• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.219-229
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• 2003

The objective of this work is to verify the Code specified girder distribution factors for short and medium span bridges. To accomplish this objective, field tests were carried out on seventeen simply supported highway bridges. This paper presents the procedure and results of field tests that were performed to verify girder distribution factors. Finite Element analyses previously performed at the University of Michigan indicated that in most cases currently used girder distribution factors specified in AASHTO Codes are too conservative. However, these studies also showed that for short spans and short girder spacings, the girder distribution factors can be too permissive. Therefore, this paper focused on experimental evaluation of girder distribution factors for short and medium span steel girder bridges. The results were compared with the distribution factors specified by AASHTO Standard (2000) and AASHTO LRFD Code (1998). It has been found that the measured girder distribution factors are lower than AASHTO values in most cases, and sometimes the code specified values are overly conservative. The research work involved formulation of the testing procedure, selection of structure, installation of equipment, measurements, and interpretation of the results.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.455-460
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• 2001

Generally, the contribution of curbs and median strip is not considered carefully in analysing and designing the girder bridges. There being curbs, the load given on interior girder relatively reduced and on exterior girder increased. Curbs and median strip reduce the load distribution factor by distributing the load given on girder fairly, In this paper, the Influence of curbs and median strip in wheel distribution through parameter study and lateral distribution test of PSC girder bridge was investigated. Finite-element analysis was performed with parameterizing the flexural rigidity of the girder, span length, girder spacing, median strip, curbs. The influence of curbs and median strip would increase with lowering rigidity of girder. In addition, curbs lower the load distribution factor of exterior and interior girders.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.151-160
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• 2005

Current bridge design codes do not clearly specify the girder distribution factors for continuous bridges. The objective of the paper is to validate the use of code-specified girder distribution factors for the continuous steel girder bridges, and to provide a basis for recommended girder distribution factors (GDF) for interior girders, suitable for evaluation of existing continuous steel girder bridges. This paper presents the procedure and results of 3-dimensional finite element analysis that were performed on five of continuous steel girder bridges to verify girder distribution factors. The analysis results showed that the live load moment distribution at the negative moment region is very similar to those at the positive moment region in continuous steel girder bridges. It was also found that the GDF's based on the strain values are similar to those based on the deflection. GDF's based on the deflection show marginally better distribution. The analysis results confirmed that the code specified GDF's for continuous steel girder birdges are very conservative.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.16 no.5 s.83
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• pp.709-717
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• 2004

The existing AASHTO Standard Specification have some inadequacies in expressing wheel load distribution of bridge which has specific shape of curved bridge instead of straight bridge. Thus, this research presented the finite element analysis and modelling technique of prestressed concrete girder bridge having curved slab and the expression of wheel load distribution was suggested as the ratio of bending moment utilizing the result of finite element analysis of prestressed concrete girder bridge having cowed slab. The considered parameter of girder distribution expression is the curvature of slab, span length, girder space, cross beam space and number of lanes. Though the suggested girder distribution expression is generally underestimated below AASHTO Standard Specification, once the curvature of slab increases, the suggested expression gets larger than AASHTO LRFD Standard Specification.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.157-166
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to examine the accuracy of the code provisions on lateral load distribution factors of prestressed concrete girder bridges. Most designers in Korea use the lever method or lateral load distribution formula in the existing design codes. However, the methods do not account for the effect of bridge skew or direction of diaphragm. Therefore, this study analysed the prestressed concrete girder bridge with grillage model for various girder spacings, directions of diaphragms, span lengths, and skews, and compared the results with those of existing design code. It has been found that lateral load distribution factors were proportional to the girder spacing while they were not significantly affected by the change of span length, direction of diaphragm, and skew. For bending moments, lateral load distribution factors from the grillage analysis were 60%~68% of those from Korean bridge design code. Therefore, the code provisions result in very conservative design. For support reactions, however, lateral load distribution factors from the grillage analysis were slightly greater than those from Korean bridge design code. Therefore, the capacity of bearings of the bridge with a large skew should be determined by grillage analysis.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.288-293
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• 2008

The standard prestressed concrete I-girder bridge (PSC I-girder bridge) is one of the most prevalent types for small and medium bridges in Korea. When determining the member forces in a section to assess the safety of girder in this type of bridge, the general practice is to use the simplified practical equations or the live load distribution factors proposed in design standards rather than the precise analysis through the finite element method or so. Meanwhile, the live load distribution factors currently used in Korean design practice are just a reflection of overseas research results or design standards without alterations. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an equation of the live load distribution factors fit for the design conditions of Korea, considering the standardized section of standard PSC I-girder bridges and the design strength of concrete. In this study, to develop an equation of the live load distribution factors, a parametric analysis and sensitivity analysis were carried out on the parameters such as width of bridge, span length, girder spacing, width of traffic lane, etc. Then, an equation of live load distribution factors was developed through the multiple linear regression analysis on the results of parametric analysis. When the actual practice engineers design a bridge with the equation of live load distribution factors developed here, they will determine the design of member forces ensuring the appropriate safety rate more easily. Moreover, in the preliminary design, this model is expected to save much time for the repetitive design to improve the structural efficiency of PSC I-girder bridges.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.109-125
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• 2014

The force transfer mechanism in positive moment continuity details for prestressed concrete girder bridges is investigated in this paper using a three-dimensional detailed finite element model. Positive moment reinforcement in the form of hairpin bars as recommended by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report No 519 is incorporated in the model. The cold construction joint that develops at the interface between girder ends and continuity diaphragms is also simulated via contact elements. The model is then subjected to the positive moment and corresponding shear forces that would develop over the service life of the bridge. The stress distribution in the continuity diaphragm and the axial force distribution in the hairpin bars are presented. It was found that due to the asymmetric configuration of the hairpin bars, asymmetric stress distribution develops at the continuity diaphragm, which can be exacerbated by other asymmetric factors such as skewed bridge configurations. It was also observed that when the joint is subjected to a positive moment, the tensile force is transferred from the girder end to the continuity diaphragm only through the hairpin bars due to the lack of contact between the both members at the construction joint. As a result, the stress distribution at girder ends was found to be concentrated around the hairpin bars influence area, rather than be resisted by the entire girder composite section. Finally, the results are used to develop an approach for estimating the cracking moment capacity at girder ends based on a proposed effective moment of inertia.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2018

A new I-girder consisted of top concrete-filled tubular flange and corrugated web has been proved to have high resistance to both global buckling of the entire girder and local buckling of the web. This study carries out theoretical analysis and experimental tests for this new I-girder to investigate the stress distribution in the flanges and in the corrugated web. Based on some reasonable assumptions, theoretical equations for calculating the normal stress in the flanges and the shear stress in the corrugated web are presented. To verify the accuracy of the presented equations, experimental tests on two specimens were carried out, and the experimental results of stress distribution were used to assess the theoretical prediction. Comparison between the two results indicates that the presented theoretical equations have enough accuracy for calculating the stress in the new I-girder, and thus they can be used reliably in the design stage.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.6A
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• pp.587-596
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• 2009

This study analyzes the lateral distribution behavior of external post-tensioning force and evaluates the possibility of strengthening the servicing composite girder bridge by adopting the external post-tensioning force to the parts of the bridge girder. From the results of experiments and analyses, it is founded that the composite girder bridge can be strengthened by applying the external post-tensioning force to the parts of the bridge girder. It is also proved that bracing improve the lateral distribution behavior of post-tensioning force. The lateral distribution behavior of post-tensioning force which influenced by stiffness ratio, girder spacing and span length is changed by the bridge type and the location of tensioned girder. From the results of analyses, set up an equation which can predict the lateral distribution behavior of external post-tensioning force and evaluate the rationality.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.237-249
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• 2016

There are constraints on truck weight, axle configurations and size imposed by departments of transportation around the globe due to structural capacity limitations of highway pavements and bridges. In spite of that, freight movers demand some vehicles that surpass the maximum size and legal weight limits to use the transportation network. Oversized trucks serve the purpose of spreading the load on the bridge; thus, reducing the load effect on the superstructure. For such vehicles, often a quick structural analysis of the existing bridges along the traveled route is needed to ensure that the structural capacity is not exceeded. For a wide vehicle having wheel gage larger than the standard 1830 mm, the girder distribution factors in the design specifications cannot be directly used to estimate the live load in the supporting girders. In this study, a simple approach that is based on finite element analysis is developed by modifying the AASHTO LRFD's girder distribution factors for slab-on-steel-girder bridges to overcome this problem. The proposed factors allow for determining the oversized vehicle bending moment and shear force effect in the individual girders as a function of the gage width characteristics. Findings of the study showed that the relationship between the girder distribution factor and gage width is more nonlinear in shear than in flexure. The proposed factors yield reasonable results compared with the finite element analysis with adequate level of conservatism.