Additional Shear Stresses in Webs of Segmental Concrete Bridges due to Anchorage of Cantilever Tendons

Abstract

The balanced cantilever method is the most widely used technique for the construction of large-span segmental prestressed concrete box-girder bridges. In order to control shear cracks at the service limit state, the principal tensile stresses in the webs are analyzed for all segmental bridges. Web shear cracking may occur for a number of reasons, one of them is the ignoring of shear stresses induced by the anchorage of cantilever tendons during the cantilevering process. This study aims to provide a clear understanding of anchorage-induced shear stresses in the webs of segmental box-girder bridges, including the underlying mechanisms, mechanical models, adverse effects, and design considerations. Case studies show that the peak shear stresses in the webs might have a significant increase due to this localized effect, while it cannot be captured by the beam-element analysis and is usually not considered in the routine design. To solve this problem, a practical approach is developed for evaluating the anchorage-induced shear stresses in the webs of segmental concrete box-girder bridges.