Bridges are one of the most important elements of any country's surface transportation system. Closing a bridge always causes inconvenience to the public. Thus, a critical need exists for a "bypass" bridge that can be assembled quickly, economically, and easily at theoriginal site or close to the bridge that is being repaired or replaced. Analytical studies indicated that integrated shell-deck segments can be used to construct short or medium-span emergency bridges. A simply supported bridge with four different shell cross sections was investigated; dead load and various patterns of live loads were considered. The analysis of these shells was performed using the ansys general purpose finite-element program. The results of this investigation demonstrated that shell structures can be utilized for emergency bridges. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1180, bridge design and testing.
Abstract