Dimensionamento de pontes rodoviárias de betão armado e pré-esforçado

: análise da regulamentação nacional e europeia

Abstract

The Eurocodes will replace soon the current Portuguese codes for the design of reinforced concrete bridges, namely the Regulamento de Segurança e Ações para Edifícios e Pontes (RSA) and Regulamento de Estruturas de Betão Armado e Pré-esforçado (REBAP). The Eurocode 0 (EC0), Eurocode 1 (EC1), and Eurocode 2 (EC2), Basis of Structural Design, Actions on Structures, and Design of Concrete Structures, respectively, show some particular differences in relation to national codes - RSA and REBAP. Therefore, the main objective of this dissertation is to study the concrete road bridge design from the point of view of the two different codes, by analyzing the action of live loads (traffic loads and footways) as well as the design models and amount of bending and shear reinforcements required. Thus, this dissertation begins with a brief introduction to structural safety by standing the semiprobabilistic method - Method of Partial Safety Factors - that, appropriately, considers the uncertainties associated with the variables involved in the characterization of actions and the structural response. Then, it is described, in detail, the models of highway traffic loads provided in each code, namely RSA and EC0, as well as its implementation procedure. It also describes, briefly, the designing models for bending and shear reinforcement, according to REBAP and EC2. In terms of structural analysis, firstly the effects produced by the traffic load models are exposed and analyzed, in a brief parametric and theoretical study, on a simply supported beam bridge. Secondly, from a numerical point of view, a comparative study is carried out using three typical concrete decks in Portugal. This study allowed us to quantify and compare the stresses on the decks resulting from direct application of live loads, as well as the amount of reinforcement and prestress needed.

Date of Award	2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Elói João Faria Figueiredo (Supervisor) & António Perry da Câmara (Supervisor)