CREEP CHARACTERISTICS OF CONCRETE USED IN LONG-SPAN ARCH BRIDGE

The reinforced concrete arch bridge with concrete-filled steel tubular stiffened skeleton is extensively used in the mountainous area of southwest China due to their long span and high stability. Beibanjiang Bridge located in Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway, which had a record span of 445 m, has recently been completed in 2016. However, concrete creep and shrinkage have pronounced effects on the long-term deflection and stress redistribution of this bridge. Several concrete creep and shrinkage specimens in the natural environment were made to predict the long-term behaviour of this bridge accurately. They were used to measure the concrete creep and shrinkage of the core concrete and surrounding concrete used in the arch bridge. The test results were compared to ACI209 R-92 Prediction of Creep, Shrinkage and Temperature Effects in Concrete Structures model, 1990 CEB-FIP Model Code 1990: Design Code model, fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010 model and Creep and Shrinkage Prediction Model for Analysis and Design of Concrete Structures-Model B3. Based on the numerical fitting method, the fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010 model was modified to suit the concrete creep and shrinkage experimental results. Then, the modified fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010 model was used to predict the time-dependent behaviour of a concrete arch bridge.