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Physical and numerical investigation of integral bridge abutment stiffness due to seasonal thermal loading

Physical and numerical investigation of integral bridge abutment stiffness due to seasonal thermal loading
Physical and numerical investigation of integral bridge abutment stiffness due to seasonal thermal loading
Integral Abutment Bridges (IABs) are increasingly popular due to their reduced maintenance cost compared to traditional bridges with expansion joints. However, the widespread construction of IABs is currently limited by design code prescriptions resulting from the significant uncertainties associated with how the backfill interacts with the (integral) abutment and the deck. Under cycles of seasonal thermal loading, the backfill properties change, affecting the distribution of lateral earth pressures acting on the abutment walls. Moreover, the stiffness of the abutment can significantly influence the soil-structure interaction (SSI) in IABs. This research work investigates the effect of abutment stiffness (flexural rigidity) on soil structure interaction in IABs under seasonal thermal loading through experimental analyses and numerical modelling. To better understand this mechanism and reliably assess the performance of IABs within their life cycle, a 1g small-scale instrumented physical model was built to simulate the backfill under accelerated seasonal expansion and contraction of the bridge deck. The experimental results were modelled numerically in PLAXIS and ABAQUS to assess the sensitivity to different flexural stiffnesses of the abutment and discuss suitable options for modelling such SSI systems through finite elements either using a geotechnical-oriented or a structural-oriented software package. It was found that flexible IABs can be more suitable for controlling earth pressure built-up within the early lifecycle of the soil-structure systems. The simplified numerical models can provide a first-order prediction of pressure distributions in the small-scale 1-g rig. This preliminary dataset informs necessary larger-scale experiments to assess the scaling and feasibility of 1-g tests.
flexural rigidity, integral bridges, lateral earth pressure, soil-structure interaction, thermal loading, Lateral earth pressure, Soil-structure interaction, Flexural rigidity, Integral bridges, Thermal loading
2214-3912
Luo, Sha
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Huang, Ziyan
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Asia, Yazan
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De Luca, Flavia
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De Risi, Raffaele
27e0eae9-9fe6-4162-a991-24badb2e5384
Harkness, John
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Le Pen, Louis
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Watson, Geoff
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Milne, David
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Chapman, David
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Sextos, Anastasios
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Metje, Nicole
de17d374-f685-4543-9d93-5317766d585a
Mylonakis, George
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Cassidy, Nigel
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Jefferson, Ian
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Smethurst, Joel
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Richards, David
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Taylor, Colin A.
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Powrie, William
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Rogers, Christopher
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Luo, Sha
60fce32d-9fac-45c0-8da7-05ef349fd0e8
Huang, Ziyan
5a1176a2-0fcb-49a5-b0f3-e7d5282fe073
Asia, Yazan
6a484b77-0815-4415-a2f3-98e0ca9f8368
De Luca, Flavia
64d67709-718c-453f-9b45-a109e1bbd805
De Risi, Raffaele
27e0eae9-9fe6-4162-a991-24badb2e5384
Harkness, John
026f02e8-41d9-403f-83be-0d880058ecf1
Le Pen, Louis
d9ad2fff-0b60-46aa-bb38-c656f5dee053
Watson, Geoff
a7b86a0a-9a2c-44d2-99ed-a6c02b2a356d
Milne, David
6b321a45-c19a-4243-b562-517a69e5affc
Chapman, David
c6f512cd-e1ec-4876-acd1-a025c113270e
Sextos, Anastasios
b97ee386-00d0-4aa5-b0e3-6f2a9a7a730d
Metje, Nicole
de17d374-f685-4543-9d93-5317766d585a
Mylonakis, George
8aa37314-d7c9-4962-bcc3-9a0ce1c4537b
Cassidy, Nigel
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Jefferson, Ian
50a39a21-ddb3-48ee-833f-797f7fd69db3
Smethurst, Joel
8f30880b-af07-4cc5-a0fe-a73f3dc30ab5
Richards, David
a58ea81e-443d-4dab-8d97-55d76a43d57e
Taylor, Colin A.
abe67edc-d1fe-440a-b52a-c51c661892a4
Powrie, William
600c3f02-00f8-4486-ae4b-b4fc8ec77c3c
Rogers, Christopher
f13efa08-72fa-4f29-afc2-3de64c6c691f

Luo, Sha, Huang, Ziyan, Asia, Yazan, De Luca, Flavia, De Risi, Raffaele, Harkness, John, Le Pen, Louis, Watson, Geoff, Milne, David, Chapman, David, Sextos, Anastasios, Metje, Nicole, Mylonakis, George, Cassidy, Nigel, Jefferson, Ian, Smethurst, Joel, Richards, David, Taylor, Colin A., Powrie, William and Rogers, Christopher (2023) Physical and numerical investigation of integral bridge abutment stiffness due to seasonal thermal loading. Transportation Geotechnics, 42, [101064]. (doi:10.1016/j.trgeo.2023.101064).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Integral Abutment Bridges (IABs) are increasingly popular due to their reduced maintenance cost compared to traditional bridges with expansion joints. However, the widespread construction of IABs is currently limited by design code prescriptions resulting from the significant uncertainties associated with how the backfill interacts with the (integral) abutment and the deck. Under cycles of seasonal thermal loading, the backfill properties change, affecting the distribution of lateral earth pressures acting on the abutment walls. Moreover, the stiffness of the abutment can significantly influence the soil-structure interaction (SSI) in IABs. This research work investigates the effect of abutment stiffness (flexural rigidity) on soil structure interaction in IABs under seasonal thermal loading through experimental analyses and numerical modelling. To better understand this mechanism and reliably assess the performance of IABs within their life cycle, a 1g small-scale instrumented physical model was built to simulate the backfill under accelerated seasonal expansion and contraction of the bridge deck. The experimental results were modelled numerically in PLAXIS and ABAQUS to assess the sensitivity to different flexural stiffnesses of the abutment and discuss suitable options for modelling such SSI systems through finite elements either using a geotechnical-oriented or a structural-oriented software package. It was found that flexible IABs can be more suitable for controlling earth pressure built-up within the early lifecycle of the soil-structure systems. The simplified numerical models can provide a first-order prediction of pressure distributions in the small-scale 1-g rig. This preliminary dataset informs necessary larger-scale experiments to assess the scaling and feasibility of 1-g tests.

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Accepted/In Press date: 16 July 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 July 2023
Published date: September 2023
Additional Information: Funding Information: UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC)–Priming Laboratory EXperiments on Infrastructure and Urban Systems (PLEXUS) was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant number EP/R013535/1, while the Coordination Node for UKCRIC was funded under grant number EP/R017727/1. This funding is gratefully acknowledged, as is the broader thinking on infrastructure systems provided by our UKCRIC colleagues. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors
Keywords: flexural rigidity, integral bridges, lateral earth pressure, soil-structure interaction, thermal loading, Lateral earth pressure, Soil-structure interaction, Flexural rigidity, Integral bridges, Thermal loading

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 480515
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/480515
ISSN: 2214-3912
PURE UUID: ec02f4fd-8f28-4433-ac6d-f799fea1833f
ORCID for John Harkness: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0908-0791
ORCID for Geoff Watson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3074-5196
ORCID for David Milne: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6702-3918
ORCID for Joel Smethurst: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8175-985X
ORCID for William Powrie: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2271-0826

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 03 Aug 2023 17:21
Last modified: 12 Aug 2024 01:36

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Contributors

Author: Sha Luo
Author: Ziyan Huang
Author: Yazan Asia
Author: Flavia De Luca
Author: Raffaele De Risi
Author: John Harkness ORCID iD
Author: Louis Le Pen
Author: Geoff Watson ORCID iD
Author: David Milne ORCID iD
Author: David Chapman
Author: Anastasios Sextos
Author: Nicole Metje
Author: George Mylonakis
Author: Nigel Cassidy
Author: Ian Jefferson
Author: Joel Smethurst ORCID iD
Author: David Richards
Author: Colin A. Taylor
Author: William Powrie ORCID iD
Author: Christopher Rogers

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