Modeling of Post-Tensioned Segmental

Box Girders
Cast Study Calgary West LRT
Neon Koon, P.Eng.
July 12 2012

Overview

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Case Study Calgary West LRT
Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process
Conclusion

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

What Are Segmental Concrete Bridges?

Built in short pieces of concrete sections, one piece at a time
The concrete segments can be cast-in-place or precast
Large size cranes, referred to as gantry, are typically used to
erect the precast segments or slip forms are used to produce
cast-in-place concrete
The segments are joined together by applying a high
compressive force from high strength bundled wires, referred
to as strands

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

What Are Segmental Concrete Bridges?

Precast segment at batch plant

19-strand tendon

Segments being erected using gantry

Tendon stressing in operation

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Issues To Be Considered in Segmental Bridge

Construction

Span length
Project size
Site restrictions
Local labor and material costs
Aesthetic/Appearance
Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC)
Construction Methods and Continuing Engineering Services
During Construction

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Various Types of Segmental Bridge Construction

Span-by-Span
Balanced Cantilever
Incremental Launching
Cable Stayed

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Various Types of Segmental Bridge Construction

Span-By-Span

Courtesy: VSL Systems (CZ) Ltd.

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Various Types of Segmental Bridge Construction

Balanced Cantilever

Courtesy: VSL Systems (CZ) Ltd.

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Various Types of Segmental Bridge Construction

Incremental Launching

Courtesy: VSL Systems (CZ) Ltd.

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Various Types of Segmental Bridge Construction

Cable Stayed

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Typical Concrete Box Girder Section

Single cell box preferable due to its high torsional resistance,
ease of construction and inspection access
For constant girder depth, span to depth ratio ranging from 15
to 30, with optimum value around 18 to 20
Top flange width is preferably limited to 6 times the box depth
and can be pushed up to about 18 m
Web spacing normally between 4.6 m to 7.6 m

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Typical Concrete Box Girder Section

Minimum top flange thickness = 200mm
Minimum ribbed web thickness = 180mm
Very wide bridge deck can be accommodated by using several
box girders with a joint between the two box sections

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Typical Concrete Box Girder Section

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

Tendons
Longitudinal post-tensioning vs transverse post-tensioning
External tendons vs internal tendons
Typical Tendon Profile for Longitudinal Post-Tensioning

Courtesy: FHWA

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

Longitudinal External Tendons
Mid Span Deviator

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

Transverse Post-Tensioning

Courtesy: FHWA

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

Prestressing Strands in Tendons in bridge structures

Each strand composed of 7 bundled wires, low relaxation

Tensile strength = 1860 MPa
Size typically 13 mm or 15 mm diameter
Nominal cross sectional area = 99 mm2 or 140 mm2
Duct at least 2.5 times > the net area of post-tensioning strands
Corrosion protection

Water-proofing membrane/sealant at the exterior surface of concrete

Cover
HDPE duct
Grout
Sheathing/coating
Proper design detailing and construction procedures

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

Levels of Corrosion Protection to Internal Tendons

Courtesy: FHWA

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

Levels of Corrosion Protection to External Tendons

Courtesy: FHWA

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

External Deviators
Function as a intermediate anchorage point to transfer the vertical
component of the post-tensioning force

Anchorage Blocks
Provide an anchorage point at the ends of the span to develop the
required post-tensioning forces
Provide a jacking area for the post-tensioning equipment
Special attention and design details required to increase the levels of
corrosion protection at anchorages

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Major Components of Segmental Box Girders

Stressing of Strands in Process at Anchorage Block

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Design Aspects of Post-Tensioned Box Girders

Design Codes
AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications
AASHTO Guide Specifications for Design and Construction of Segmental
Concrete Bridges

Ultimate
Flexure, Shear, Torsion, Axial
Bursting at anchorages, jacking of superstructure during launching

Service

Stress within concrete segments and at segment joints

Fatigue
Deflection
Seat width

Post Tensioned Segmental Concrete Bridges

Factors Affecting the Expected Performances

Concrete mix
Temperature
Creep and shrinkage
Curing methods
End restraints (secondary effects)
Stress losses in tendons
Construction sequence
Construction practice/load

Case Study Calgary West LRT

Case Study Calgary West Light Rail Transit

Case Study Calgary West LRT

Case Study Calgary West Light Rail Transit

Total length 8 km extending from west end of 7th Ave Downtown to 69th
St S.W.
Track works on elevated guideway, trenches, tunnels, and grounds
Expected opening schedule in early Spring 2013

Case Study Calgary West LRT

Case Study Calgary West Light Rail Transit

Total length of the elevated guideway is about 1.5 km
Comprised of standard 30m, 33m, and 36m single span
segments and two-continuous spans constructed using the
span-by-span method as well as a four-span continuous
structure using the balanced cantilever method

11 th St SW

Mewata Bridge
Bow Trail SW

Bow River

Courtesy: City of Calgary

Courtesy: City of Calgary

Launching Trusses

Launching Trusses Stored on Ground

Cured End Segment at Batch Plant

Steel Form for End Segment Casting

Preparation of Reinforcing Cage

Standard segment for spans

constructed using balanced cantilever
method

Standard segment for

spans constructed
using span-by-span
method

Erected girder segments using the span-by-span method

Erected girder segments using the balanced cantilever method

Crews applying stressing to tendons at end segment

Two Span Continuous with Integral Connection at Straddle Bent

Two Span Continuous with Integral Connection at Straddle Bent

Crews working in a heated tent in winter

Courtesy: City of Calgary

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Modeling Demonstration of a Two-Span

Continuous Structure

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Modeling Demonstration of a Two-Span

Continuous Structure
Plan View

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Modeling Demonstration of a Two-Span

Continuous Structure
Elevation View (Longitudinal)

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Modeling Demonstration of a Two-Span

Continuous Structure
Elevation View (Transverse)

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining the Geometry

Can be either imported from Midas Civil, CAD, or other
structural software such as SAP or Lusas
Define nodes and elements manually using the geometry
defining features under the Menu Tab

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining the Geometry

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Material
Non-time dependent material
Time dependent material including creep and shrinkage as
well concrete strength development used in construction
staging analysis
Plastic material for non-linear analysis
AASHTO and Canadian Codes implemented in material
database

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Material
Various guidelines such as the CEB-FIP (1990), ACI, PCA, and
AASHTO implemented to predict the creep and shrinkage
effects

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Sections
Sections can be found from the database or manually enter
dimensions
Sections like basic bare steel, generic sectional properties,
hybrid sections, prestressed concrete section, taper section,
and composite section can be defined
Additional stress points can be defined using the Section
Manager feature
General sections using SPC

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Box Section Developed by SPC

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Tendons
Used AutoCAD to accurately define the tendon profile
Simply copy & paste the coordinates in 2D / 3D into Midas Civil

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Tendons
Tendon property was defined based on the CEB-FIP
Tendon diameter, relaxation coefficient, tensile strength, and
anchorage set, and first jacking force were all defined in the
model

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Groups
Structure, Boundary, Load, and Tendon Groups were defined
accordingly for construction stage analysis and subsequent
data manipulation

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Construction Stage Analysis & Challenges

Defining Construction Stage Analysis
Construction staging had to be accurately defined to capture
accumulated stresses built up during construction
Tendon stresses at service after all the losses, secondary
moment effects, and stresses at the segmental box girders and
other structural components were all examined

Challenges
Integral connection between the straddle bent beam and each
end of the spans, resulting consideration of secondary
moment effect
Excessive amount of flexural reinforcing originally required in
the bent beam, resulting issue of proper concrete placement

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Solution...
Accurately defined all the member section properties, their
design locations, time dependent materials, tendon
properties, stressing and construction sequences in the
construction staging analysis
Used internal post-tensioning to replace the flexural
reinforcing

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Construction Staging Rendering

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Defining Moving Load

Canadian and AASHTO LRFD available
Traffic lanes can be defined based on beam or plate elements
Program can consider a number of sub-load cases and perform
independent analyses of each sub-load case and provide the
maximum and minimum results at a particular location or run
combined analyses of all sub-load cases and provide the
maximum and minimum results
Dynamic load factor in Canadian code

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Post-processing Information
Simulate the construction staging and review stresses and
forces at each stage
Report forces and stresses in tendons over time

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Post-processing Information
Moving load tracer used to find out location of live load to
produce the maximum/minimum forces/stresses at a certain
point

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Conclusion
Advantages of Post-Tensioned Box Girder Constructed Using
Segmental Construction Methods
Design Issues
Challenges Encountered During Construction of CWLRT
Useful Modelling Techniques

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Case Study Calgary West Light Rail Transit

http://www.westlrt.ca/contentdesign/constructiondashboard.cfm

Modeling Techniques and Applications in Design Process

Segmental Concrete Bridge Design Resources

AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications
AASHTO Guide Specifications for Design and Construction of
Segmental Concrete Bridges
American Segmental Bridge Institute (AASHTO-PCI-ASBI
Segmental Box Girder Standard Drawings)
ASBI Recommended Practice for Design and construction of
Concrete Segmental Bridges
FHWA
Post Tensioning Manual, PTI

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

Email address: koonn@mmm.ca