Analysis and design of balanced cantilever prestressed box girder bridge

considering constructions stages and creep redistribution

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amorn Pimanmas
Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology
Thammasat University

1. Introduction

The cantilevering construction method is recommended for medium to long span bridges (span
length from 60 to 150 m) The major advantage of this method is the elimination of scaffolding
which is difficult or impossible to erect, such as over deep valleys or wide rivers. In this method,
the bridge is built by a succession of segments symmetrically cantilevering in both directions
from the pier. The segments may be cast-in place by means of formwork traveler or pre-
fabricated and lifted to place with appropriate lifting device. The previous segment carries the
load of the next segment. Each segment is connected to the previous ones by means of pre-
stressing cables at the top fiber. In this method, the structure will be cantilever for a short term
during construction and becomes continuous in the long term.

As a result, the analysis and design of the structure must follow the construction stages. Dead
load of the bridge girder shall be carried by the cantilevering structure during construction while
the superimposed dead load as well as traffic shall be carried in the continuous state after the
completion of the bridge. Moreover, the redistribution of dead load moments due to creep must
be considered since it can significantly affect the moment pattern. The effect of creep is also
significant during construction especially for long bridge where the construction may take years
to finish. The deflection due to creep is not negligible and must be accurately predicted for
preparing the camber of the bridge. In this report, the authors are mainly concerned with the
structural analysis and design of balanced cantilever bridge considering construction stages and
effect of creep redistribution.

2. Description of bridge, construction procedures and design criteria

2.1 General layout of the bridge

The example bridge to be design is assumed to cross a rather wide river as shown in Fig. 1. It
shall consist of six traffic lanes. The superstructure consists of two parallel box girders. Each box
girder has its own supporting pier. The cross section of the box girder is shown in Fig. 2. The
entire top slab width of each box is 10.8 m. The width of the bottom slab is 5.5 m. The height is
4.07 m at the pier head and 3 m at the mid-span.

Since the river must serve the navigational purpose, no scaffolding is allowed. The balanced
cantilevering method is therefore adopted for construction. The final bridge structure consists of
four continuous spans, two side spans and two main spans as shown in Fig. 1. The side spans are

1
47.0 m long and the main spans are 73.0 m long. The bridge is supported on bearings on pier 2
and 4 and cast integrally with pier 3. Since the bridge cannot be constructed in the complete form
from the beginning due to its large scale and no scaffolding is allowed in the river due to
navigational purpose. The pattern of internal actions such as moment and shear forces cannot be
obtained from the analysis of the complete structures. The design actions must be associated with
the construction procedures and proper consideration of creep effect must be taken into account.

The superstructure shall be analyzed and designed in both longitudinal and transverse directions.
Both prestressing and ordinary deformed bars shall be used in both directions.

2.2 Construction method

The construction method of this bridge is shown in Fig. 3. The pier head will be cast on
scaffolding first over pier axes 1, 2 and 3. Then, the bridge shall be constructed in balanced
cantilevering from pier 1, 2 and 3 as shown in Fig. 3a. Pier axis 2 consists of 17 cast-in place
segments on each side of the pier. Pier axes 1 and 3 consist of 9 cast –in place segments on each
side of the pier. On the two sides of the river banks, the 20 m abutment span is cast on temporary
scaffolding, which is remained until the side and main cantilevers are connected.

During construction, piers 1 and 3 must be fixed to the superstructure otherwise unbalanced
moment will lead to the instability. This temporary fixity can be achieved by means of vertical
prestressing and must be indicated on the drawings for construction. During construction, the
structure is in the cantilevering state with the bending moment pattern as shown in Fig. 3a. It is
seen that this bending moment mainly results from the dead load of the superstructure and
formwork traveler. The moment is thus negative throughout the span and highest over the pier
and zero at the tip of the cantilever.

After the construction of balanced cantilever is completed, the side and main cantilevers are
connected to each other by 1.5 m closure pour. The moment due to formwork traveler supported
on the side spans is shown in Fig. 3b. The dead weight of the fresh closure pour also generates
moment in the side and main cantilevers as shown in Fig. 3c. At this state, the form traveler is
supported on cantilevers on both sides in order to assure the same tip deflection of the joining
cantilevers. As a result, each cantilever is assumed to take half of the weight of fresh pour.

After the side and main cantilevers are connected, the form travelers are removed from the
bridge. At this state, the closure pour becomes hardened. So the moment pattern due to the
removal of formwork traveler is shown in Fig. 3d. Then the bridge is connected to the 20.0 m
abutment span via a closure pour of 1.5 m length. After the closure pour hardens, bottom tendons
are prestressed. At this stage, the 20 m abut span is still supported on the temporary scaffolding.
The secondary moment due to prestressing is shown in Fig. 3e. It should be noted that during
cantilevering construction, there is no secondary moment due to top tendons since the cantilever
is statically determinate system.

After bottom prestressing, the temporary scaffolding is removed. The structure is in the complete
continuous form. The weight of 20 m abutment span and closure pour is then transferred to the
continuous structure. The moment pattern generated at this stage is shown in Fig. 3f. Any load

2
applied after this, for example the superimposed dead load including asphalt pavement and
barrier, traffic loads and other live loads shall be applied to the continuous structure.

Just after the completion of structure, the effect of dead load cantilever moment is locked in the
structure. In the long time, this moment will be redistributed due to the time-dependent creep
effect. As a result, the negative moment at the pier is usually reduced and the positive moment at
the mid-span increased. The creep effect on this moment redistribution shall be considered in the
design too.

It should be also noted that the segments are assumed to be simultaneously cast on each side of
the pier. If the alternate casting is implemented, the pier must be checked for unbalanced
moment.

The design of the bridge will follow the AASHTO 1996 and ACI318-99 for load specification
and member design. Since the redistribution of moment due to creep effect shall be considered in
the analysis, the Norwegian Concrete Structure Design rules (NS3473E) which provides the
creep factor as the function of time is adopted. Note that the creep equation specified in
Norwegian code gives the same result as CEB-FIP code.

2.3 Computer model

The computer model of the full bridge is shown in Fig. 4a. The computer model for the main
cantilever (pier 2) and side cantilevers (piers 1 and 3) is shown in Fig. 4b. The bridge
superstructure (box girder) and the pier are modeled by 2-node one-dimensional frame element.
Each segment of the cantilever is modeled by a frame element. The whole structure consists of
104 frame elements. The properties of the frame are defined with respect to the local axis as
shown in the Fig. 4.

Since the cross-section varies along the element length, the average cross sectional area and the
moment of inertia are calculated at the middle section of the element. The calculation of cross
sectional area (A) and moment of inertia IN and IL is based on the entire cross section while the
calculation of moment of inertia IM is based on the torsional section as shown in Fig. 5. It should
be noted that in the final structure, the pier 2 is to be fixedly connected to the superstructure so it
is modeled using frame element to obtain the relative stiffness between pier and superstructure.
On the contrary, the superstructure will be supported on bearings on piers 1 and 3, hence no
moment is transferred to the pier, consequently, hinge supports are used to model the piers.

The uncracked stiffness is used for superstructure since pre-stressing effect results in almost
uncracked state. But half of the uncracked stiffness is used for the pier to represent the cracked
condition.

2.4 Loads

The loads to be considered include

1. Dead weight of the bridge. The unit weight of concrete used is 25.5 kN/m3. The internal action
due to dead weight shall be computed following the construction stages mentioned before.

3
2. Superimposed dead load. The superimposed dead load includes asphalt pavement with the unit
weight of 24 kN/m3 and barrier. This load is applied to the complete structure.

3. Traffic load. The traffic load is to represent the weight of moving trucks with impact. In
AASHTO 1996, this load consists of the American truck (HS20-44) load and the lane load as
shown in Fig. 6a and 6b, respectively. Normally, for span less than 30 m, truck load shall be the
governing case. But for longer span, the lane load shall govern the design. In case of the example
bridge, the length of main and side spans is 73 and 47 m, respectively. Consequently, only the
lane load shall be considered in the design. The AASHTO lane load is supposed to represent a
line of trucks. As shown in Fig. 6b, it consists of uniform load (w) of 9.53 kN/m, a concentrated
load (PM) 82.0 kN for moment calculation and a concentrated load (PV) of 116.0 kN for shear
calculation. These loads are assumed to occupy a 3.05 m width or one traffic lane. These loads
shall be multiplied by number of lanes, which is 3 for each box girder in case of the problem
concerned. A reduction factor of 0.9 can be used if the number of lanes is greater than or equal to
three.

The traffic load shall be increased due to the impact of moving vehicles. The impact factor is,
according to AASHTO, computed as,

I = 15.24/(L + 38) ≤ 0.3 1

where L is the span length. For the main span, L = 73 m, the impact factor is calculated to be
0.14 and for the side span, L = 47 m, the impact factor is 0.18. The traffic load shall be applied to
the complete structure. The load must be placed on the span to obtain the maximum effect of
moments at mid-span and over support and shear as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. As for torsion,
since the bridge is straight, the torsion shall mainly result if the traffic load is placed eccentric to
the box centerline as shown in Fig. 9. In this case, the torsion is maximum when the lane loads
occupy two lanes as shown.

The effect of the above loads shall be combined according to the load factors specified by the
codes. It is noted that other loads such as wind loads, longitudinal forces, overturning forces,
centrifugal forces and so on are not relevant in the design of superstructure. Hence, they are
omitted in the analysis of superstructure.

2.5 Materials

The specified compressive strength of concrete at 28 days is 35 MPa. The strength at transfer of
prestress is 30 MPa. The ordinary deformed reinforcement has the nominal yield strength of 400
MPa. A prestressing steel is low relaxation seven wire strand grade 270 ASTM. Each
longitudinal tendon consists of 12 strands. Each transverse tendon consists of 3 strands. Each
strand has the diameter of 15.2 mm with the area of 140 mm2. The ultimate strength of pre-
stressing steel is 1860 MPa. The ultimate force of each tendon is therefore 3.12 MN for
longitudinal tendon and 0.78 MN for transverse tendon. The initial jacking stress is 70% of the
ultimate strength.

2.6 Prestressing Layout

4
From the preliminary design together with practical experience, the layout of longitudinal
prestressing is obtained as shown in Fig. 10. Any tendon longer than 30 m is to be stressed from
both sides. For shorter tendons, the prestresssing can be done from one side only. In this case, the
prestressing should be alternated on each side of the pier. The top prestressing consists of 38
tendons over the pier 2 and 20 tendon each over piers 1 and 3. The bottom prestressing consists
of 16 tendons each in span 1-2 and 2-3 and 12 tendons each in span 0-1 and 3-4. The transverse
pre-stressing is shown in Fig. 11. The tendons are spaced at 0.5 mm apart.

3. Effect of creep on long term moment redistribution

As mentioned, the creep will redistribute the dead load moment from that at just the bridge
completion to the long-term state. As a result, the long-term design moment is usually between
the values at the bridge completion and the long-term state. In the simple calculation, the dead
load moment to be designed can be estimated using the simple formula as,
M = 0.22 MD + 0.78 M∝ 2

Where MD is the dead load moment considering the stages of construction at the time of bridge
completion and M∝ is the dead load moment if the dead load is assumed to apply on the final
continuous structure.

The above equation approximately takes into account the effect of creep. A better equation can be
obtained considering that the creep depends on several factors such as relative humidity (RH),
concrete composition (water/cement ratio), cross-sectional geometry and time duration, age of
concrete when first loaded.

The better form of equation 1 can be written as,

M = e-φ MD + (1-e-φ) M∝ 3

A creep factor φ(t, t0) shown in the above equation is defined as,

εCR = (σc/Ec) φ(t, t0)

• 4

where σc is the total concrete stress, Ec is the elastic modulus of concrete and φ(t, t0) is the creep
factor. The variables t and t0 are time and time when concrete is first loaded, respectively. In the
design of this bridge, the creep factor provided in Norwegian code NS3473E is used. It is noted
the Norwegian code gives the same results as the CEB-FIP 1990 model code. Based on
Norwegian code, the creep factor can be calculated from the following formulas,

φ(t, t0) = φ0 β1 β2 βc (t-t0) 5

Where
φ0 = 1 + (1-RH/100) / (0.08 h0)1/3 6
β1 = 8.3 / (3 + fc0.5) 7
β2 = 2.4 / (0.1 + t00.18) 8
βc (t-t0) = {(t-t0)/( βh + t – t0)}0.3 9
βh = 1.5 {1+0.00012(RH/50)18} h0 + 250 ≤ 1500 10

5
Where
t is the age of concrete in days, t0 is the age of concrete at loading, RH is the relative humidity
measured in percent, h0 is the effective cross-sectional depth measured in mm and defined as,

h0 = 2 Ac / U 11

The creep factor during the time t1 to t2 can be computed as,

Δφ(t2, t1) = φ0 β1 β2 Δβc (t2-t1) 12
Where
Δβc (t2-t1) = {(t2-t0)/( βh + t2 – t0)}0.3 - {(t1-t0)/( βh + t1 – t0)}0.3 13

Where Ac is the area of concrete cross section and U is the length of the perimeter exposed to
evaporation (in case of a box section, half of the internal perimeters should be included). The
above equations may be applicable to plain concrete. For reinforced section, the reinforcing bars
may restrain the creep deformation, hence a factor 0.8 is applied to the calculated creep factor. In
the calculation of long term creep factor, a period of ten years (3650 days) is considered
sufficient. It is noted that only the partial creep factor relevant to the calculation of moment
redistribution is the creep factor in the period of concrete age at time of connection to long term
(10 years). Since each segment is cast at different times and each segment also has variable cross
section, the partial creep factor will not be the same. The segment cast before will have smaller
partial creep factor than that cast after. Table 1 shows partial creep factors used in the analysis.
In the table, t0 is the age of concrete at the time of prestressing. It is assumed to be 2 days.
Segment 17 is the first segment casted nearest to the pier. Segment 0 is the closure segment
linking with the side cantilever.

Table 1 Partial creep factors used for calculation of moment redistribution due to creep effect.
Casted t0 t1 t2 h0 Δφ(t2, t1)
segment days days days (mm)
17 2 53 3650 502 1.032
16 2 50 3650 494 1.045
15 2 47 3650 488 1.058
14 2 44 3650 488 1.071
13 2 41 3650 475 1.087
12 2 38 3650 475 1.102
11 2 35 3650 475 1.118
10 2 32 3650 456 1.138
9 2 29 3650 456 1.156
8 2 26 3650 456 1.177
7 2 23 3650 431 1.203
6 2 20 3650 431 1.228
5 2 17 3650 431 1.256
4 2 14 3650 408 1.294
3 2 11 3650 408 1.334
2 2 8 3650 376 1.395
1 2 5 3650 376 1.471
0 2 2 3650 376 1.800

6
4. Longitudinal analysis and design of bridge super-structure
The longitudinal analysis and design of bridge superstructure consists of three parts, namely, 1.
the service limit state, 2. flexural strength (ultimate limit state) and 3. shear and torsion.

4.1 Service limit state

This check is to assure that during service the stresses occurring in the superstructure must be
within allowable limits, which according to AASHTO 1996, are set as follows,

(a) At construction stage (transfer of prestressing)

fac = 0.55 fci 14

fat = 0.625 (fci)0.5 15

(b) At service working stage

fac = 0.6 (fc)0.5 16

fat = 0.5 (fc)0.5 17

Where fac is the allowable compressive strength, fat is the allowable tensile strength, fci is
strength of concrete at transfer and fc is the strength of concrete at 28 days.

The short term prestress loss consists of elastic shortening, anchorage wedge draw-in and friction
loss. The long-term prestress loss consists of the above-mentioned short-term loss plus creep,
shrinkage and relaxation loss. Based on the calculation, it is found that the short-term loss is less
than 10% and the long-term loss is less than 20%. Hence, the stress in prestressing tendon is
assumed to be 90% and 80% of initial jacking stress for short and long-term, respectively.

The check of allowable stresses must be done for both construction stages and working stages. At
construction stages, the moment is mainly negative due to the dead weight of the bridge and the
formwork traveler. It can be computed as follows,

MSC = MG1 + MBB 18

Where MSC is the moment at the service construction stage, MG1 is the moment due to dead
weight and MBB is the moment due to formwork traveler (bridge builder) weighing 260 kN. As
for the working stage, two conditions are considered, the bridge opening stage and the long-term
stage. The bridge opening state is defined as the state just after the bridge is connected to each
other by means of bottom prestressing. At this stage, the creep redistribution has not yet taken
place. The moment can be obtained as follows,

MSO = MG1 + ΔMPS + MG2 + ML 19

7
Where MSO is the moment at the service opening stage, ΔMPS is the secondary moment due to
bottom prestressing, MG2 is moment due to superimposed dead load and ML is the moment due to
traffic load. It is noted that there is no secondary moment associated with top tendons as top
prestressings are applied when the structure is in the statical system, i.e. cantilevering state.

In the service long-term stage, the creep redistribution has taken place and the moment due to this
must be considered. The moment in the service long-term stage can be computed as,

MSL = MG1 + ΔMG1 + ΔMPS + MG2 + ML + MDS 20

Where MSL is the moment at the service long-term state, ΔMG1 is the moment redistribution due
to creep and MDS is the moment due to differential settlement of the adjacent piers. It is noted that
AASHTO does not particularly specify the moment due to differential settlement, however, the
differential settlement of 50 mm is considered in this design since the bridge is rather big and
important.

As a result of creep, the elastic modulus of concrete is decreased as a function of time. In order to
calculate the moment due to differential settlement, the elastic modulus of concrete is reduced for
both superstructure and pier by the following formula,

E∞ = Ec/(1+φ) 21

Where φ is the long-term creep factor.

As mentioned, the calculation of MG1 must follow the construction stages. Hence, it can be
computed as follows,

MG1 = MGC + MBB + MWC + MBBR + MSCF 22

Where
MGC is the moment during cantilevering construction (Fig. 3a),
MBB is the moment due to formwork traveler in the cantilever state (for concreting closure) (Fig.
3b),
MWC is the moment due to the weight of wet concrete closure (Fig. 3c),
MBBR is the moment due to the removal of formwork traveler after closure hardens (Fig. 3d),
MSCF is the moment due to 20 m concrete portion cast on temporary scaffolding (Fig. 3f)

The dead load moment at various construction stages is shown in Fig. 12. It is noticed that the
moment due to creep redistribution is negative all over the span. In effect, this will increase the
negative moment at pier and reduce positive moment at midspan. Generally, the effect of creep
should result in the decrease in the negative moment over the pier and increase in the positive
moment in the span. The opposite tendency may occur in this case if the section is overly
prestressed as in this example. It is noted that if the effect of creep redistribution is computed by
using simplified equations, equations 2, 3, for example, the opposite creep effect cannot be
obtained. So in order to obtain realistic results, the creep factor of each segment must be
considered.

8
The calculation of flexural stresses at the top and bottom fiber of the cross section can be
computed as follows (Fig. 13).

ftop = P/Ac + P e ct / I – M ct/I 23

fbot = P/Ac - P e cb / I + M cb/I 24

Where e is eccentricity of prestressing tendon, I is the gross moment of inertia. Fig. 14 and Fig.
15 show fiber stresses of the main cantilever sections and side cantilever sections, respectively,
during construction. Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 show fiber stresses of the main cantilever sections under
minimum negative moment and maximum positive moment, respectively, in the working stage.
Fig. 18 and Fig. 19 show fiber stresses of side cantilever sections under minimum negative
moment and maximum positive moment, respectively, in the working stage. It is found that the
fiber stresses during both construction period and working state are mainly compressive and little
tensile stress occur on the cross section. This indicates large prestressing force on the cross
section.

4.2 Flexural strength (Ultimate limit state)

The design for flexural strength follows the AASHTO 1996 code. The flexural strength of the
cross section is assumed to reach when the compressive strain of concrete reaches 0.003. The
design moment has to be combined using the AASHTO load factors as follows,

(a) At opening state

MU = 1.3 {(MG1 + MG2) + 1.67ML} + ΔMPS 25

(b) At long term state

MU = 1.3 {(MG1 + ΔMG1 + MG2 + ΔMDS) + 1.67ML} + ΔMPS 26

The stress in pre-stressing steel for calculating the moment capacity can be calculated as,
f*su = fsu {1-(γ*/β1)[(ρ*f′s/f′c) + (dt/d)(ρfsy/f′c)]} 27

The moment capacity can be governed by concrete crushing or yielding of prestressing bars. The
AASHTO code gives separate design moment capacity formulas for both cases. Fig. 20 and Fig.
21 show design moment and moment capacity of the main and side cantilever sections,
respectively.

4.3 Shear and torsion

The design for shear and torsion follows the AASHTO 1996 code. The design shear has to be
combined using the AASHTO load factors as follows,

(a) At opening state

VU = 1.3 {(VG1 + VG2) + 1.67VL} + ΔVPS 28

(b) At long-term state

VU = 1.3 {(VG1 + ΔVG1 + VG2 + ΔVDS) + 1.67VL} + ΔVPS 29

9
The shear capacity of the superstructure is taken by the web and the compression force in bottom
slab as follows (see Fig. 22),

VU = CU (dz/dx) + z (dCU/dx) 30

Where
CU (dz/dx) is the shear taken by bottom slab and z (dCU/dx) is shear taken by webs. For side
cantilevers (axes 2 and 4) and the 20 m abutment span cast on temporary scaffolding, the bottom
slab has horizontal profile, hence the entire shear force is carried by the webs.

According to AASHTO 1996, the shear strength provided by concrete Vc is taken as the lesser of
the values Vci or Vcw. The former is associated with flexural-shear crack and the latter with web-
shear crack. The shear strength Vci is computed by,

Vci = 0.0498 fc0.5 b′d + Vd + Vi Mcr / Mmax 31

Where Vd is the unfactored shear force due to dead load, Vi and Mmax are factored shear and
moment due to externally applied load, Mcr is the moment causing flexural crack. The shear
strength Vci need not be less than 0.142 fc0.5 b′d. The effective depth d need not be taken less than
0.8h, where h is the entire height of the section. The shear strength Vcw is computed by

Vcw = (0.29 fc0.5 + 0.3fpc)b′d + Vp 32

Where Vp is the vertical component of effective prestress force at the section and fpc is the
effective prestress at centroid of the cross-section.

As for torsion design, the ACI318-99 is adopted. According to ACI318-99, the torsion
reinforcements are not required if the ultimate design torque is less than cracking torque (TU <
φTcr/4). The value of φTcr/4 is given by the following,

φTcr/4 = 0.85 [0.083 fc0.5 (A2cp/pcp) (1 + 3fpc/fc0.5)0.5 33

Where Acp and pcp are defined as shown in Fig. 23.

For this bridge, the maximum design torsion is less than φTcr/4, so the consideration of torsion is
not needed.

The longitudinal shear at the interface between web and deck slab must be designed as shown in
Fig. 24. The shear flow (dT/dx) can be computed based on equilibrium as follows

(dT/dx) = V/z 34

Reinforcements are needed at the junction between web and deck slab. The shear-friction concept
is used to calculate the reinforcements.

As = (dT/dx) / (μφfy) 35

10
The coefficient of friction (μ) can be taken as 1.4 if the entire box is cast at the same time, and
1.0 if top slab is cast separately from the webs. The longitudinal shear transfer between web and
bottom slab must also be considered as shown in Fig. 25. From the figure, we have

Va = (CUA – CUB)/2 36

Where

CU = 0.85 f′c (b-2tw)x ; if x < t

37
= 0.85 f′c (b-2tw)t ; if x ≥ t

Where x is the depth of compression zone. The reinforcement can be designed using the shear-
friction concept as above. Fig. 26 and Fig. 27 show design shear and shear capacity of the main
and side cantilever sections, respectively.

5. Transverse analysis and design

The transverse analysis and design consists of 1. cantilever deck slab, 2. deck slab between webs
and 3. design of bottom slabs as shown in Fig. 28. In the design of cantilever deck slab and deck
slab between webs, the load consists of dead load, superimposed dead load and traffic. As for
traffic, the load of truck wheel plus impact is applied on the slab. The placement of traffic wheels
to obtain maximum effect is done using influence surface of elastic plates as shown in Figs. 29-
31. In these figures, the cross sign is the location of truck wheel. For cantilever transverse slab,
the unfactored negative moment (moment at sections A and B in Fig. 28) due to HS20-44 can be
computed as (Fig. 29),

M = 1/(8π) (72) (10.9 + 8.2) = 54.7 kNm/m 38

For deck slab between webs, partially restrained condition is considered. For hinged condition,
the positive moment at mid span (section C in Fig. 28) is obtained as (Fig. 30)

MH = 1/(8π) (72) (0.2 + 0.86 + 0.6 + 0.86 + 7.5 + 1.77 +0.27/4 + 0.8/4 + 0.6/4 ) 39
= 35.0 kNm/m

For fixed condition, the positive moment at mid span (section C in Fig. 28) is obtained as (Fig.
31)

MH = 1/(8π) (72) (0.1 + 0.1 + 5.5 + 0.40 + 0.1/4 ) 40

= 17.6 kNm/m

The average positive moment between fixed and hinge conditions is used to design positive
reinforcement for section C.

11
 6. References
1. Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges (AASHTO 1996)
2. CEB-FIP model code 1990
3. Norwegian Standard, Concrete structures Design rules NS3473E
4. J. Mathivat, The cantilever construction of prestressed concrete bridges, A Wiley-Interscience
Publication, 1979
5. ACI COMMITTEE 318, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and
Commentary (1999), American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Michigan
6. A. Pucher, Influence surface of elastic plates, Springer-Verlag 1977
7. W. Podlny and J.M. Muller, Construction and design of prestressed concrete segmental
bridges, John Wiley and Sons, 1982

12
0 1 2 3 4
C
L EXP 47.00 73.00 73.00 47.00 C
L EXP
JOINT JOINT

7.80
7.80

CL
CL
MSL
0.00

60.00 CL 60.00 CL

Fig. 1. Bridge profile and layout

5400 5400

220

200
400

360
1.5% 1.5%
250

250
R2

3000
50 50
R2
4200

2919
250
4119

2650 5500 2650

10800

Fig. 2 Cross section of box girder superstructure

13
 1 2 3

(a) Balanced cantilevering construction

1 2 3

(b) Form traveler on side cantilever for casting closure segment

1 2 3

(c) Dead weight of wet closure segment

Fig. 3 Construction stages

14
 1 2 3

(d) Removal of bridge builder

0 1 2 3 4

Temp. Scaffolding

(e) Secondary moment due to bottom prestressing

0 1 2 3 4

20.05 20.05

(f) After releasing temp. scaffolding, weight of abutment span is supported by continuous structure

Fig. 3 Construction stages

15
0 1 2 3 4

Full bridge –computer model

N
L
Main cantilever – computer model M

Side cantilever – computer model

Fig. 4 computer model

16
 N
L

For calculating IL and IN For calculating IM

Fig. 5 Geometrical section used for calculating moment of inertia

HS20-44 36 kN 144 kN 144 kN

0.8W

0.8W
0.2W

4.2 m 4.2 – 9.0 m

0.1W 0.4W 0.4W

0.1W 0.4W 0.4W

Fig. 6a Standard AASHTO truck load

17
 P = 82.0 kN (for moment calculation)
= 116.0 kN (for shear calculation)

w = 9.53 kN/m

Fig. 6b Standard AASHTO lane load

0.9 m 3.0 m

Fig. 9 Torsion is caused by eccentric of lane load on girder

18
0 1 2 3 4
0.5L

Load cases to obtain maximum positive moment

0.4L 0.4L

Load cases to obtain maximum negative moment over pier 1, 3

0.4L 0.4L

Load cases to obtain maximum negative moment over pier 2

Fig. 7 Load cases to obtain maximum moment (positive span moment and negative support moments)

19
0 1 2 3 4

Load case to obtain maximum shear at abutment

Load case to obtain maximum shear at pier 1

Load case to obtain maximum shear at pier 2

Fig. 8 Load cases to obtain maximum shear

20
 TOT. 38 TENDONS

2
2
2
2
2
2
TOT. 20 TENDONS 2 TOT. 20 TENDONS
2
2 2 2
2 4 2
2 2 2
2 4 2
2 2 2
2 2 2
4 2 4
2 2 2
2 2 2
0 1 2 3 4
46550 73000 73000 46550
19200 1500 9@2500 8000 9@2500 1500 11@2500 6@2000 11000 6@2000 11@2500 1500 9@2500 8000 9@2500 1500 19200

CLOSURE CLOSURE CLOSURE CLOSURE

5000 5000 POUR POUR POUR POUR 5000 5000
4 4 4 4
4 4 PRESTRESSING LAYOUT 4 4
2 4 4 2
2 4 4 2
TOT. 12 TENDONS TOT. 16 TENDONS TOT. 16 TENDONS TOT. 12 TENDONS

Fig. 10 Longitudinal prestressing layout

21
 BRIDGE
CL

TRANSVERSE
TENDON @ 0.50 m

Fig. 11 Transverse prestressing layout

22
1 2 3

182.7 MNm

57.1 MNm

(a) Dead load: cantilever construction

6.8 MNm

(b) Formwork traveler

5.2 MNm
3.4 MNm

(c) Wet closure

Fig. 12 Moment at various construction stages

23
0 1 2 3 4
-2.9 MNm

4.3 MNm

(d) Removal of formwork traveler

-7.27 MNm

17.74 MNm
(e) 20 m abutment span cast on scaffolding

34.5 MNm

(f) Bottom prestressing

Fig. 12 Moment at various construction stages

24
0 1 2 3 4

(g) Superimposed dead load (Asphalt pavement, barrier etc.)

-3.14 MNm

(h) Creep redistribution

Fig. 12 Moment at various stages

25
 e ct
CG

e cb

Fig. 13 Calculation of top and bottom fiber stresses of the cross section

Symm.
Pier axis 2 Location (m)
0 10 20 30 40 50
0.00

Top fiber stress

-5.00

-10.00
Bottom fiber stress

-15.00
Allowable compres. strength = -19.3 MPa
-20.00

Stress (MPa)
Fig. 14 Fiber stresses of main cantilever section during construction

26
 Symm.

Pier axis 1, 3 Location (m)

5 10 15 20 25 30
0.00
Top fiber stress

-5.00

-10.00 Bottom fiber stress

-15.00

Allowable compres. strength = -19.3 MPa

-20.00

Stress (MPa)
Fig. 15 Fiber stresses of side cantilever sections during construction

Symm.

Pier axis 13 Location (m)

0 10 20 30 40 50
5.00

0.00
Top fiber stress
-5.00

-10.00
Bottom fiber stress
-15.00
Allowable compres. strength = -19.3 MPa
-20.00
Stress (MPa)
Fig. 16 Fiber stresses of main cantilever sections under minimum negative moment,
working state

27
 Symm.

Pier axis 13 Location (m)

0 10 20 30 40 50
0.00
Bottom fiber stress
-5.00

-10.00 Top fiber stress

-15.00

Allowable compres. strength = -19.3 MPa

-20.00
Stress (MPa)
Fig. 17 Fiber stresses of main cantilever sections under maximum positive moment, working
state

Pier axis 1, 3 Location (m)

-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
0

-5
Top fiber stress

-10 Bottom fiber stress

-15

Allowable compres. strength = -19.3 MPa

-20
Stress (MPa)
Fig. 18 Fiber stresses of side cantilever sections under minimum negative moment, working state

28
 Pier axis 1, 3 Location (m)
30 20 10 0 10 20 30
5
Bottom fiber stress
0

10
Top fiber stress

15
Allowable compres. strength = -19.3 MPa
20
Stress (MPa)
Fig. 19 Fiber stresses of side cantilever sections under maximum positive moment, working state

Symm. Pier axis 2

200
Positive moment capacity
100
Positive moment
0

-100 Negative moment

-200

-300
Negative moment capacity
-400

-500
0 10 20 30 40 50
Moment (MNm) Location (m)
Fig. 20 Moment and moment capacity of main cantilever sections, ultimate state

29
 Pier axis 1, 3
200
Positive moment capacity

100
Positive moment

0 Negative moment

-100
Negative moment capacity

-200
30 20 10 0 10 20 30
Moment (MNm) Location (m)
Fig. 21 Moment and moment capacity of side cantilever sections, ultimate state

dx

Tu+ dTu Tu

Mvu Z
Z +dZ Mvu+ dMvu Vu +dVu
Vu Cu

Cu+ dCu

Fig. 22 Equilibrium of a segment with inclined bottom slab

Pcp

Acp

Fig. 23 Definition of Acp and pcp

30
 a a

dx

T+ dT T

Z M
M+ dM V+dV
V C
C+ dC

1
2

Fig. 24 Longitudinal shear at web/deck slab interface

CUA

a a ΔL
Va
Va
x t
tw a a tw

CUB

Fig. 25 Longitudinal shear at web/bottom slab interface

31
 Pier axis 2
30
25
20

15
Vtot
10
Vs
5 Vu
Vc
0
-5
0 10 20 30 40 50
Moment (MNm) Location (m)
Fig. 26 Shear and shear capacity of main cantilever sections, ultimate state

Pier axis 1, 3
20

Vtot
15

Vu
10
Vs
5 Vc

0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
Moment (MNm) Location (m)
Fig. 27 Shear and shear capacity of side cantilever sections, ultimate state

32
 CANTILEVER PART
A B

0.25

2.45 m

Fig. 28 Transverse analysis

33
 x

y
72 kN
-0.1
-0.2 -0.2 -0.1
-0.5 -0.5
-1 -1
2.45 m

-2 -3 -2
-4 -3
-5 -5
-6 -4
-7 -6
-7
-8 -8
-9

-10
72 kN
-11

-11.68

Fig. 29 Moment for cantilever transverse slab

34
 x

72 kN
72 kN
18 kN
4.70 m

1.22 m
72 kN 72 kN
87
6 5
18 kN y
4
3

1.83 m
2

1 0.8
72 kN 0.6 0.4
0.2
72 kN
18 kN

Fig. 30 Moment due to traffic wheel on deck slab between web obtained for hinged condition

35
 x

72 kN

72 kN 18 kN

1.22 m
4.70 m

72 kN
65
72 kN 4 18 kN y
3
2

1.83 m
1 0.4
0.8 0.6
0.2

0.1
72 kN 72 kN 18 kN

Fig. 31 Moment due to traffic wheel on deck slab between web obtained for fixed condition

36