Case history studies at full scale were carried out to establish the behaviour of both shallow- and full-height integral bridge abutments on bridges at Glasgow, Manchester and Bramham, UK. General lateral movements could be satisfactorily calculated from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the bridge deck. Measurements indicated that shallow abutments are more likely to slide on their soil foundations than full height abutments. The design of integral abutments should take into account the higher lateral stresses in the ground compared with conventional abutments. The innovative use of stress absorbing layers behind integral bridge abutments to alleviate high earth pressures was also investigated. This included the development of a specification for methods of testing suitability, and suitability tests on a range of materials. A full-scale trial using stress-absorbing layers in a bridge still under construction is outlined. For the covering abstract see ITRD E118297.
Abstract