Structural design issues for integral abutment bridges

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Traditional bridge design makes use of expansion joints in conjunction with expansion bearings to accommodate superstructure movements. However, leaking expansion joints and frozen bearings are major maintenance issues. As a result, considerable interest in integral abutment (jointless) bridges has increased in Canada and USA in the past few decades. A literature search indicates that there are very limited research studies on the economical design and evaluation of the superstructure of integral bridges when subject to environmental and truck loading condition. As such, the aim of the proposed research is to contribute to the efficient design of integral bridges by developing experimentally calibrated, computer based, analytical models capable of predicting accurately their response when subjected to construction, service, and ultimate loading conditions as well as seismic excitations. It is expected that the proposed research will provide data for the design and evaluation of integral bridges in the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code. Specifically, the results will lead to: (i) valuable information to advance the state-of-the-art of the structural behavior of integral abutment bridges and enrich CHBDC Chapter 5 on Analysis of Bridge Superstructure; (ii) increasing awareness on some important issues that arise during construction, as well as repair, of these bridges, leading to significant cost savings; and (iii) reliable simplified evaluation method to existing integral bridges under ultimate load condition since a small increase in strength for live load can make the difference between closing a bridge and leaving it open. This research project will train young engineers to gain a thorough understanding of this complex bridge system, and after some practical experience, will be able to contribute to Canadian Transportation infrastructure.