Structural analysis of a prestressed segmented girder using contact elements in ANSYS

Studying the structural behavior of prestressed segmented girders is quite important due to the large use this type of solution in viaducts and bridges. Thus, this work presents a nonlinear three-dimensional structural analysis of an externally prestressed segmented concrete girder through the Finite Element Method (FEM), using a customized ANSYS platform, version 14.5. Aiming the minimization of the computational effort by using the lowest number of finite elements, a new viscoelastoplastic material model has been implemented for the structural concrete with the UPF customization tool of ANSYS, adding new subroutines, written in FORTRAN programming language, to the main program. This model takes into consideration the cracking of concrete in its formulation, being based on fib Model Code 2010, which uses Ottosen rupture surface as the rupture criterion. By implementing this new material model, it was possible to use the three-dimensional 20-node quadratic element SOLID186 to model the concrete. Upon validation of the model, an externally prestressed segmented box concrete girder that was originally lab tested by Aparicio et al. (2002) has been computationally simulated. In the discretization of the structure, in addition to element SOLID186 for the concrete, unidimensional element LINK180 has been used to model the prestressing tendons, as well as contact elements CONTA174 and TARGE170 to simulate the dry joints along the segmented girder. Stresses in the concrete and in the prestressing tendons are assessed, as well as joint openings and load versus deflection diagrams. A comparison between numerical and experimental data is also presented, showing a good agreement.