Study on steel box girder bridges partly stiffened by CFT arch ribs

A new type of arch girder bridge, steel box girders partly stiffened by arch ribs, is proposed and the structural characteristic is studied. Arch ribs are concrete filled steel tubes (CFT) which have high resistance against compression and bending. A parametric study is carried out for the arch girder bridge with different ratios of arch span length to arch rise. Bending moment and tensile forces of the girder are largest with the shortest arch span and decrease as the arch span becomes longer. On the other hand bending moments of the girder do not significantly depend on the arch rise. Bending moments and compressive forces of the arch rib have the same tendency as the girder. Safety of the structural members is verified by the limit state design method considering non-linear stress versus strain relations of steel and concrete. Large deformation elastic–plastic analysis is conducted for the basic case of the proposed bridge to clarify the global buckling strength. Three inclined angles of the arch rib plane are assumed as initial imperfections. The larger initial imperfection decreases the lateral torsional buckling strength. Estimated construction cost of the arch girder bridge with steel pipes without concrete filling is 9% higher than that of the basic CFT arch girder case. The pure CFT arch bridge is the most economical and 23% lower than the basic case. However, as the arch rise of this pure arch bridge is higher, its esthetics may be inferior and it also restricts the available aerial space. This study shows that the proposed bridge has sufficient resistance against bending, compression, global buckling and is considered feasible.

► New type of bridge, steel box girders partly stiffened by CFT arch ribs, is proposed.
► Girder bending moment decreases with arch span but does not depend on arch rise.
► Large deformation elastic–plastic analysis was carried out.
► It shows that initial imperfection decreases lateral torsional buckling strength.
► Estimated construction cost of CFT arch girder is lower than pipe arch girder by 9%.