Ave River Bridge - A Major Precast Prestressed Concrete U-Girder Bridge in Portugal

摘要

style="text-align: left;">Only within the last 20 years has precast concrete construction been used in the Portuguese infrastructure. This paper presents the new bridge over the Ave River in northeast Portugal as an example of  the current technology of precast concrete. The 280 m (919 ft) long bridge is one of the most innovative precast concrete highway bridges built in northern Portugal. A detailed description of the design,  fabrication, and construction is provided to explain the complexity of the designera€?s structural solution. The structural division of Minho University in Guimar?￡es, Portugal, provided scientific and technical support during the instrumentation of the girders and prepared the long-term monitoring plan. Results of load tests, details of the monitoring plan, and measurements obtained during prefabrication and in  various construction stages are presented.  >References style="text-align: left;">1. RSA, Minist??rio da Habita?§ao, Obras P??blicas e Transportes, a€?Design Specification of Actions for Building Structures and Bridges (Regulamento de Seguran?§a e Ac?§oes em EdifIcios e Pontes),a€? 1983 (in Portuguese). style="text-align: left;">2. REBAP, Ministdrio da Habita?§ao, Obras Ptiblicas e Transportes, a€?Design Specification for Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structures (Regulamento de Estruturas de Bet?￡o Armado e  Pr??-Esforcado),a€? 1985 (in Portuguese). style="text-align: left;">3. EC2-1- CEN, European Prestandard prEN 1992-1-1, target="_blank" title="a€?Eurocode 2 - Design of Concrete Structures. Part 1: General Rules and Rules for Buildings,a€?" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3403/00271112 ">a€?Eurocode 2 - Design of Concrete Structures. Part 1: General Rules and Rules for Buildings,a€? 1991. style="text-align: left;">4. EC2-2 - CEN, European Prestandard prEN 1992-2, target="_blank" title="a€?Eurocode 2 - Design of Concrete Structures, Part 2: Concrete Bridges,a€?" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3403/02214914 ">a€?Eurocode 2 - Design of Concrete Structures, Part 2: Concrete Bridges,a€? 1994. style="text-align: left;">5. Greuel, A., Baseheart, T. M., Rogers, B. T., Miller, R. A., and Shahrooz, B. M., target="_blank" title="a€?Evaluation of a High Performance Concrete Box Girder Bridge,a€?" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.15554/pcij.11012000.60.71 ">a€?Evaluation of a High Performance Concrete Box Girder Bridge,a€? PCI JOURNAL, V. 45, No.6, November-December  2000, pp. 60-71. style="text-align: left;">6. Crua, P. J. S., a€?Monitoring Plan of the Bridge Over Ave River (Monitoriza?§ao da Ponte sobre o Rio Aye),a€? Report 02-DEC/E-l4, December 2002 (in Portuguese). style="text-align: left;">7. Cruz, P. J. S., Wisniewski, D., and Valente, I., a€?Proof Load Test of the Bridge Over Ave River (Prova de Carga da Ponte sobre o Rio Aye),a€? Report 03-DEC/E-19, July 2003 (in Portuguese).