Use of Construction Stages to Review a Bridge Finite-Element Model

Abstract

The Veterans’ Glass City Skyway (VGCS) is a posttensioned concrete segmental cable-stayed bridge in Toledo, Ohio. The baseline analytical model of the bridge was reviewed using the measured response to construction loads during two intermediate stages of construction. The boundary conditions and geometry of the model were updated during the various stages of construction and the properties of the structural elements were updated across all the stages so that the model accurately captured the response of the bridge at each stage. The behavior of the model during construction was verified using construction loads. Static and low-speed truck load tests were performed when the bridge was completed to verify the performance of the final model. These tests were conducted just before the bridge opened and again after two years of service. The measured response to these load tests correlated very closely with model response, thus confirming the efficacy of using construction loads to develop the bridge model. In a segmental bridge like VGCS, with well-defined stages of construction, the use of construction loads resulted in a tested baseline model that captures the as-built behavior.