COMPOSITE BRIDGES

STATE OF THE ART IN TECHNOLOGY

AND ANALYSIS

22-26 January 2001

MADRID

COMPOSITE BRIDGES
RECENTLY BUILT IN
GERMANY

PROF. DR.-ING. G. HANSWILLE

H R A
GERMANY
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COMPOSITE BRIDGES RECENTLY BUILT IN GERMANY

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Hanswille

INTRODUCTION
In the course of construction of the new freeway A71 from Erfurt to Schweinsfurt several
larger bridge superstructures are planned or under construction (Fig. 1) as composite
structures. Across the mountain range of the Thuringian Forrest many aspects during the
planning process regarding environmental requirements and especially aesthetics have to be
considered. This is the reason why for these particular bridges composite box girders with
wide concrete decks are used instead of traditional separate bridge decks and piers for each
traffic direction. The following describes aspects regarding the planning, the detailing and the
method of design of these types of cross sections, which will be discussed using the example
of the bridge „ Wilde Gera“/1/ ( Figures 2 and 3).

Fig.1 New composite bridges for the freeway A 71

During the past years in the northern part of Germany several composite bow string arches
were erected, because canals were enlarged. For these bridges a system was chosen,
where a reinforced concrete deck acts as a tension member in the main system. The design
followed new guidelines published by the Ministry of Transport /2,3,4/. A typical example for
this type of bridge is the freeway bridge Ladbergen near Münster. Furthermore, a new
superstructure with a composite box girder and double-composite action is presented, which
was recently built over the river Inn near Neuötting /5, 6/.
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THE BRIDGE WILDE GERA

Freeway A71 surpasses the deep cut valley of the „Wilde Gera“ shortly before crossing the
mountain range of the Thuringian Forrest. Next to the creek in the valley run a road and
railway line. According to the tender numerous variations regarding the construction of the
bridge were examined and the special proposal „arch bridge“ (Figures 2 and 3) was selected
/1/. Regarding planning and construction of the piers and the arch construction of this bridge,
reference is made to /7/.

Fig. 2 Bridge girder during and after launching

Fig. 3 Bridge Wilde Gera

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The total length of the superstructure is 552m with spans between 30m and 42m. The arch
between the axes 3 and 9 has a free span of 252m. Freeway A71 is constructed with a roof
profile and a transverse slope of 2,5% from the median to the shoulder. The nominal cross
section consists of two lanes and a shoulder lane for each direction. The smallest distance
between the lower edge of the superstructure and the surface of the terrain is located at the
abutment with 4,0m. The maximum distance between the grade and the bottom of the valley
is 110m.

The bridge Wilde Gera is not built as a structure with two separate bridge decks and pears
for each traffic direction as common in Germany. Therefore, during planning a possibility of
renewal of the slab had to be considered by maintaining the traffic onto one half of the
bridge. The problem of the exchange of the slab will be explained later.

The bridge is built as a composite cross section containing a trapezoidal box girder. The
reinforced concrete slab will be supported in transverse direction by the webs of the box
girder, by the outside longitudinal girders acting as a composite beam and by a reinforced
concrete beam along the axis of the bridge. The cross section is braced with transverse
frames with 6 m spacing, which are constructed with inside and outside diagonals and with a
transverse tension member integrated in the slab. As seen in Fig. 3 the tension member is a
composite cross section, which consists of a reinforced concrete T-beam connected at the
bottom with a steel plate with headed studs. The steel cross section of the tensional member
acting as a composite cross section is directed over the top flange of the box girder and is
connected with the longitudinal girder in the area of its top flange (Fig. 3). To minimize the
amount of the transverse splices in the box girder the bottom flange of the box girder is
carried out with LP plates. The thickness of the bottom plates are 38mm at the internal
supports and 16mm in the midspan regions. The thickness of the web is between 16mm and
20mm resulting from the stresses during launching of the steel superstructure. The bottom
plate and the webs are stiffened with hollow trapezoidal stiffeners (Fig.4).

Fig. 4 Transverse frames and the transverse tension member

The box girder elements were transported with special vehicles to the construction site in two
units split in the middle of the bottom plate. The outside diagonals, longitudinal beams and
the transverse tensional member were transported separately to the construction site.
Getting to the approximately 80m long preassembly unit behind the west abutment, heavy
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duty vehicles had to overcome an uphill slope of 22% with its up to 45t load. The complete
superstructure with its total length of 552m needed 26 assembled sections. Three of these
sections were welded to one launching unit with lengths from 61m to 66m. The launching of
the structure took place with specially developed approx. 2m long sliding bearings.

Fig. 5 Formwork system

The concrete deck was produced in 27 concrete pouring sequences with lengths between
18m and 21m. Two formwork units are built at each abutment, which start with little time
difference and meet in the middle of the bridge. The formwork units consist of a formwork
carriage for concreting the outer cantilevers and four formwork tables, which are supported
through the outer and inner diagonals of the transverse frames as well as the transverse
stiffener of the frames (Fig. 5). Those formwork tables are launched in longitudinal direction
on the temporary constructed consoles.

The design of the superstructure was based on the German National Guideline for composite
girders /4,8/. Special aspects like fatigue and tension stiffening effects of concrete of the
transverse composite tension members were taken into account in accordance with EC4-2
/2/. Internal forces and moments are determined by means of a three-dimensional structural
model, which included the piers, the arch and the superstructure. The influence of cracking
was considered according to EC4-2 and the crack width was limited in accordance with the
German NAD /3/ to 0,2 mm. During construction vertical deformation and especially torsion
of the open steel cross-section should be considered due to its low torsional rigidity during
launching and concreting process, because the superstructure receives torsion from the
curvature of the layout.
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Due to the large difference in the pier heights, the whole system is very sensitive to
horizontal loads resulting from horizontal actions from wind and temperature difference of the
piers. Very large torsional stresses result from one-way traffic, which lead to additional
horizontal forces for the bearings due to the different torsional restraint into the piers.

Normally it is a general requirement in Germany to have separate bridges for each traffic
direction in order to be able to divert the full traffic on the remaining bridge in case of major
maintenance work on the other. The concrete deck is the most vulnerable part of a bridge
section. With regard to the expected intensive increase of road traffic and local wheel loads
in future, the concrete deck must be regarded as a wearing part in contrast to the steel
structure with implication of different lifetimes of the concrete deck and the steel structure.

As already mentioned, several bridges of freeway A71 are built with one main composite box
girder. For these cross sections the flow of traffic has to be maintained in both directions just
on one half of the bridge during a future replacement of the bridge deck. For this procedure
the bridge deck will be partially cut out with high-pressure water method and will be replaced
by a new bridge deck. During this procedure significant additional stresses result in the
superstructure, which have to be considered during design and construction.

Fig. 6 Different possibilities for the exchange of the concrete deck

Several variations for the partial exchange of the bridge deck exist as shown in Fig. 6.
Variation A is possible for bridges with small spans only. The bridge deck will be removed in
one half of the total section over a total length of 12m to 15m in longitudinal direction. This
method was based for the design of the bridge Wilde Gera.

Variation B of Fig. 6 shows the exchange of the bridge in two steps. During the first step the
outer and afterwards the inner quarters will be removed and replaced. Another possibility to
avoid an open cross section in the area of the exchange of the deck is to build temporary
horizontal bracings (method C).
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During the exchange of the concrete deck the system exists of a partially closed composite
box girder with large St. Venant torsional stiffness and of an open cross section with
substantial warping torsion in the area of the exchange. Additionally, through the dismount of
half of the bridge deck the shear centre of the cross section and the main cross sectional
axis for bending are moved. The change of the shear centre causes torsional stresses in the
cross section also for symmetrical loads even if the radius of layout is neglected. During the
structural analysis these effects were examined by a Finite Element Model according to
Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 FE-model for the determination of stresses for the exchange of the concrete slab

Fig. 8 Distribution of normal forces nx due to exchange of the concrete deck

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Figure 8 shows as an example the distribution of normal forces nx due to the dead load for
the methods A to C (Fig. 6) in the midspan region of a 42m span with a dismount of a 15m
section. These stresses are related to the stresses of the section without an exchange of the
deck. It is clear, that method A is the most unfavourable case with an exchange of one half of
the deck. Will the exchange take place only over a quarter of the bridge (method B), there is
a clear reduction of stresses within the concrete deck. For method C it was assumed that in
the open area an additional horizontal bracing will be placed at the top flange of the box
girder, which shear stiffness is 5% of the shear stiffness of the uncracked concrete deck. The
width of the span is the most important factor for choosing the above mentioned methods.
Method A was chosen for the bridge Wilde Gera because of its small spans. Methods B or C
are planned for the exchange of the concrete deck of currently designed bridges with larger
spans of up to 105m.

In composite girders primary and secondary temperature effects occur due to temperature
effects of hydration of cement. These effects influence the crack formation, the crack width in
the concrete slab and the deformation of the structure. For the bridge Wilde Gera the
temperature effects due to hydration of cement were determined according to Fig. 9 with a
model comparable with the primary effects of shrinkage of concrete, where the free hydration
strain εH can be taken from the diagram of Fig. 9 /9/ where all cross-sectional parameters are
related to modulus of elasticity of concrete by the age of 28 days. Furthermore, for the Bridge
Wilde Gera cement with a low volumetrical heat transmission and a low water/cement ratio
was used.

NH = − ε H E cm A c

NH NH N z
σc = − − H io ( z io + zc )
Ac n o A io n o Iio

NH N z
σ st = − − H io zi
A io Iio

Fig.9 Determination of the primary effects due to temperature effects caused by hydration
of cement
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COMPOSITE BOW STRING ARCHES

Composite bowstring arches with concrete decks are an often used system for composite
bridges in Germany where the construction depth is limited as for example for bridges of
canals and rivers. In the past either the concrete deck was separated from the main system
or connected with the steel structure and additionally prestressed by tendons in the
longitudinal direction. During the last years several bridges were erected, where the
reinforced concrete deck is connected to the steel structure by horizontal bracings at the end
of the bridge, and where the concrete deck acts as a tension member of the main system.
The first Bridge of this type was the Elbe-Bridge Dömitz erected in 1991 (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10 Elbe Bridge Dömitz

Where a reinforced concrete deck is acting as a tension member of the main system,
cracking of concrete and the effect of tension stiffening of concrete influence the distribution
of internal forces significantly. This effect must be considered in the ultimate and
serviceability limit state. The determination of internal forces is based on a non linear
calculation considering the relationship between normal forces and mean strains according
to Fig. 11(A) /2,10 and 11/, where Ns,cr is the normal force of the tension member when the
first crack has formed and Ns,m is the normal force at the end of initial crack formation which
is given by Ns,m = 1,3 Nscr. The iterative calculation with the variable stiffness (EA)eff,i
according to Fig. 11(A) is quite complicated. For practical design purposes further
simplifications can be considered. Many designs of bowstring arches have shown that at the
ultimate limit state and at the serviceability limit state the concrete tension member is in the
stage of initial crack formation. Therefore, the simplified method according Fig. 11B can be
applied. For the determination of the internal forces of the steel structure the constant
effective stiffness (EA)eff at the beginning of stabilized crack formation can be used on the
safe side. For the design of the concrete tension member in the serviceability limit state the
normal force Ns,serv and in the ultimate limit state the force Ns,d can be used.
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A B
Exact design according to Eurocode 4-2 Simplified Method

Es A s
(EA )eff =
1 − 0,35 /(1 + ρ sno )

Ns,serv = 1,15 Ac fct,eff (1 + n0 ρ s )

Ns,d = 1,45 A c fct,eff (1 + n0 ρ s )

Fig.11 Relation between normal force and mean strain for the determination of internal
forces

Fig. 12 Influence of crack width on aggregate interlock and dowel action of reinforcement

Another important point for the concrete tension member is the design of the concrete deck
for vertical shear due to local wheel loads. The normal tension force leads to a significant
reduction of vertical shear resistance of the deck. The design can be carried out in
accordance with Eurocode 2. With regard to the durability of the slab, further details are
given in the German guidelines for the design of composite bow string arches /3, 11/
regarding the slab thickness, the concrete grade, and the spacing and diameters of
reinforcement. In these guidelines additional verifications were introduced to limit the crack
width to 0.1-0.15 mm due to normal forces and to 0.2 mm for combined local bending and
normal forces in the deck, because in regions with low local bending moments and tension,
the shear transfer due to local wheel loads is caused by aggregate interlock and dowel action
of the reinforcement. Figure 12 shows that the vertical slip in the crack increases with the
crack width /12,13/ and can lead to fatigue failure of the reinforcement when the effect of
aggregate interlock decreases.
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Figures 13 and 14 show the freeway bridge Ladbergen built in 1999 which is a typical
example of this new type of composite bow string arch. The concrete deck is connected to
the steel structure by a bracing system (Fig. 15) at the end of the bridge. The bridge with
three lanes and an additional shoulder lane has a span of 104m. The thickness of the
concrete deck is 35 cm and the distance of the transverse girders is 395cm.

Fig. 13 Bridge Ladbergen – Plan, Elevation and cross-section

Fig. 14 Bridge Ladbergen

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Fig. 15 Bracing system at the end of the bridge, Detailing of hangers

A special problem is the fatigue assessment for wind induced vibrations of the hangers
/14,15/. Normally for road bridges, circular cross sections are used with diameters between
80mm and 120mm.

The eigenfrequency of the hangers is between 4 and 9 Hz. Measurements /16/ of several
bridges show that for welded hangers the damping coefficient can be very low (δ ≈ 0,001).
Therefore, it is important that the detailing of the welded joints between the hanger and the
steel structure is carried out with special regard to fatigue. Figure 15 shows a typical
example.

DOUBLE-COMPOSITE BOX GIRDERS

During the past several composite box girders with double composite action were erected.
Germanys biggest double-composite road bridge was build recently close to Neuötting in the
course of the new freeway A94 from Munich to Pocking /5/ /6/. The two separate road
bridges for each traffic direction with a total length of 470m are continuous from abutment to
abutment (Fig. 16 and 17). Figure 16 illustrates that the bridge has a variable construction
depth. It has a maximum span of 154m, a circular route with a radius of 1200m and is
supported by a skew-angel bearing at the river piers. The box has inclined webs (1:10) and a
varying width of the bottom chord. The bridge deck has normal reinforcement in longitudinal
and transverse direction. The bridge consists of a double-composite section over a length
between 40 and 50m at each side of the internal supports of the river pears. The depth of the
composite bottom chord varies between 40cm and 120cm (Fig. 16 and 18). In order to avoid
excessive stresses in the steel bottom plate, the pouring of the concrete was carried out in
two layers. For the second stage, the composite action of the first layer was taken into
account. The side spans of the bridge were erected on auxiliary pears. The central part of the
main span across the river with a length of 90m was floated in and lifted (Fig. 18).
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Fig. 16 Bridge Neuötting – general arrangement

Fig. 17 Bridge Neuötting

Fig.18 Detailing of the composite bottom chord, lifting of the girder

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References

/1/ Denzer, G., Gräßlin, W., Hanswille, G., Schmidtmann, W.: Die Talbrücke Wilde Gera,
Erfahrungen bei der Planung und Ausführung von Talbrücken mit einteiligen
Verbundquerschnitten, Stahlbau, H11, 2000.

/2/ Eurocode 4: Design of Composite Steel and Concrete Structures , Part 2: Composite Bridges,
Dec. 1997

/3/ Guideline for the Application of DIN V ENV 1994-2, German National Application Document,
September 2000

/4/ ARS 15/1999: Ergänzende Bestimmungen (BMVBW) zu den Richtlinien für die Bemessung
und Ausführung von Stahlverbundträgern, Fassung April 1999

/5/ Langen, T., Pfisterer H., Skusa, F., Weber,J.: Germanys biggest double- composite road
bridge, The Inn-bridge Neuötting, Stahlbau Nov. 2000

/6/ Pfeifer, M., Heiland, U., Schmedt, D.: Die Autobahnbrücke Neuötting, Stahlbau Nachrichten
1/2000

/7/ Wölfel, R.:Talbrücke über die Wilde Gera-Bogenschluß vollzogen, Beton- und Stahlbetonbau
94(1999), Heft 12

/8/ Richtlinien für die Bemessung und Ausführung von Stahlverbundträgern, Ausgabe 1981

/9/ Pamp, R.: Zur Auswirkung der Hydratation bei Verbundbrücken, Technisch –wissenschaftliche
Mitteilungen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 1991

/10/ Hanswille, G. Piel, W. Composite Bow String Arches with Reinforced Concrete Decks Acting
as Tension Members in the Main System, Composite construction in steel and concrete III,
Irsee, ASCE 1997

/11/ ARS 4/1997: Ergänzende Bestimmungen für die Bemessung und Konstruktion schlaff
bewehrter Fahrbahnplatten und der Hänger von Stabbogenbrücken

/12/ Paulay, T., Loeber,P.J.: shear transfer by aggregate Interlook, ACI Special Publication 42-1

/13/ Hanswille, G. Piel,W.: Zur Bemessung von Stabbogenbrücken mit schlaff bewehrten
Betonplatten, !0. DASt Forschungskolloquium, Aachen 1998

/14/ ENV 1993-2: Eurocode 3: Steel structures, Part 2: Bridges 1997

/15/ ENV 1991-2-4: Eurocode 1, Part 2-4: Wind Actions, 1994

/16/ Verwiebe, C., Sedlaceck, G.: Frequenz- und Dämpungsmessungen an Hängern von
Stabbogenbrücken, Forschung Straßenbau und Staßenverkehrstechnik, Heft 777, 1999