Stress checklist of box girder structure based on spatial grid analysis method

Abstract

The checking stresses in the Chinese codes for reinforced concrete (RC) or prestressed concrete (PC) bridges are aimed for the thin-web beam, which cannot reflect the actual behavior of the modern structures. The incompleteness of the checking stresses could give rise to the deficiency in the design and calculation, and unable to reveal the reason of some common cracks in the structure. In this paper, the complete stress checklist for RC or PC girder bridges are listed, as well as the corresponding crack shapes. The expression of the complete checking stresses is proposed in details. Spatial Grid Model can reflect all the concerned stresses in the structure. Through the comparison of the calculation results from the spatial grid model and the solid model, it is seen that the spatial grid model can reflect load effects such as shear lag effect, thin-wall effect and local effect. The stresses obtained from the spatial grid model could help engineers to have a good understanding of the structural behavior. Meanwhile, the stress checklist provides the information for analyzing and solving the deficiency in the structure.