Reader's Comment

STATE OF THE ART FOR LONG SPAN PRESTRESSED CONCRETE

BRIDGES OF SEGMENTAL CONSTRUCTION

GEOFFREY C. LACEY, JOHN E. BREEN AND NED H. BURNS

PCI JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1971

Comments by Shu-t'ien Li, Professor Emeritus and Consulting En-

gineer, Rapid City, South Dakota, and B. Barwick, N. D. Lea &
Associates Ltd. Vancouver B.C., Canada; closure by the authors.

Shu-t'ien Li: The authors have at-
tempted a long-awaited, very wel-
come subject with their "State of the
Art for Long Span Prestressed Con-
crete Bridges of Segmental Con-
struction." It is a highly stimulating
subject, especially in the U.S.A.,
which, despite its many spectacular
engineering feats, has stayed in the
short span range of prestressed con-
crete bridges, despite PCI's timely
effort to extend standard spans from
100 to 170 ft.
The authors' impressive and inclu-
sive title, and a quite compatible
synoptic note under the subject, are
both without the restriction of being
"precast." The report, however,
quickly shifted its particular atten-
tion to segmental, precast, post-ten-
sioned box girder bridges, as evi-
denced by Table 1. A perusal of this
table reveals that it covers pre-
stressed concrete bridges in the cen-
ter span range from 102 to 487 ft. In
the present state of the art, these
bridges fall in the medium span
range rather than the truly long span
range.
The authors' table, though partial-
ly covering some notable prestressed
concrete spans in twelve different
104
countries, has omitted some very im-
portant long span prestressed con-
crete bridges that should certainly
be listed, even if restricted by the
category of "segmental construc-
tion."
Segmental construction has been
used for both cast-in-place concrete
by segments and precast segments.
Either type can be cantilevered out
section by section or erected on
falsework, with each segment being
prestressed back to the balancing ex-
tension on the other side of the pier
or to the abutments.
Some of these long span pre-
stressed concrete bridges have been
quite spectacular achievements.
Without referring to the Bendorf
Bridge, already mentioned by the
authors, and a recent Urato Bay
Bridge with a longer span length of
754.5 ft., suffice it to cite the well
known Gladesville Bridge with an
arch span of 1000 ft. over an arm of
Sydney Harbour in Australia. This
arch bridge consists of precast box
segments, post-tensioned longitudi-
nally as well as transversely. An-
other notable prestressed concrete
bridge is the viaduct at Lake Chil-
Ion, Switzerland, for which each seg-
PCI Journal
ment was cast against its matching
neighbor, with adjustments so as to
give a curved soffit profile and to ac-
commodate horizontal curves and
superelevation.
With the availability of high qual-
ity, high strength, lightweight aggre-
gate concrete and super high
strength polymer concrete, segmen-
tal construction, precasting, and
post-tensioning, the technical and
economical limit could easily extend
far beyond the existing example of a
1000-ft. span for long span pre-
stressed concrete bridges. Further,
by properly incorporating the con-
cepts of continuity, cantilevers with
suspended span, double-cantilevers,
framed cantilevers, inclined struts,
stress-ribbons, deck suspensions,
arch rib action, stayed girder ar-
rangement, the bowstring truss, the
Vierendeel truss with polygonal
chords, and self-anchored suspen-
sion systems, and by the application
of longitudinal, transverse, and verti-
cal prestressing one can extend com-
petitive concrete bridge spans to as
much as 1500 ft.
B. Barwick: May I congratulate the
authors on a most interesting and
timely paper.
I first investigated precast segmen-
tal construction when preparing pre-
liminary designs for the approach
structures to a proposed vehicular
crossing of Burrard Inlet in Vancou-
ver, visiting Holland in 1969 to in-
vestigate the potential of this form
of construction. My overriding im-
pression was the great speed of erec-
tion attained and the excellent ap-
pearance of the finished product.
Table 1 in the paper is a neces-
sarily incomplete list of segmental,
precast, post-tensioned box girder
bridges. However, there is in my
opinion one outstanding example of
January-February 1972
this type of construction which mer-
its mention, namely the Chillon Via-
duct, Switzerland( 64 >. This structure
comprises two independent bridges
each 7211 ft. long consisting of a sin-
gle cell box with cellular cantilever
wings. Each bridge is divided into
five independent sections by expan-
sion joints, longitudinal forces being
taken by the two abutments and
braced columns in the middle of
each of the three intermediate sec-
tions.
Erection was by cantilever with
epoxy joints using a travelling erec-
tion truss capable of horizontal
movement to provide for the hori-
zontal curvature of the viaduct and
with jacks at each bogie to maintain
verticality of the truss irrespective
of the varying superelevation on the
structure.
The weight of precast elements
varied from 45 to 80 tons; the depth
varied from 18.5 ft, at the columns to
7.2 ft. at midspan. Spans are general-
ly either 302, 321 or 341 ft., with end
spans of 139 and 149 ft. Two basic
arrangements of cantilevers that
were used are shown in Fig. A and
combinations of these made up any
of the spans in the viaduct.
Supporting twin columns were at
26.2 ft. on centers, hinged at the top,
with those columns less than 72 ft.
high being hinged at the bottom and
all others being fixed to the founda-
tion.
Stressing was by 12/0.5 in. strand
cables, a system used almost exclu-
sively in precast segmental cantile-
ver bridges in Europe. One set of ca-
bles is anchored in the girder webs
and primarily provides for the nega-
tive moments during construction;
the other set is located in the bottom
slab and anchored at the top surface
of this slab. Total deck area of this
project is 600,000 sq. ft. with a total
105

CAUTI LEV Et2 of 157.4
' 2 ^1 I
I)< i0.5^
57.8
CANTILEVE2 of 137.81
i _
Y1
1,,,^g•I
^,^„ i iG•4 i ^3.1^
—'
SECTION-ATCOLUMN
construction cost, including founda-
tions, of approximately $8,000,000.
The Hartelkanaal Bridge in Hol-
land is in fact two separate struc-
tures joined only by a cast-in-place
median strip, and is not connected
by a deck slab as stated in the paper.
The authors state that shear keys in
the webs transmit vertical shear
forces while the resin sets and also
serve a very useful function in con-
trolling alignment. The provision of
a key in the top slab is also consid-
ered essential to provide control
over the lateral alignment.
An interesting variation of the
cantilever construction technique is
to use an auxiliary pylon(65 ) and sus-
pend segments from this by means of
inclined prestressing bars. By using
such a system it should be possible
to cantilever the full span length in
each direction from a pier, a particu-
106
.cf.n_r^ k .ter... L.,<
16.4i ExPanolon.
^4xlli
26 2i
3018'
f
`Anahbr gts {or fiandons
in boi4om 51a6
SECTION NEA2 MID-5PA 4
Fig. A
larly useful alternative for the two
span bridges over existing highways
mentioned in the paper.
Nowhere in their paper do the au-
thors mention the importance of an
accurate assessment of redistribution
of moments due to creep in indeter-
minate structures or of deflections
during construction, particularly
with the free cantilever method. The
calculation of prestressing losses as
accurately as possible is of maximum
importance; empirical rules, such as
those of AASHO, are of little help in
the design of more complex struc-
tures.
Small differences in alignment of
two cantilever arms are taken out by
means of jacking at the midspan sec-
tion, but such differences in align-
ment must be small to keep the jack-
ing forces (and resulting stresses)
within reasonable limits.
PCI Journal
 I am surprised at the proposal to
use I-girders for spans of up to 200
ft., since this form of construction is
only practical for straight, square
spans, which are becoming increas-
ingly rare. Furthermore, the relative-
ly poor load distribution capability
of I-beams leads to larger amounts
of prestress than necessary with
other forms of construction, and the
low span/depth ratio imposes eco-
nomic penalties when cut or fill is
necessary on the approaches to such
a structure.
Precast segmental construction
undoubtedly has a great future in
North America and the authors are
to be congratulated in seizing the
opportunity to investigate this meth-
od of construction. However, cast-in-
place box girder construction still
has a large part to play in the field of
bridge construction.
Precast segmental construction
has two major problems, of which
the initial cost of equipment to pro-
duce and erect the elements is one
area in which considerable econo-
mies might be made. For a typical
structure in Holland (e6) for two sets
of forms, including all hydraulic
equipment and steam curing, one
crane for handling elements in the
casting yard and one movable erec-
tion truss, costs were $120,000, $70,-
000 and $200,000 respectively for a
total of $390,000, a not inconsidera-
ble investment. Such costs, with the
exception of the erection truss, do
not vary much with the size of the
project and my own conclusion(67)
from my visit to Holland was that a
minimum length of 1600 ft. of pre-
cast elements, i.e. a single box 1600
ft. long or a pair of boxes 800 ft.
long, was necessary in any single
project to justify precast segmental
construction economically.
The other major disadvantage,
January-February 1972
which applies to spans in excess of
300 ft., is the weight of the elements
involved in large spans. This leads to
difficulties in handling, transporta-
tion and erection with correspond-
ingly high costs. I should be pleased
to hear the authors' comments on
these problems.
REFERENCES
64. Routes nationales Suisses, Department
des Travaux publics du Canton de
Vaud, Construction des Viaducs de
Chillon.
65. Ulrich Finsterwalder, "Free Cantilever
Construction of Prestressed Concrete
Bridges and Mushroom Shaped
Bridges," First International Sympos-
ium, Concrete Bridge Design, ACI
publication SP-23, pp. 481-491.
66. "Bridge across the River Yssel at De-
venter, Holland," unpublished report
by B. V. N. Consultants, The Hague,
Holland.
67. Barwick, B., "A Report on the Design
and Construction of Precast, Pre-
stressed Concrete Segmental Highway
Bridges in Holland-1969," unpub-
lished.
Authors' closure: The authors appre-
ciate the interest shown by the dis-
cussers and feel that their construc-
tive remarks add to the subject of
long span prestressed concrete
bridges of segmental construction.
With the state-of-the-art developing
rapidly, and with many unique ap-
proaches to the subject being devel-
oped by engineers around the world,
it is not surprising that the paper did
not fully cover the subject.
Dr. Li is correct in pointing out
that the paper was deliberately lim-
ited to precast elements. Our list is
certainly incomplete even for pre-
cast segmental construction, as has
been pointed out in the discussion
by Mr. Barwick.
In the future we may see more
long span bridges in the 1000 ft.
span range, but present needs for
many design situations will not in-.
volve large numbers of bridges in
this span range. The paper reviewed
107
structures which contain spans long-
er than can be accomplished with
usual standard girders and, in this
sense, are long spans. True, they
may be moderate spans when com-
pared to the few cases exceeding
1000 ft., but to most bridge engi-
neers 500 ft. is a long span.
Deflection control in these struc-
tures is very important, as Mr. Bar-
wick points out. Experience has
shown that the fully continuous
structures have experienced less
time-dependent deflection problems
than with structures which were
built as cantilevers out to a hinge at
midspan. Consideration of prestress
losses is important, but the long time
deflection history of most of the
structures reviewed in the paper has
been very satisfactory. Erection
techniques are extremely important
to control the built-in deflection (or
camber) which can be introduced by
the joints between segments. Even
techniques for alignment at closure
may not successfully correct for de-
flections introduced by serious angle
changes due to errors in jointing.
Cost requirements may not be as
limiting as the discussion by Mr.
Barwick would point out. Actual bid
prices for a 400 ft. long, 50 ft. wide,
segmentally constructed three-span
bridge at Corpus Christi, Texas,
were $18 to $20 per square foot.
Form costs with high quality metal
forms and a reasonable length soffit
108
were approximately 950 per square
foot (or about 5 per cent). No erec-
tion truss is utilized in the Corpus
Christi bridge or in many other seg-
mental bridges. Use of regular lifting
equipment has kept costs down.
Contractors have designed special
appurtenances at modest cost for
erection of precast segments.
Design of the segments can pur-
posely minimize weight to keep
within construction equipment capa-
bilities. Physical size of segments
can be limited to a module which
can be shipped by truck or other
means of transportation readily
available. The segment weight prob-
lem need not be an inherent problem
with precast segmental construction.
Overall, the situation in the United
States would not seem to be as bad
as the European experience cited in
the discussion would indicate. The
authors do not feel that economics
can be pontificated on. Experience
with the Corpus Christi bridge indi-
cates that a designer has control over
the factors which keep lifting weight
and erection costs under control.
The interest expressed by many
engineers in segmental construction
in prestressed concrete seems to in-
dicate that wide use of the technique
will be seen in the future. Experi-
ence with its use should result in
more favorable costs, especially if
some standardization of cross sec-
tions can be achieved.
PCI Journal
LOSS OF PRESTRESS, CAMBER AND DEFLECTION OF NON-COMPOSITE
AND COMPOSITE PRESTRESSED CONCRETE STRUCTURES
D. E. BRANSON AND K. M. KRIPANARAYANAN
PCI JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1971
Comment by James R. Libby, James R. Libby & Associates, San
Diego, California.
James R. Libby: The methods and
principles discussed by the authors
can be used with the Wang 700/701
computer to compute the loss of pre-
stress as well as the rotation at any
section of a prestressed concrete
member. If the rotations are com-
puted at several points along the
member, the deflection of the mem-
ber can easily be determined be-
cause the rotation is equal to the
moment divided by the product of
the elastic modulus and the moment
of inertia of the section.
A sample output from the Wang
700/701 is enclosed, Fig. B. The da-
ta shown are all input data except
for the lower table which lists time,
steel stress, fiber stresses and rota-
tion. This particular sample output is
for a post-tensioned member. A dif-
ferent program is used for preten-
sioned members.
The data listed under "Time" are
used in the numerical intergration
procedure to control different
events. For example, shrinkage of
precast concrete begins when curing
ends, creep and relaxation begin at
the time of stressing, internal stresses
change when the slab and other
loads are applied, and strain compat-
ibility between the slab and precast
members starts when the slab is
placed but the slab does not start
January-February 1972
shrinking until the slab curing pe-
riod ends.
The data under "Prestressing
Steel" require no explanation except
for the relaxation coefficient. A value
of 10 is used for stress-relieved
strand while 40 is more appropriate
for low-relaxation strand.
Under "Concrete", the data are
presented for the precast concrete
and the slab concrete. The E coeffi-
cient is equivalent to the 33 constant
in the formula for E (Eq. 6) and per-
mits adjusting this value when the
properties of the concrete being
used are well known. The strength,
shrinkage and creep parameters are
those required for Eqs. 1, 7 and 8.
The value of E used at any point in
time in the computations is a func-
tion of Eqs. 1 and 6. The remaining
input data are self explanatory.
The output data are given at sev-
eral points in time automatically.
These are generally before and after
the application of loads. The output
data should also be self explanatory.
The computations with this program
are done using the numerical inte-
gration method with one-day time
intervals.
Approximately 5 min. is required
to run the program. The Constant
Data do not have to be re-entered
for each run.
109
 Times(Days) Prestressing Steel
End Precast Cure 7 Yield Strength(ksi) 247
Prestressing 12 Es(ksi) 27800
Application of Slab 197 Relaxation Coef. 10.0
End Slab Cure 204 Area(in2) 5.520
Application of SDL 1 206
Application of SDI. 2 None
End Anal y sis 600

Concrete
Precast Slab
Compressive Strength, 28 days(ksi) 5.500 5.000
Weight(pcf) 115 114
E Coef. 26 26
Ultimate Shrinkage .000350 .000300
Creep Ratio 1.50
Time Dep endency Parameters
c -Strength 2.24 2.24
d -Strength .92 .92
a -Shrinkage 1.00 1.00
b -Shrinkage. 35.00 35.00
a'-Creep .60
b'-Creep 10.00

SECTION: midsnan
Section Properties
Distance(in) from Centroid
Area(in2) I(in4) to Extreme Precast Fibers
Top Bottom
Net Precast 949 625158 30.870 44.120
Transformed Precast 1013 710047 33.230 41.760
Transformed Composite 1637 1226561 19.320 55.670

Thickness of Slab(in) 6.500

Loads(ft-k) Tendon
Precast DL 1535.000 Initial Prestress(ksi) 189
Slab DL 1278.000 Location, from Bottom(in) 6.375
SDL 1 300.000

Time Steel Fiber Stresses(ksi) Rotation

(Days) Stress(ksi) Beam Slab x lOexp6
Bottom Top CGS Bottom Top

12 189.500 2.588 .062 2.373 14.67

197 144.449 1.825 .228 1.689 21.26
197' 152.942 .923 .946 .925 12.62
206 152.723 .919 .949 .922 -.020 .010 12.58
206' 154.330 .756 1.006 .777 .035 .086 11.41

600 150.360 .681 1.052 .712 -.264 .236 10.45

Fig. B

The program gives a structural eral variables on loss of prestress

engineer the means of practically and on long term deflections in his
investigating the effects of the sev- own office and at nominal cost.

110 PCI Journal