An Overview of Precast Prestressed Segmental Bridges

Bridge Division Office of Engineering Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, D.C.

Walter Podolny, Jr.

Construction in this manner may also have a serious impact upon envicade in which prestressed concrete ronment and ecology. Prestressed segmental bridge construction came of segmental construction has extended age in North America. Segmental box the practical span of concrete bridges girder bridges have attracted the at- to approximately 800 ft (244 m). tention and captured the imagination Where segmental construction is used of bridge engineers and designers in conjunction with the cable-stay across the continent. bridge concept, the span range can be Because of practical limitations of extended to 1300 ft (400 m) and handling and shipping, the precast perhaps longer.' prestressed I-girder type of bridge Because construction of the superconstruction is limited to an approxi- structure is executed from above, i.e., mate range of 120 to 150-ft (37 to 46 at deck level, the use of extensive m) spans. Beyond this range of span, falsework is avoided. Thus, there is no post-tensioned cast-in-place box gir- effect upon navigation clearance from ders on falsework are more attractive. falsework during construction and the However, in certain instances the ex- cost of extensive formwork is elimitensive use of falsework can prove to nated. Segmental viaduct type bridges be an economic disadvantage. Where provide a method whereby the impact deep ravines or navigable waterways of highway construction through enmust be crossed, extensive formwork vironmentally sensitive areas can be may be impractical. minimized. 56

seventies will be recorded by T he engineering historians as the de-

Utilization of an elevated viaduct type structure requires only a relatively narrow path along the alignment to provide access for pier construction. Once the piers have been constructed, all construction activity is from above. Thus, the impact on the environment is minimized. Also, because the structure is elevated, as opposed to an at-grade highway, there is no interference with wild life migratory habits. Prestressed concrete segmental bridges have proven to be esthetically appealing and, because various construction methods can be used, the structures are cost effective and environmentally adaptable.

Evolution of Segmental Bridges

Before discussing the various facets and variants of precast segmental box girder bridges, it may enhance the understanding of this type of construction to briefly trace the historical

evolution of prestressed concrete bridges to this point in the state-ofthe-art and to present a few basic definitions. Precasting of elements or members of a structure implies that the concrete is cast in forms at some location other than the final position of the member. The member may be cast at a permanent precasting plant at some location other than the construction site; then transported by truck, rail, or barge to the site; and eventually erected to its final position. The member may also be cast at some location in close proximity to the construction site eliminating the transportation from precasting plant to construction site. In either situation the member is cast at a location other than its final position in the structure. Segmental construction has been defined as "... a method of construction ... in which primary load carrying members are composed of individual segments post-tensioned together. "2 As early as 1948, Eugene Freyssi57

PCI JOURNAL/January-February 1979

Fig. 1. Marne River Bridge near Paris, France. (Courtesy: Figg and Muller Engineers, Inc., Tallahassee, Florida.)

net, the great French prestressing was made using a series of machinepioneer, used prestressed concrete for made blocks (strung like beads on a the construction of five bridges over string) which were prestressed tothe Marne River near Paris, with gether to form a beam. spans of 240 ft (73 m) having an exThe construction method (although ceptionally light appearance (Fig. 1). very crude by modern standards) is Construction of these bridges, as indi- similar, in principle at least, to today's cated in Fig. 2, utilized precast seg- precast prestressed segmental bridges. ments which were post-tensioned toThe Tennessee prestressed block gether. Thus , by definition, these five beam bridge was followed very structures can be called precast preshortly by the famed Walnut Lane stressed segmental bridges. Bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Prestressing of bridges in North in 1950. The 160-ft (48.8 m) long America did not start until about beams were cast-in-place and post1949.* The first prestressed bridge in tensioned. the United States was built in MadiSoon thereafter, precast pretenson County, Tennessee. This bridge sioned bridge girders evolved result*An interesting historical account of the early prestressed ing from inherent economies and bridges in America is given by Charles C. Zollman in "Reflections on the Beginnings of Prestressed Concrete quality control of plant fabricated in AmericaPart 1: Magnel's Impact on the Advent of elements. With few exceptions, during Prestressed Concrete; Part 2: Dynamic American Enthe fifties and early sixties, most gineers Sustain Magnel's Momentum," PCI JOURNAL, V. 23, Nos. 3 and 4, May-June and July-August 1978, pp. multi-span precast prestressed bridges 22-48 and pp. 30-67. See also Ross Bryan's article on "Prestressed Concrete Innovations in Tennessee," pub- built in the United States were delished in the current PCI JOURNAL, pp. 14-31. signed as a series of simple spans. 58

They were designed with standard AASHTO-PCI girders of various cross sections in spans ranging up to about 100 ft (30.5 m), but more commonly for spans of 40 to 80 ft (12 to 24 m). The advantages of a continuous castin-place structure were abandoned in favor of the more economical construction offered by plant produced standardized units. During the middle sixties a growing concern with regard for safety of the highways asserted itself. An AASHTO Traffic Safety Committee report in 1967 called for: "Adoption and use of two-span bridges for overpasses crossing divided highways ... to eliminate the bridge piers normally placed adjacent to the shoulders." It soon became apparent that the conventional precast pretensioned AASHTO-PCI girders were limited by their transportable length and weight. Transportation over the highways limits the precast girder to a range of

100 to 120 ft (30.5 to 36.6 m) in length depending upon local regulations. As a result of longer span requirements, a study was conducted by the Prestressed Concrete Institute in cooperation with the Portland Cement Association. 4 This study proposed simple spans up to 140 ft (42.7 m) and continuous spans up to 160 ft (48.8 m) be constructed of standard precast girders up to 80 ft (24 m) in length joined together by splicing and posttensioning. To obtain longer spans the use of inclined or haunched piers was proposed. In general, these concepts utilized precast I- or box girders with field splices and post-tensioning for continuity. This type of construction, using long standard precast prestressed units never quite achieved the popularity that it merited. Despite some limitations, the method is adaptable for spans up to 200 ft (61 m). The concepts developed by the PCI-PCA studies fall into the defini-

Fig. 2. Marne River Bridge near Paris, France. (Courtesy: Figg and Muller Engineers, Inc., Tallahassee, Florida.) PCI JOURNAUJanuary-February 1979 59

rig. s. unoisey-Le-Roi Bridge over the Seine River south of Paris, France. (Courtesy: Figg and Muller Engineers, Inc., Tallahassee, Florida.)

tion of precast segmental construction and might be described as "longitudinal" segmental construction. The individual elements are long with respect to their width. As spans increased, designers turned toward utilization of posttensioned cast-in-place box girder construction. The Division of Highways, State of California, including several other states, have been quite successful using cast-in-place, multicell, post-tensioned box girder construction for multi-span structures with spans of 300 ft (91.5 m) and longer. However, this type of construction has its disadvantages; it requires extensive formwork during casting with its undesirable impact upon the environment and/or ecology. Meanwhile in Europe, segmental construction proceeded slightly differently in conjunction with box girder design. Segments were cast-inplace or precast in relatively short lengths, providing full roadway width and depth. Today, "segmental construction" is generally recognized as having been pioneered in Europe. Ulrich Finsterwalder, in 1950, was 60

the first to apply cast-in-place segmental prestressed construction in a balanced sequence to a bridge crossing the Lahn River at Balduinstein, Germany. This system of cantilever segmental construction rapidly gained acceptance in Germany, especially after the successful completion of a bridge crossing the Rhine River at Worms in 1952. 5 Since then, the concept has spread across the entire world. Concurrently, precast segmental construction was evolving during this period. In 1952, a single span county bridge located near Sheldon, New York, was designed by the Freyssinet Company. Although this bridge was constructed using longitudinal segments, rather than transverse segments, as was being done in Europe, the structure represents the first practical application of match casting. This technique has become an important development in precast segmental construction. The bridge girders were divided into three longitudinal segments that were cast end to end. The center segment was cast first and the end seg-

Fig. 4. JFK Memorial Causeway, Corpus Christi, Texas.

ments were cast directly against the center segment. Keys were cast at the joints so that the three precast elements could be joined together at the site in the same position they had in the precasting yard. Upon shipment to the job site, the three elements of a girder were post-tensioned together with cold joints.6'7 The first major application of match cast, precast, segmental construction was not realized until 10 years later, in 1962, in France. This structure, designed by Jean Muller,* was the Choisy-Le-Roi Bridge located south of Paris crossing the Seine River (Fig. 3). Since then the concept has been refined and has spread from France to many other countries. The first precast segmental bridge to be built in North America was the Lievre River Bridge located on Highway 35, 8 miles (13 km) north of Notre Dame du Laus, Quebec. The bridge, which had a center span of 260 ft (79.2 m) and end spans of 130 ft (39.6 m),

was built in 1967. The Bear River Bridge, Digby, Nova Scotia, followed in 1972 with six interior spans of 265 ft (80.8 m) and end spans of 203.75 ft (62.1 m). The JFK Memorial Causeway, Corpus Christi, Texas (Fig. 4) represents the first precast prestressed segmental bridge completed in the United States. It was opened to traffic in 1973. Designed by the Bridge Division of the Texas Highway Department, this structure has a center span of 200 ft (61 m) with end spans of 100 ft (30.5 m). In the United States, currently (1979), the author is aware of at least 24 precast segmental bridge projects that are either completed, in construction, or in design and planning stages (see Table 1). There are undoubtedly many more.
*Jean Muller, formerly chief engineer with Entreprises Campenon Bernard, Paris, France, is currently in partnership with Figg and Muller Engineers, Inc., with offices in Tallahassee, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Paris, France.

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Table 1. Precast Segmental Concrete Bridges in North America.

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Advantages of Precast Segmental Construction

In many instances where prestressed concrete segmental bridge design alternates have competed against structural steel designs they have proven to be cost effective. As previously indicated, when compared to more conventional methods of concrete construction, prestressed concrete segmental construction has extended the span range for concrete bridges and is competitive in the intermediate and long span range. The method eliminates the need for costly falsework and minimizes its impact on the environment. In general, the economic feasibility of cast-in-place or precast segments will be determined by site conditions, site accessibility, available erection equipment, time to construct and/or erect the segments, and the relative economic trade-off in transporting a finished segment as opposed to transporting constituent materials.
Advantages

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of precast segmental construction are: Necessity for a high degree of geometry control during fabrication and erection of segments. Temperature and weather limitations regarding mixing and placing epoxy joint material. Lack of mild steel reinforcement across the joint and therefore a limitation of tension stress across the joint. It should be noted that for largesized projects, it is no longer difficult to set-up fully mechanized concrete site mixing equipment. With today's technology, it is possible to produce a high quality concrete at the site. Therefore, for large projects, it is doubtful whether factory produced concrete has an advantage over site produced concrete except for the important aspect that loads and prestressing forces are applied at a later age on a more mature concrete.

The often cited advantages of precast segmental construction are: Fabrication of the segments can be accomplished while the substructure is under construction, and thus, erection of the superstructure is speeded up. By virtue of precasting and maturity of the concrete at the time of erection, the time required for strength gain of the concrete is removed from the construction critical path. As a result of the maturity of the concrete at the time of erection, the effects of concrete shrinkage and creep are minimized. Quality control of factory produced precast concrete.

Types of Precast Segmental Construction

It has been observed' that the technology for constructing segmental bridges has rapidly advanced in the last decade. During the initial development of segmental bridges they were constructed by the balanced cantilever method. Currently, such techniques as span-by-span construction, incremental launching, and progressive placing are also being utilized. Thus, there are now a variety of design concepts and construction methods which may be used to economically produce segmental bridges for almost all site conditions.
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Fig. 5. Sallingsund Bridge, Denmark, showing balanced cantilever construction.

Balanced Cantilever Construction

The balanced cantilever method of construction, sometimes referred to as the free cantilever method, was developed out of a need to eliminate falsework. Not only is falsework expensive, but it is a temporary structure and, as such, is designed with small margins of safety, as has been indicated by some falsework failures. In waterways that are subject to spring flash floods, falsework can be washed away resulting in potential damage to the structure, lost construction time, and possible financial ruin. In navigable waterways, falsework is either not allowed or is severely restricted. With cantilever construction, falsework is eliminated because precast segments are erected and supported from the pier or the already completed portion of the structure. In this method of construction segments are simply cantilevered from the preceding pier in a balanced sequence on each side until midspan is reached. Then a closure placement is made with a previous half-span can64

tilever from the preceding pier (Fig. 5). This procedure is then repeated until the structure is completed.l,s Unless symmetrical segments are simultaneously erected, the pier will be out of balance by one segment. The moment caused by this imbalance can be accommodated by a moment resistant pier. Where the pier is not monolithic with the superstructure, a temporary moment resistance may be provided by temporarily "clamping" the superstructure to the pier, provided the pier is designed to take the temporary moment. Where feasible, temporary bracing may be provided (Fig. 6). Obviously, the imbalance must be maintained on the side of the pier where the bracing is located. This concept utilizes a dual system of prestressing tendons. Cantilever (negative moment) tendons are required at the top of the segments for dead load cantilever stresses [Fig. 7(a)] and then after closure, at midspan, continuity (positive moment) tendons [Fig. 7(b)] are installed to accommodate the positive moment in the continuous structure. Because

of the high cantilever moments during construction, which are reduced by moment redistribution in the final structure, a slightly larger amount of prestressing is required compared to a structure supported on falsework. In continuous structures the final stresses in the completed structure are substantially different from what they were initially during cantilever construction. However, subsequent concrete creep and steel relaxation will tend to make the initial and final stresses approach each other. This means that there will be a redistribution in the moments and stresses of the structure. In general, the negative moments over the piers will decrease while the positive moments at midspan will increase by a corresponding amount. This redistribution of moments must be accommodated in the design. Normally in precast balanced can-

Fig. 6. Konoshima Ohashi Bridge, Japan.

diaphragm

closure pour

R
cantilever tendons main pier 100 ft (30.48 m) central span

(a)

Fig. 7. Balanced cantilever method, system of prestressing tendons (JFK Memorial Causeway, Corpus Christi, Texas).
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