Effect of temperature loading on the performance of a PC bridge in Oklahoma: Reliability analysis

Abstract Spatial and temporal temperature variations in bridge structures due to changes in the surrounding climate produce movements which, if restrained, may induce stresses in the structure. Temperature effects have always been considered to be one of the critical issues that affect the performance of prestressed concrete (PC) bridges. In order to (1) develop an efficient temperature loading model for predicting bridge temperature-induced response; and (2) develop guidelines to incorporate the effects of temperature actions in reliability-based condition evaluation, numerical and analytical studies were conducted on a PC girder bridge in Oklahoma, USA. This paper focuses on the structural reliability analysis on the temperature loading action in accordance with AASHTO LRFD specification. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element method (FEM) model was established to estimate the movement and stress under temperature loading, and compared with monitoring counterparts. Then, the validated model was utilized for probabilistic analyses to assess the temperature load effects. Based on the probabilistic temperature loading model proposed in the first paper, loads and resistances statistics from published literature, reliability analyses of AASHTO LRFD limit states were performed by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) and Rackwitz-Fiessler procedure to determine the safety level in terms of reliability index.