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Air Influence on the Temperature inside a Concrete Bridge Box Section

Cachada, Christina (2010) In TVBK VBK920 20091
Division of Structural Engineering
Civil Engineering (M.Sc.Eng.)
Abstract
The temperature on a bridge is a complex phenomena caused by several sources and it is quite
difficult to forecast. Its effects cannot be ignored and during the last decades various studies have been
made in this field. In order to reduce the complexity of these investigations, some simplifications, which do
not entail large risks, are admitted making the problem easier to analyse.
The main objective of this thesis is to analyse the thermal influence of the air temperature inside a
concrete bridge box cross-section. Usually this ‘detail’ is ignored or simplified by the investigators. With
the work developed and presented in this thesis it is possible to understand the dimension of the error
introduced in the studies every... (More)
The temperature on a bridge is a complex phenomena caused by several sources and it is quite
difficult to forecast. Its effects cannot be ignored and during the last decades various studies have been
made in this field. In order to reduce the complexity of these investigations, some simplifications, which do
not entail large risks, are admitted making the problem easier to analyse.
The main objective of this thesis is to analyse the thermal influence of the air temperature inside a
concrete bridge box cross-section. Usually this ‘detail’ is ignored or simplified by the investigators. With
the work developed and presented in this thesis it is possible to understand the dimension of the error
introduced in the studies every time this simplification is introduced.
To fulfil this purpose, two finite element models were developed in order to compare with
experimental values. The experimental values were collected using the instrumentation installed on the
new Svinesund Bridge in Sweden. In both the models (A and B) several thermal sources were introduced
affecting the cross section from the outside such as air temperature, solar radiation and the night radiance.
The difference between the two models is that in the first model (A) the air inside the box cross-section is
taken into account and in the second model (B) that air is ignored.
The quality of the fit of the values obtained using the models A and B with the experimental values
from Svinesund allow to take the conclusions of this work. The difference between the models does not
indicate that changes in this detail must be included in the future thermal studies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Cachada, Christina
supervisor
organization
course
VBK920 20091
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Air temperature, Bridge, Concrete, Finite Element, Svinesund
publication/series
TVBK
report number
TVBK-5188
ISSN
0349-4969
language
English
id
3358523
date added to LUP
2013-01-10 13:07:30
date last changed
2013-01-10 13:07:30
@misc{3358523,
  abstract     = {{The temperature on a bridge is a complex phenomena caused by several sources and it is quite 
difficult to forecast. Its effects cannot be ignored and during the last decades various studies have been 
made in this field. In order to reduce the complexity of these investigations, some simplifications, which do 
not entail large risks, are admitted making the problem easier to analyse. 
The main objective of this thesis is to analyse the thermal influence of the air temperature inside a 
concrete bridge box cross-section. Usually this ‘detail’ is ignored or simplified by the investigators. With 
the work developed and presented in this thesis it is possible to understand the dimension of the error 
introduced in the studies every time this simplification is introduced. 
To fulfil this purpose, two finite element models were developed in order to compare with 
experimental values. The experimental values were collected using the instrumentation installed on the 
new Svinesund Bridge in Sweden. In both the models (A and B) several thermal sources were introduced 
affecting the cross section from the outside such as air temperature, solar radiation and the night radiance. 
The difference between the two models is that in the first model (A) the air inside the box cross-section is 
taken into account and in the second model (B) that air is ignored. 
The quality of the fit of the values obtained using the models A and B with the experimental values 
from Svinesund allow to take the conclusions of this work. The difference between the models does not 
indicate that changes in this detail must be included in the future thermal studies.}},
  author       = {{Cachada, Christina}},
  issn         = {{0349-4969}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{TVBK}},
  title        = {{Air Influence on the Temperature inside a Concrete Bridge Box Section}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}