Experimental and theoretical assessment of Guilherme de Almeida Bridge

摘要

Guilherme de Almeida bridge was built in 1960s with eight spans supported by plane frames and four cantilever spans supported by three-dimensional frames of reinforced concrete. This work presents a series of tests carried out to assess the structural behavior of the bridge focusing in two main aspects: investigate structural damage in the current loading conditions and evaluate the effects of increases of vehicle load and number of traffic lanes on structural safety. Non-destructive and destructive tests were carried out to obtain the mechanical properties of concrete and dynamic properties of the bridge spans. Experimental analyses were complemented by static and dynamic analyses with three-dimensional finite element models (FEM). The accuracy of these models was verified through comparison to the experimental results. Based on dynamic properties of the bridge and additional investigations the conclusion was that no serious damage was identified in the bridge in the current situation. Besides this, FEM simulations showed that an increase of vehicle loads from 36 to 45 tf and one additional traffic lane would result in acceptable safety factors accordingly to Brazilian codes.