Effect of railing deterioration on load carrying capacity of concrete slab bridges

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Darwich, F.^a | Tarhini, K.^b | Mabsout, M.^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon | [b] U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. M. Mabsout, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. E-mail: mounir@aub.edu.lb.

Abstract:  Recent studies quantified the increase in load-carrying capacity of bridges by 45% due to the presence of concrete railings. These railings are subject to deterioration due to accidents. This parametric study quantifies the effect of railing deterioration and its impact on load-carrying capacity of bridges. A total of 112 bridge cases were analyzed using finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA results for slab moments were calculated and compared to reference cases and AASHTO procedures. FEA moments for bridge cases with one railing fully deteriorated compared well with AASHTO, with the exception of one-lane bridges where the overestimation by AASHTO reaches 20% for 1 ft deteriorated length, and decreased to 10% as the deterioration length increased to 8 ft. Railing deteriorations also changed FEA edge moments significantly by underestimating moments by 40% for two-lane bridges. This research can help engineers quantify the effect of railings on load carrying capacity of bridges.

Keywords: Concrete slab bridges, railing deterioration, finite-element analysis, AASHTO procedures, load-carrying capacity, wheel load distribution

DOI: 10.3233/BRS-190159

Journal: Bridge Structures, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 197-205, 2019