Study of the Calculation Method of Lateral Load Distribution on a Continuous Composite Box Girder Bridge with Corrugated Steel Webs

Abstract

The lateral load distributions on a continuous composite box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs were investigated using the fixed eccentric lateral load distribution prediction method. Using an engineering example, the lateral load distribution on a continuous bridge, which contained one three—room composite box girder with corrugated steel webs, was calculated using the fixed eccentric pressure method and spatial finite element method (FEM) analyses, in which the torsional stiffness of the box girder was considered. The deflection of the bridge under an eccentric lateral load position was tested in the field. The results of the fixed eccentric pressure method and the spatial FEM analyses were compared with the results of the field test. The results indicate that an improved plane model, which considers the torsional stiffness of the box girder, is introduced to solve a spatial problem using the fixed eccentric lateral load distribution prediction method. The lateral load distribution factors in the fixed eccentric pressure method correspond with those in the spatial FEM analyses. The fixed eccentric pressure method is a feasible and conservative method for solving the lateral load distributions on a continuous composite box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs.