Horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges are frequently used in highway construction. Typically, bridge designers analyze the bridge system using grillage models to predict girder system behavior once the bridge is fully constructed. However, the critical phase for stability is often during girder erection or concrete deck placement. Assessing girder stability during lifting and early stages of construction is often complicated due to limited restraints provided by lifting cranes, temporary supports, or partial bracing. The method and level of analysis varies widely with contractors and engineering firms. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sponsored a research project to establish rules on girder proportioning and to create uniformity in the analytical analysis of curved I-girder bridges during erection and concrete deck placement. The research methods include field testing, parametric FEA studies, surveys of erectors to determine common erection practices, and the development of user-friendly software tools.This paper highlights the development of a three-dimensional finite element analytical (FEA) program, UT Bridge. The three-dimensional finite element software performs either a linear elastic or an eigenvalue buckling analysis of a straight or curved I-girder bridges during the erection and concrete deck placement. The paper includes details of the preprocessor, solvers, post-processor, and graphical user interface. Finally, an example is presented to demonstrate the accuracy and the capabilities of the program.
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