Browsing by Author "French, Catherine E."
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Article Citation Count: 2Experimental Determination of Resistance Characteristics of Support Details Used in Prestressed Concrete Bridge Girders(Asce-amer Soc Civil Engineers, 2009) Baran, Eray; Rohne, Ryan; French, Catherine E.; Schultz, Arturo E.; Department of Civil EngineeringStatic load tests were performed on support details used at the ends of prestressed concrete pedestrian bridge girders to determine the resistance characteristics of girder supports in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the girders. The specimens tested represent support details that have also been widely used in prestressed concrete highway bridges in Minnesota and in other states. Two specimens, one representing the free-end detail and one representing the restrained-end detail were subjected to a combination of vertical and lateral loads. The applied loading was intended to simulate the loading conditions to which the girder ends would be subjected in the event of an over-height vehicle collision with the bridge. The tests revealed two types of lateral load resisting mechanisms depending on the type of support detail. The specimen with the free-end detail resisted the lateral loading through sliding friction between the components of the support assembly. Deformation of this specimen was a combination of shear deformation of the bearing pad and sliding of various support components. The restrained-end detail exhibited larger lateral load capacity than the free-end detail due to the resistance provided by the anchor rods that were intended to prevent the lateral movement of the girder ends. Failure of the specimen with restrained-end detail was due to the concrete breakout and bending of the anchor rods.Article Citation Count: 3Performance of a Prestressed Concrete Pedestrian Bridge System under Equivalent Static Lateral Impact Loads(Asce-amer Soc Civil Engineers, 2013) Baran, Eray; Schultz, Arturo E.; French, Catherine E.; Department of Civil EngineeringThe resistance of prestressed concrete through-girder (PCTG) pedestrian bridges to lateral loads was studied in response to the increasing number of vehicular impacts in the United States. This research was motivated by the lack of reported studies analyzing the behavior of such bridges to lateral impact loads, as well as their potential vulnerability in comparison with bridges that are better able to redistribute and transfer locally applied impact loads through alternate load paths. Pedestrian bridges are of lighter construction than highway bridges and they do not have the high degree of redundancy, making them more vulnerable to collapse in the event of vehicular impact. Results from static lateral load analyses using three-dimensional, geometrically nonlinear, full-scale finite element (FE) models of a typical bridge system and bridge subassemblages were used to evaluate the characteristics of the system. The FE models were calibrated with experimental test data on typical subassemblages and connection details for PCTG bridges. Results of the experimental part of the program have already been published elsewhere. This paper summarizes the observations obtained from nonlinear static FE analyses of a PCTG pedestrian bridge system subjected to lateral impact loads. The analyses indicated that the location of impact, the type of connector, and the flexibility of the end support details affected bridge performance. Improved connection details are suggested for enhanced PCTG pedestrian bridge performance.