SOIL/STRUCTURE INTERACTION OF INTEGRAL BRIDGE WITH FULL HEIGHT ABUTMENTS

Abstract eng:
The behaviour of integral bridges with full height abutments is dominated by the cyclical (daily and seasonal) temperature changes in the bridge deck and the resulting imposition of cyclical horizontal displacements to the backfill soil of the abutments. It is known that the lateral earth pressures over the back of the abutments escalate to values considerably in excess of those at the time the structure entered service. However, the upper limits of the stress escalation and distribution are not known. The paper describes the experimental investigation on this problem. Results are presented to indicate that two distinct mechanisms are responsible namely Granular Flow and Granular Arch. The thermal length change of the bridge deck dictates which mechanism dominates this stress behaviour. The Flow mechanism relates dominantly to the large wall rotations and the Arch mechanism relates dominantly to small wall rotations.

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