Response of a continuous, skewed, steel bridge during deck placement

An investigation was conducted to study environmental, material and deck placement effects on the behavior of a continuous, skewed, High Performance Steel (HPS), integral abutment bridge during construction using field data and three-dimensional finite element models. The finite element models were calibrated against girder strain measurements recorded during deck placement. During calibration, the effects of temperature changes during deck placement were clearly evident and were shown to have a significant effect on the accuracy of the finite element results. Effects from hardening of the concrete deck as the pour progressed were shown to be less evident. A calibrated model was used to compare stress variations and deflections of the two outer girders when concrete was placed (1) perpendicular to the girders and (2) parallel to the skew. The influence of various parameters on numerical model results was postulated and a deck placement method was recommended.