Behavior and Analysis of an Instrumented Slab Bridge

Abstract

Because of quick construction and cost effectiveness, adjacent precast, prestressed box girder bridges have been used nowadays more often for short-span bridges, and the standardization of this modular bridge is highly desired. Maryland intends to revise its current practice of using tie-rods for the transverse post-tensioning in slab bridge design. The new design of using high strength rods will provide a more tightly integrated modular slab bridge system with higher post-tensioning forces. With the new design, the Maryland State Highway Administration is highly interested in the performance of the new design, especially compared with the old design. This thesis presents the procedure of test, live load test results and analysis results in association with the finite-element model simulated in a newly-built bridge.