASHTOLRFDcoderequirementsaremuch
differentfromtheoldStandardrequirements.
Prestressed concretetakesfulladvantageofhigh
performanceconcreteandhighstrengthsteel.
Structuraldesignofprestressed concrete
membersrequirescheckingserviceabilityand
ultimatestrengthatvariousstagesofloading.