Prefabricated bridge

Abstract

Bridge including a bridge deck extending in a bridge direction or longitudinal direction of the bridge, and two prefab bridge railings situated on the longitudinal side of the bridge deck, wherein the bridge deck is substantially formed by one or more slabs spanning the bridge width, wherein the bridge railing includes a lower girder provided with a bearing, particularly a bearing edge, for a longitudinal edge strip of the bridge deck.

Claims

1. A bridge, comprising: a bridge deck extending in a bridge direction or longitudinal direction of the bridge; and two prefab bridge railings made of concrete and situated on either longitudinal side of the bridge deck, respectively, wherein the bridge deck comprises opposite longitudinal edge strips and is substantially formed by one or more slabs, wherein each bridge railing comprises a lower girder provided with a bearing for interfacing with a longitudinal edge strip of the bridge deck, and wherein the one or more slabs each span an entire distance between the two bridge railings, and the longitudinal edge strips are attached to the bearings.

2. The bridge according to claim 1, wherein from the lower girder at the location of the bearing connecting parts with a starter bar extend upward therefrom into recesses in the bridge deck, wherein the recesses are provided with a stop member that is fixedly accommodated within the concrete of the bridge deck, and wherein the starter bar is provided with a laterally projecting confining member that is situated in the recess and extends over the stop member in the bridge deck and abuts the upper side of the stop member.

3. The bridge according to claim 2, wherein the stop member is part of a sleeve that is secured in the bridge deck where the sleeve has a flange as a stop member, and wherein the confining member is plate-shaped and forms a circumferential flange for abutting against the flange of the stop member.

4. The bridge according to claim 2, wherein the recess is free of filler.

5. The bridge according to claim 2, wherein the recess can be closed off by means of a removable cap.

6. The bridge according to claim 2, wherein the one or more slabs of the bridge deck are provided with a reinforcement netting, the connecting parts with a starter bar extend upward therefrom into meshes of the reinforcement netting, wherein the stop member is formed by a reinforcement bar extending through the recess, wherein the reinforcement bar extends in longitudinal direction over at least substantially the length (considered in bridge direction) of the slab in question of the bridge deck, and wherein the starter bars are provided with a laterally projecting confining member extending over the said reinforcement bar and abutting the upper side of said bar.

7. The bridge according to claim 6, wherein the confining member is plate-shaped, forming a circumferential flange.

8. The bridge according to claim 2, wherein the starter bar, at least the confining member, forms a part that after prefabrication of the bridge railing is attached to a bar anchor accommodated in the lower girder during prefabrication.

9. The bridge according to claim 6, wherein the confining member is located vertically recessed with its upper side, sitting substantially in one plane with the upper side of the reinforcement netting.

10. The bridge according to claim 2, wherein the one of more slabs of the bridge deck are provided, within corresponding longitudinal edge strips, with previously made recesses that are vertically continuous and have been filled after accommodation of the respective starter bars.

11. The bridge according to claim 1, wherein each bridge railing also comprises an upper girder, wherein the lower girder and upper girder are part of an integrally formed bridge railing where in each bridge railing the lower girder and the upper girder are connected to each other by bars that are integrally formed therewith, wherein in the bridge railing the bars with each other and with the upper girder and lower girder define lateral openings that have shapes that are different one from the other and comprise triangular and quadrangular shapes.

12. The bridge according to claim 1, wherein each bridge railing is built up from a number of bridge railing sections placed in line against each other in bridge direction, that are tensioned against each other by means of tensioning elements extending through the consecutive bridge railing sections.

13. The bridge according to claim 12, wherein the bridge deck is built up from several slabs that are placed in line against each other in bridge direction, and wherein the slabs of the bridge deck are tensioned against each other as a result of tensioning the bridge railing sections against each other.

14. The bridge according to claim 1, wherein the lower girder is provided with a first longitudinal passage for a (pre-)tensioning element, and wherein a (pre-)tensioning element that is continuous over the bridge length is arranged through the first longitudinal passages that are in line with each other.

15. The bridge according to claim 1, wherein top portions of the consecutive bridge railing sections are provided with second longitudinal passages that are in line with each other, said second longitudinal passages having arranged therein a (pre-)tensioning element that is continuous over the bridge length.

16. A bridge, comprising: a plurality of bridge sections situated in series in bridge length, each of the bridge sections including a concrete deck prefabricated as one unity, and two concrete bridge section railings situated on either side thereof and each prefabricated as one unity, wherein the bridge sections with the bridge section railings are placed in series against each other and are tensioned against each other by first and second (pre-)tensioning elements that extend through the bridge section railings and continue over the bridge length, wherein the first (pre-)tensioning elements extend continuously over the bridge length through a first longitudinal passage, an entirety of said first longitudinal passage located in an upper part of the bridge section railings in an upper girder of the bridge section railings, wherein the second (pre-)tensioning elements extend continuously over the bridge length through a second longitudinal passage, an entirety of said second longitudinal passage located in a lower part of the bridge section railings in a lower girder thereof, and wherein the lower girder forms a bearing for the deck.

17. A method for making a bridge from a series of prefab reinforced concrete, substantially plate-shaped deck sections, and two series of prefab concrete railing sections, comprising: placing railing sections in series against each other; and placing the deck sections, that each span an entire distance between both series of railing sections, on the railing sections and attached thereto, wherein through passages in the railing sections that are in line with each other tensioning elements that extend over the bridge length are arranged in order to tension the railing sections against each other in bridge direction, and wherein first separate series of railing sections are made and the deck sections are subsequently placed in series on the series of railing sections and are attached to the railing sections.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the railing sections are tensioned against each other prior to placing the deck sections.

19. A method for making a bridge from a series of prefab reinforced concrete, substantially plate-shaped deck sections, and two series of prefab concrete railing sections, comprising: placing the railing sections in series against each other; and placing the deck sections, that each span an entire distance between both series of railing sections, on the railing sections and attached thereto, wherein through passages in the railing sections that are in line with each other tensioning elements that extend over the bridge length are arranged in order to tension the railing sections against each other in bridge direction, and wherein first bridge sections or bridge pieces are built up from two railing sections and one or more deck sections borne by them that span the distance between both railing sections, after which the bridge sections are tensioned against each other by means of said tensioning elements.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be elucidated on the basis of a number of exemplary embodiments shown in the attached drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a bridge section of a bridge according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

(3) FIGS. 2A and 2B show a side view and a cross-section of a railing of the bridge section of FIG. 1 before mounting;

(4) FIGS. 3A and 3B show an end view and a cross-section of a deck of the bridge section of FIG. 1 before mounting;

(5) FIGS. 4A-C show successive mounting steps in making a bridge using the railings of FIGS. 2A, B and decks of FIGS. 3A, B;

(6) FIGS. 5A and 5B show a top view and a side view, respectively, of a finished bridge according to the exemplary embodiment;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a view corresponding with FIG. 4C of an alternative way to attach a bridge deck to a bridge railing in another exemplary embodiment of a bridge according to the invention; and

(8) FIG. 7 shows a view of an exemplary embodiment of a bridge according to the invention in an arched shape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(9) The bridge section or bridge piece 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a substantially plate-shaped (bridge section) deck 2 and two (bridge section) railings 3a, 3b attached to the longitudinal edges of the deck. The deck 2, spanning the distance between both railings, has horizontal end edge surfaces 4 that are transverse to the longitudinal direction and the railings 3a,b have vertical end edge surfaces 5a,5b that are transverse to the longitudinal direction.

(10) The railing 3a,b (for reasons of simplicity further to be called railing 3) is further shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. It comprises, see FIG. 2A, a lower girder 6, an upper girder 7, two end posts 8 and a series of bars 9a-e that are inclined in the one direction and a series of bars 10a-e that are inclined in the opposite direction. The bars 9, 10 intersect at the location of intersections 11a-e and with the girders 6 and 7 form a number of holes that are not shaped similarly, in this case quadrangles 12a-h, triangles 13a-f and pentagon 14. The holes have a dimension transverse to the largest dimension thereof that is smaller than a ball having a 50 cm diameter. The upper girder 7, lower girder 6 end posts 5 and bars 9, 10 with intersections 11 are integrally formed in a mould, for instance (with the main plane horizontally) in a mould that is open at the top side, or alternatively (depending on the material) in an injection moulding process. The lower girder 6 and upper girder 7 end in the end edge surfaces 5 that also form end surfaces of the end posts 8. In the end edge surfaces 5 steel bushes 23 are furthermore provided.

(11) FIG. 2B shows that the lower girder 6 is provided with a channel 15 that is continuous (over the full length) and has a circular cross-section and the upper girder 7 is provided with a channel 16 that is continuous (over the full length) and has a circular cross-section. The bars 9, 10 widen towards their lower ends. The lower girder 6 has a width that exceeds its height. Adjacent to the part of the lower girder 6 in which the channel 15 is situated there is a bearing part 17, in which bar anchors 21a,b have been accommodated during forming the railing. At their upper ends the bar anchors 21a,b comprise the usual sleeves 22a,22b for starter bars. With their upper edge the sleeves 22a,b sit in a bearing surface 18. The bearing surface 18 with step 19 forms an accommodation space 20 for the edge of a deck 2.

(12) The deck 2 and the railings 3a,b are prefabricated from fibre-reinforced concrete, particularly UHSC (Ultra High Strength Concrete), in this example B200.

(13) The deck 2 of FIGS. 3A,B is made by pouring the concrete in a mould and comprises reinforcement netting having a series of reinforcement bars 24 in transverse direction and a series of reinforcement bars 25 in longitudinal direction. The transverse reinforcement bars 24 have been disposed as upper reinforcement and lower reinforcement and may comprise transverse reinforcement brackets 24a, wherein the longitudinal reinforcement bars 25 are situated in between the said upper reinforcement and lower reinforcement, connected thereto. Steel bushes 27 have been arranged in end edge surfaces 4.

(14) In the longitudinal edge strips 2a, 2b of the deck 2 two longitudinal series of gains (cavities for accommodating a bar connection and filling material to be arranged around it) 26a,26b have been made. Two adjacent gains 26a,b are aligned in transverse direction. At that location the bars of the top reinforcement and bottom reinforcement form horizontal brackets 24a, which with a curve over 180 degrees run around the outermost gain 26a. The two outermost longitudinal reinforcement bars 25a,b extend through the series of gains 26a and through the series of gains 26b, respectively, through the half of the gain in question that faces away from the deck longitudinal side.

(15) Below a method of assembling a bridge built up from several bridge sections is described.

(16) After manufacturing the decks 2 and railing pairs 3a,b, are transported from the plant to the work. When the lengths of decks and railings are appropriately selected this can for instance be done in 20 ft TEU containers. The length of the railings can then be between 3 and 5 m. The deck can in that case be divided in bridge direction, for instance in deck sections having a dimension in bridge direction of half the length of the railing, so that said deck sections can be accommodated in the container with their width direction in the longitudinal direction thereof. An example is: railings having a length of 4 m and deck sections having a length of 2 m and a span width of 4 m.

(17) The railings 3a are placed in a series at the work, with the end edge surfaces 5 against each other while placing dowels in the bushes 23 placed in line with each other. Subsequently a cable 28 built up from several strands of cable is passed through the channel 15 and a cable strand 29 is passed through the channel 16 and they are both (pre)tensioned as desired. At the location of their end surfaces 5 the railings 3a are then tensioned against each other and as it were form one manageable unit, see FIG. 4A. The same will be done for the railings 3b. In this example only two railing sections are shown, it will be understood that the series of railing sections can also comprise more than two railing sections. In both end surfaces 5 situated at the ends of the series of railing sections recessesnot shownare present for accommodation of tensioning anchors 50, 51. Said recesses can be filled after the bridge has been placed.

(18) Subsequently, near the location of the bridge to be created, both railing series are placed at the wanted mutual distance and the decks 2 are placed one by one in between them. Each deck will then come to rest on the bearing surfaces 18 with its longitudinal edge strips 2a,b and namely such that the gains 26a,b will become vertically aligned with the sleeves 22a,b.

(19) Subsequently the next deck 2 is placed, with an end edge surface 4 against the end edge surface 4 of the deck 2 that has already been placed, while placing dowels in the bushes 27 in the end edge surfaces 4 placed in line with each other, see FIG. 4B.

(20) After all decks 2 have been placed and form a continuous surface the starter bars 30a,b are placed from above into the sleeves 22a,b, FIG. 4C. The starter bars 30a,b are short and comprises a bolt member (threaded end) 31a,b and a confining plate member 32a,b that is transverse thereto and has a thickness that does not exceed the thickness of the bars 25a,b.

(21) The confining plate member 32a,b is circular, concentric to the bolt member 31a,b. The bolt member 31a,b is then screwed into the sleeve 22a,b until the confining plate member 32a,b comes to rest on the bar 25a,b extending through the gain 26a,b in question. The upper surface of the confining plate member 32a,b does not project above the uppermost transverse reinforcement bracket 24a at that location. Then the gains 26a,b are filled as shown in FIG. 4C with mortar 34a,b of the same quality as the concrete used for the deck and railing, and the joint between the deck longitudinal edge and step 19 is filled with epoxy mortar 35. The thread on the bolt member 31a,b enhances adhesion. If so desired the pre-tension is increased in the tensioning elements 28, 29.

(22) In FIG. 4C it is indicated that within the vertical space defined by the lower girder 6 there is room for transverse reinforcement ribs 200 that do not project downward below the lower girder 6.

(23) After hardening the whole of series of railings 3a,b and decks 2 forming a bridge can be picked up by a crane and placed at the desired prepared location, for instance having the bridge set-up 100 of FIGS. 5A and 5B as a result, wherein also end railing sections 3c,d have been provided.

(24) In FIG. 6 an embodiment of the connection of the deck 2 with the bearing section 17 of the lower girder 6 is shown. In continuous holes 40a,b that have been made on locations that can be compared with the gains 26a,b, steel sleeves 41a,b have been arranged, which are anchored in the concrete by rings welded thereto. The sleeves 41a,b are provided with an internal shoulder 42a,b. The starter bars 30a,b, just like in FIG. 4C, are screwed into the sleeves 22a,b, but now until the confining plate member 32a,b is tensioned against the shoulder 42a,b, with the intermediary of a steel intermediate ring 43a,b. The cavity within the sleeves 41a,b is upwardly covered by caps 44a,b. In this embodiment the starter bar remains free of filler, so that after removal of the caps 44a,b the starter bar can be removed again. This way of attaching a deck to a bridge railing makes it possible to easily disassemble the bridge after use and transport it elsewhere for storage or different use.

(25) In the method of building the bridge discussed above, parallel series of bridge section railings are made first. Alternatively the bridge can be built in series in complete bridge pieces or bridge sections, wherein each bridge piece, such as the one of FIG. 1, comprises two railing sections and one or more deck sections borne by them. The bridge pieces are placed against each other and then tensioned against each other with the tensioning elements. After that the bridge can be placed in the work.

(26) If the bridge does not need to be longer than can be achieved by means of one pair bridge section railings and one or more deck sections, the deck sections can be placed and attached to both bridge section railings in the manner described above, after which the bridge consisting of one bridge section can be put in its place in the work. The tensioning elements can be utilised for pre-tensioning.

(27) In FIG. 7 an arched bridge 201 is depicted which is made in a manner comparable to the bridge 100, however now with railing sections 203a,b and decks 202 that are slightly curved in bridge direction/span direction.

(28) The above description is included to illustrate the operation of preferred embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. Starting from the above explanation many variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention will be evident to an expert.