Access Type

Open Access Dissertation

Date of Award

January 2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

First Advisor

Christopher D. Eamon

Abstract

The main objectives of this study are to evaluate the adequacy of the current AASHTO methods for shear design of prestressed concrete (PC) bridge girders, determine the reliability of PC bridge girders in shear based on the current LRFD General Procedure, determine the most accurate and consistent method for predicting the shear capacity of AASHTO “I” shape PC bridge girders, and recalibrate the AASHTO LRFD code for shear as necessary. These objectives were achieved through lab testing of two full scale Type II girders, finite element modeling for more than 330 PC girders, parametric analysis, regression analysis, and structural reliability analysis for more than 200 PC bridge cases. As a result of this study, a regression equation and a modification to the current LRFD General Procedure were proposed, and rating factors based on MI live load traffic data were computed and discussed.

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