Construction sequence modelling of continuous steel-concrete composite bridge decks

This paper proposes a model for the analysis of the construction sequences of steel-concrete composite decks in which the slab is cast-in-situ for segments. The model accounts for early age shrinkage, such as thermal and endogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage, tensile creep effects and the complex sequences of loading due to pouring of the different slab segments. The evolution of the structure is caught by suitably defining the constitutive relationships of the concrete and the steel reinforcements. The numerical solution is obtained by means of a step-by-step procedure and the finite element method. The proposed model is then applied to a composite deck in order to show its potential.