STUDIES IN THE OPTIMUM DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGE SUPERSTRUCTURES, WITH DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE

THE DESIGN ALTERNATIVES FOR ROLLED-STEEL BEAM AND CONCRETE SLAB TYPE HIGHWAY BRIDGE SUPERSTRUCTURES ARE INVESTIGATED WITH THE AID OF A COMPUTER. IT IS SHOWN THAT THE MATERIALS SELECTED AND THE STRUCTURAL LAYOUT REQUIRED TO PRODUCE A MINIMUM COST SUPERSTRUCTURE VARY WITH RELATIVE COSTS AND SPANS. COMPUTER-SIMULATED RESULTS FOR VARIOUS HYPOTHETICAL SETS OF RELATIVE COSTS ARE PRESENTED. A COMPARISON OF THESE RESULTS WITH A FIELD PROJECT IS SHOWN TO BE IN LINE WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS IN VOL II OF THE HIGHWAY STRUCTURES DESIGN HANDBOOK, (UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION). THE STANDARDIZATION OF DESIGNS IS SHOWN TO BE ECONOMICALLY DESIRABLE AND STRUCTURALLY FEASIBLE.