DEVELOPMENT OF COST-EFFECTIVE BRIDGE SYSTEMS, PHASE II. FINAL REPORT

The goals of this study were, first, to provide the bridge designer with the concept of a systematic procedure that would enable him to select the most cost-effective short-span bridge superstructure for a prospective site, and second, to develop an optimization method that would provide him with the minimum-cost configuration of either a composite or a noncomposite bridge that is composed of a cast-in-place concrete deck on steel beams. To meet the first goal, a list was compiled of the bridge systems that have proven to be economical for span lengths of up to 100 ft. Decision logic tables were devised to help the designer select, from this list, a few of the more suitable bridge systems for a given site. An assessment procedure was established to rank the systems that survived the first level of screening. The bridge system with the highest ranking would be selected for the given site. An interactive computer program has been written for an IBM PC for implementation of the method. In order to reach the second goal, the elements involved in the design of the two selected bridge systems and their relevant design constraints were identified. Constraints were handled directly and the univariate search method of optimization was used. An interactive computer program was written in FORTRAN V that runs on the Conversational Monitor System of IBM. It provides the user with the necessary data for the minimum-cost configuration of either of the two bridge types.

• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, University Park

  Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Transportation Research Building
  University Park, PA  United States  16802

  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

  Office of Research and Special Studies, P.O. Box 2926
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • West, H H
  • Mafi, M
  • Memari, A M
  • Corey, M J
• Publication Date: 1986-3

Media Info

• Pagination: 249 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge design; Bridge superstructures; Bridges; Cast in place structures; Computer aided design; Cost effectiveness; Design methods; Length; Ranking (Statistics); Structural design; User interfaces (Computer science)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bridge spans; Interactive computing; Selecting; Steel beams
• Old TRIS Terms: Ranking
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00457513
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-PA-85-020, PTI 8522
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 27 2004 9:44PM