VERIFICATION OF PRECAST CONCRETE GIRDER BRIDGE UNDER STATIC LOAD

Abstract

Large-scale construction of transport infrastructure inevitably includes the construction of new bridges. During the design process, many assumptions and simplifications are taken into account. Therefore, the verification of the structural response of new bridges is necessary. One of the possible tests of structural response is a proof-load test which can detect certain problems of investigated structures. The paper introduces numerical and experimental analysis of the new bridge, which is located on Slovak Highway D1, section Hricovske Podhradie – Lietavska Lucka. The verified bridge is a four-span continuous structure with a total length of 129.4 m. The bridge is a representative of typical precast girder bridges adopted for construction of Slovak highways. The superstructure consists of eight post-tensioned precast I-beams. During a load test, predicted structural response was verified to check for any unusual behaviour. Finally, recorded data was summarised and report was distributed to all subcontractors and bridge owner. This information may help in further bridge management program.