Effect of the Vertical Stiffness of Elastomeric Bearings on Support Reactions in Skew Bridges

탄성받침의 수직강성이 사교 지점 반력에 미치는 효과

Bearings at the obtuse corner are subjected to much larger vertical reactions than other bearings because of the geometric shape of skew bridges. The current relevant specifications require that additional bars should be disposed at the bottom of concrete deck slabs to deal with the large vertical reaction on bearings at the obtuse corner. In this study, new methods of reducing the magnitude of the vertical reaction on bearings at the obtuse corner by the stiffness adjustment of bearings were proposed. The basic concept of proposed methods was to redistribute support reactions by reducing the vertical stiffness of bearings at the obtuse corner showing a relatively large vertical reaction. For 45 simply supported skew bridges designed according to the current relevant specifications, the redistribution effect of vertical reactions by the stiffness adjustment of bearings was investigated. Parameters such as skew angle, girder spacing, and deck aspect ratio that affect the distribution of support reactions were considered. The results of the analyses show that the magnitude of the vertical reaction on bearings at the obtuse corner can be reduced to the levels of straight bridges by replacing the existing bearings at the obtuse corner with new ones having the value of 1/10 or 1/20 of the vertical stiffness of the existing bearings. The reduction effect of the vertical reaction on bearings at the obtuse corner increases as the girder spacing decreases and it is more pronounced when the deck aspect ratio is 2.0.