Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1991

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Arockiasamy, Madasamy

Abstract

Reinforced and prestressed concrete bridges are subjected to non-linear temperature variations leading to complex thermal stresses which vary continuously with time. Though these stresses are often comparable with those produced by live and dead loads, little guidance is given in bridge design codes on how these stresses are accurately computed. The objective of this project is to study the response of Florida bridges in the extreme thermal environment The project is divided into the following four tasks i) Computer modeling of the bridge and estimation of the thermal response. ii) Field measurements of temperatures in typical bridges. iii) Comparison of observed and estimated data. iv) Suggestions and/or revisions to the existing thermal stress allowances in the code. A computer software FETAB was used to model and analyze the thermal response of several bridge cross sections. Two single cell box girder bridges, located at the 1-595 and US-441 interchange, Fort Lauderdale, were instrumented with thermocouples and vibrating wire strain gages. The predicted temperature variations were found to compare fairly well with those measured in the field. Though the analytical values vary a little from the actual field data, emphasis was given to gain insight into the problems associated with the thermal effects in concrete bridges. Suggestions were made for revision of existing design code provisions for improved design of bridges.

Extent

214 p.

Comments

College of Engineering and Computer Science|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.S.E.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1991.|College of Engineering and Computer Science

Identifier

FADT14759

Format

pdf

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