Innovative Solutions for Integral Abutments

The cost of maintenance is an ever-growing problem for road administrations around the world, and bridges are no exception to the rule. One way to reduce the need for future maintenance, as well as the investment cost, is to make bridges without transition joints. In order to investigate if the cross-shaped steel pile commonly used in Sweden is suitable for use in integral abutments, two full-scale laboratory tests were carried out. Experience from the United States shows that bridges with integrated abutments are increasingly outclassing the traditional bridges with joints, the former being not only less expensive to maintain, but also more affordable to build. In the following, two analytical methods are described that can be used to calculate the capacity of piles based on plastic design.Godkänd; 2006; 20061123 (ysko