Structural performance analysis of a reinforced concrete arch bridge

An investigation has been undertaken to study the temperature load characteristics of a three span continuous arch bridge. The bridge structure studied is the Plaza Bridge, an old reinforced concrete arch bridge which has recently been rehabilitated as part of the rehabilitation project, a monitoring system has been installed on the bridge to obtain information about the behavior and performance of the bridge. A brief description of the monitoring system is presented in the thesis. Detailed parametric studies have been conducted to find the influence of the temperature and truck loading on the performance of the bridge.; A two-dimensional analytical tool has been developed to simulate the non-linear inelastic behavior of reinforced concrete structures. A special procedure is formulated to evaluate the effect of air temperature changes on the deformation behavior of the bridge. The developed two-dimensional analytical tool is used to evaluate the exact load distribution and deformation characteristics of the bridge over the entire loading range up to the point of failure under the temperature and truck loading.; The analysis results show that the bridge behaves linearly under the maximum recorded temperature as well as the maximum design temperature in the summer as specified in the bridge design code. Under the combined loading condition of truckloads and low temperature in winter, it is found that the bridge deformations may exceed the elastic limit into the nonlinear range. Although the results show that some reinforcing steel may yield, the bridge still remains below the ultimate load carrying capacity.