11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

engineeringcivil.com
http://www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html

Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

By
Miss.P.R. Bhivgade

Abstract:- Bridge construction today has achieved a worldwide level of importance. Bridges are the key
elements in any road network Use of box girder is gaining popularity in bridge engineering fraternity because
of its better stability, serviceability, economy, aesthetic appearance and structural efficiency. The structural
behavior of box girder is complicated, which is difficult to analyze in its actual conditions by conventional
methods. In present study a two lane simply supported Box Girder Bridge made up of prestressed concrete
which is analysis for moving loads as per Indian Road Congress (IRC:6) recommendations, Prestressed Code
(IS: 1343) and also as per IRC: 18 specifications. The analyzed of box girder using SAP 2000 14 Bridge Wizard
and prestressed with parabolic tendons in which utilize full section. The various span/ depth ratio considered
to get the proportioning depth at which stresses criteria and deflection criteria get satisfied.

Keywords: Concrete Box Girder Bridge, Prestress Force, Eccentricity, Prestress Losses, Reinforcement,
Flexure strength, shear strength, SAP Model.

I. INTRODUCTION
Prestress concrete is ideally suited for the construction of medium and long span bridges. Ever since the
development of prestressed concrete by Freyssinet in the early 1930s, the material has found extensive
application in the construction of long-span bridges, gradually replacing steel which needs costly maintenance
due to the inherent disadvantage of corrosion under aggressive environment conditions. One of the most
commonly used forms of superstructure in concrete bridges is precast girders with cast-in-situ slab. This type
of superstructure is generally used for spans between 20 to 40 m. T or I-girder bridges are the most common
example under this category and are very popular because of their simple geometry, low fabrication cost, easy
erection or casting and smaller dead loads. In this paper study the India Road Loading considered for design
of bridges, also factor which are important to decide the preliminary sizes of concrete box girders. Also
considered the IRC:18-2000 for “Prestressed Concrete Road Bridges” and “Code of Practice for Prestressed
Concrete ” Indian Standard. Analyze the Concrete Box Girder Road Bridges for various spans, various depth
and check the proportioning depth.

II. FORMULATION
A. Loading on Box Girder Bridge
The various type of loads, forces and stresses to be considered in the analysis and design of the various
components of the bridge are given in IRC 6:2000(Section II. But the common forces are considered to design
the model are as follows:

Dead Load(DL): The dead load carried by the girder or the member consists of its own weight and the portions
of the weight of the superstructure and any fixed loads supported by the member. The dead load can be
estimated fairly accurately during design and can be controlled during construction and service.

Superimposed Dead Load (SIDL): The weight of superimposed dead load includes footpaths, earth-fills,
wearing course, stay-in -place forms, ballast, water-proofing, signs, architectural ornamentation, pipes,
conduits, cables and any other immovable appurtenances installed on the structure.

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 1/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Live Load(LL): Live loads are those caused by vehicles which pass over the bridge and are transient in
nature. These loads cannot be estimated precisely, and the designer has very little control over them once the
bridge is opened to traffic. However, hypothetical loadings which are reasonably realistic need to be evolved
and specified to serve as design criteria. There are four types of standard loadings for which road bridges are
designed.
i. IRC Class 70R loading
ii. IRC Class AA loading
iii. IRC Class A loading
iv. IRC Class B loading

The model is design by considering IRC Class A loading, which is normally adopted on all roads on which
permanent bridges and culverts are constructed. Total load is 554, the Fig.1 show the complete details of Class
A.

Other information regarding Live load combination as per IRC:6 2000 Clause No.207.1 Note No.4

B. Thickness of Web
The thickness of the web shall not be less than d/36 plus twice the clear cover to the reinforcement plus
diameter of the duct hole where‘d’ is the overall depth of the box girder measured from the top of the deck
slab to the bottom of the soffit or 200 mm plus the diameter of duct holes, whichever is greater.

C. Thickness of Bottom Flange

The thickness of the bottom flange of box girder shall be not less than 1/20th of the clear web spacing at the
junction with bottom flange or 200 mm whichever is more.

D. Thickness of Top Flange

The minimum thickness of the deck slab including that at cantilever tips be 200 mm. For top and bottom flange
having prestressing cables, the thickness of such flange shall not be less than 150 mm plus diameter of duct
hole.

E. Losses in Prestress
While assessing the stresses in concrete and steel during tensioning operations and later in service, due

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 2/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

regard shall be paid to all losses and variations in stress resulting from creep of concrete, shrinkage of
concrete, relaxation of steel, the shortening (elastic deformation) of concrete at transfer, and friction and slip
of anchorage.

In computing the losses in prestress when untensioned reinforcement is present, the effect of the tensile
stresses developed by the untensioned reinforcement due to shrinkage and creep shall be considered.

F. Calculation of Ultimate Strength

Ultimate moment resistance of sections, under these two alternative conditions of failure shall be calculated by
the following formulae and the smaller of the two values shall be taken as the ultimate moment of resistance
for design:

i. Failure by yield of steel (under-reinforced section)

M ult = 0.9d bAsF p
Where,
As = the area of high tensile steel
F p = the ultimate tensile strength for steel without definite yield point or yield stress or stress at 4 per
centelongation whichever is higher for steel with a definite yield point.
db = the depth of the beam from the maximum compression edge to the centre of gravity of the steel tendons.

ii. Failure by crushing concrete

M ult = 0.176 bd b2fck
Where,
b = the width of rectangular section or web of beam
fck= characteristics strength of concrete

G. Calculation of Section un- cracked in flexure

b = width in the case of rectangular member and width of the

rib in the case of T, I and L beams
d = overall depth of the member
fcp = compressive stress at centroidal axis due to prestress
taken as positive.

III. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF POST-TENSIONED DECK

TYPE BOX-GIRDER BRIDGE
A post- tensioned deck type Box – Girder
Bridges of clear span 30m and width of roadway is 7.5m. Assume Live Load as per IRC: 6-2000 vehicle is
passing over deck given in chapter 4 and table no. 4.2. The Bridge analysis for different L/d ratio starting from
15 to 20 and different L/d ratio considered are as follows:

Case 1 L/d= 19, d = 1.6

Case 2 L/d =18, d = 1.7
Case3 L/d = 17, d = 1.8
Case4 L/d= 16, d= 1.9
Case5 L/d= 15, d=2.0

Preliminary data
Clear span = 30m

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 3/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Width of roadway = 7.5 m

Overhang from face of girder = 1.2m
Deck thickness = 0.2 m
Bottom slab thickness = 0.2 m
Girder thickness = 0.3 m

The tendon profile is considered as parabolic in nature.

As per IRC:18-2000
fck= 50 Mpa, fci = 0.8fck = 40 Mpa,
fct = 0.5fci = 20 Mpa, fcw = 0.33fck = 16.5 Mpa ft = 1/10fct = 2.0 Mpa, ftw = 0

As per IS:1343-1980
Ec = 5700fck1/2 = 40.30 kN/m2
fp = 1862 Mpa, n = 0.85, E = 2×105 Mpa

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 4/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Validation of Resuts
The bending moment, shear force and deflection result obtained by SAP 2000. The bending moment and shear
force are calculated by considering different loading condition such as dead load, live load and superimposed
load. Same as deflection calculated. This results are the Case:1.

Table.1 Deflection

Load Case DL + SIDL Live Load Prestressing Force

Deflection (at midspan)

30.8 mm 25.2 -14.36 mm

mm

Table.2 Bending Moment(t.m)

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 5/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Span (m) 0.0L 0.1L 0.2L 0.3L 0.4L 0.5L

DL 0.00 353.56 628.56 824.98 942.84 982.12

LL 0.00 218.76 381.63 494.10 564.85 587.82

SIDL 0.00 53.46 95.04 124.74 142.56 148.50

Total 0.00 625.78 1105.23 1443.82 1650.26 1718.45

Table.3 Shear Force (t)

Span (m) 0.0L 0.1L 0.2L 0.3L 0.4L 0.5L

DL 130.9 104.7 78.57 52.4 26.3 0.0

LL 32.92 23.29 14.27 7.42 2.62 0.0

SIDL 19.80 15.84 11.88 7.92 3.90 0.0

Total 183.6 143.9 104.7 67.7 32.8 0.0

Table.4 Calculation of Prestress Force

Table.5 Calculation of Eccentricity

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 6/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Eccentricity Prestressing Force The eccentricity which give minimum prestressing force (e) =
(mm) (kN) 731mm

440 21617.96

548 19380.69

650 17655.06

731 16489.15

Table.6 Calculation of Prestress Losses (As per IS:1343-1980)

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 7/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Span ^S ^C ^E ^A ^F ^R Total n

(m)

0.0L 8E-05 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 90 90 0.95

0.1L 2.6 2.3 78 9.7 90 182.6 0.9

0.2L 2.6 2.4 39 22 90 155.8 0.91

0.3L 2.6 2.4 26 36.7 90 157.7 0.91

0.4L 2.7 2.5 20 54.3 90 169.0 0.9

0.5L 9.1 8.3 16 171 90 294.0 0.85

Where,
^S = Shrinkage
^C= Creep
^E = Shortening of concrete
^A = Slip in anchorage
^F = Friction
^R = Relaxation
n= Efficiency
After Losses, effective Prestressing Force
(P) = P (1-Losses) = 14011.51 kN

Table.7 Calculation of Stresses at top and bottom fibre

Span (m) At Transfer At Service Load

Top Fibre Bottom fibre Top fibre Bottom Fibre

0.0L 4.16 4.16 4.16 4.16

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 8/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

0.1L 2.98 5.48 6.35 0.00

0.2L 1.91 6.67 8.37 0.00

0.3L 2.112 6.44 7.46 0.00

0.4L 2.24 6.29 6.88 0.00

0.5L 3.00 6.24 6.42 0.00

Compressive Stress at
Transfer = 6.66 < 0.5 fcj = 20 mpa
Service = 8.367 < 0.33 fck = 16.5 mpa

Tensile stress at
Initial Stage = 2.979 < 3mpa

(As per IS:1343 – 1980)

Working Stage = No tensile stress

Table.8 Calculation of Ultimate Flexure Strength

Span Ultimate Moment Mu = (1.5DL Failure by yielding of Failure by crushing of

(m) +2.5 LL) (kN.m) steel (kN.m) concrete (kN.m)

0.0L 0.00 340578.53 5970560

0.1L 11574.43

0.2L 20394.85

0.3L 26598.28

0.4L 30402.45

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 9/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

0.5L 31654.88

Table.9 Calculation of Ultimate Shear strength

Span Ultimate Moment Vu = (1.5DL +2.5 Shear capacity Vcw Balance Shear Spacing
(m) LL) (kN.m) (kN) (kN) (mm)

0.0L 3084.27 363.85 2720.43 55

0.1L 2391.35 419.97 1971.38 75

0.2L 1713.50 432.54 1280.96 100

0.3L 1089.90 470.56 619.34 200

0.4L 517.85 492.95 24.90 300

0.5L 0.00 0.00 0.00 0

Design of Reinforcement in Box Girder Bridge

P =14011.51 kN, d = 1350 mm, bw = 200 mm
Assume 150 mm wide and 150 mm deep distribution plate, located concentrically at centre.
ypo /y0 = 75/150 = 0.5 ,
As per IRC:18-2000, From table value of Fbst/ Pk = 0.17 and Fbst = 452.753 kN
Using 12 mm diameter links, area of steel links are,
Ast = 1254 mm/2
Providing 24 bars of 12 mm dia, 750mm also bar of 12 mm dia @ 110 mm c/c horizontally to form mesh.

Side Face Reinforcement

As per clause 18.6.3.3 of IS:1343-1980
Ast = 0.05 x 1350 x 300/100 = 202.5 mm/2
Provide 6 – 12 mm dia on each face of web

Design of Deck Slab

Using M30 grade concrete and Fe415
Total moment due to DL+SIDL+LL = 1427.0 kN.m
Depth required = 150.4 < 250 mm

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 10/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Main Reinforcement
Ast = 3192.6824 mm/2
Providing 16mmØ bars dia 100 mm c/c
Design of Transverse Reinforcement
M = 0.3ML + 0.2(MDL + MSIDL)
M = 324 kN.m
Ast = 724.74 mm/2
Providing 12 mm dia bars @ 160 mm c/c

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 11/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

IV. COMPARSION OF RESULT FOR VARIOUS SPAN/ DEPTH RATIO

The comparison of prestress force, deflection and stresses values are obtained for various span/depth ratio (
table no. 10 & 11) for box girder bridge. The values are calculated as per IS:1343-1980.

Table.10 Comparison of Deflection for various span/depth ratio.

Span/Depth Prestress Force Eccentricity Deflection

(kN) (mm)

DL-Prestress DL +LL –Prestress

Force Force

1.6 16.48 731 11.2 36.4

1.7 15.66 777 11.4 33.6

1.8 14.83 829 9 30

1.9 14.02 886 6.6 26.6

2.0 13.20 950 5.6 25.3

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 12/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

Note: All dimension in tonnes and mm.

• Permissible (DL-Prestress Force) = 12 mm
• Permissible (DL-LL-Prestress Force)= 85.7 mm

Table.11 Comparison of stress for various span/depth ratio

Span/ Prestress Force Eccen Stress at mid span (N/mm2)

Depth (tonne) Tricity

(mm) At Transfer At Working

Top Bottom Top

1.6 16.48 731 3.0 4.1 6.74

1.7 15.66 777 2.8 3.8 6.33

1.8 14.83 829 2.6 3.6 5.91

1.9 14.02 886 2.4 3.4 5.48

2.0 13.20 950 2.2 3.2 5.08

Note: Stress at mid span at working bottom = 0

V. CONCLUSION
This paper gives basic principles for portioning of concrete box girder to help designer to start with project.
Box girder shows better resistance to the torsion of superstructure. The various trail of L/d ratio are carried out
for Box Girder Bridges, deflection and stress criteria satisfied the well within permissible limits. As the depth
increases, the prestressing force decreases and the no. of cables decrease. Because of prestressing the
more strength of concrete is utilized and also well governs serviceability.

VI. REFERENCES
1. IRC: 18 – 2000 “ DESIGN CRITERIA FOR PRESTRESSED CONCRETE ROAD BRIDGES (POST – TENSIONED
CONCRETE)” THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS.
2. IRC: 6- 2000 “STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS AND CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ROAD BRIDGES”THE ROAD
CONGRESS.
3. IS: 1343 – 1980 “ CODE OF PRACTICE FOR PRESTRESSED CONCRETE” INDIAN STANDARD.
4. Andre Picard and Bruno Massicotte, Member “SERVICEABILITY DESIGN OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE
www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 13/14
11/1/13 Analysis and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge

BRIDGES” JOURNAL OF BRIDGE ENGINEERING / FEBRUARY 1999

5. Ferhat Akgul and Dan M. Frangopol “Lifetime Performance Analysis of Existing Prestressed Concrete Bridge
Superstructures” JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE / DECEMBER 2004
6. James H. Loper,1 Eugene L. Marquis,2 Members and Edward J. Rhomberg Fellow. “PRECAST
PRESTRESSED LONG-SPAN BRIDGES” JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE
7. John R. Fowler, P.Eng, Bob Stofko, P.Eng. “Precast Options for Bridge Superstructure Design” Economical
and Social Linkages Session of the 2007 Annual Conference of the Transportation Association of Canada
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
8. Krishna Raju “DESIGN OF BRIDGES” OXFORD & IBH PUBLISHING CO. PVT. LTD.
9. Prof. Dr.-Ing. G. Rombach “Concepts for prestressed concrete bridges Segmental box girder bridges with
external prestressing” Technical University, Hamburg-Harburg, Germany.
10. Tushar V. Ugale, Bhavesh A. Patel and H. V. Mojidra (2006).

We at engineeringcivil.com are thankful to Er. Priyanka Bhivgade for submitting her research on “Analysis
and design of prestressed concrete box girder bridge” to us. We are hopeful that this will be of great use
to all civil engineers who are willing to understand the design of prestressed concrete box girder.

www.engineeringcivil.com/analysis-and-design-of-prestressed-concrete-box-girder-bridge.html 14/14