Structural monitoring of an integral bridge in South Africa

This paper gives an overview of almost 3 years of monitoring data obtained from instrumentation installed in a 90 m long reinforced concrete integral bridge in South Africa. The main objective of this structural monitoring project was to assess the effect of environmental factors on integral bridge abutment movement, with specific focus on thermal effects. The data obtained from the instrumentation enable designers to compare real and assumed effective bridge deck temperatures, earth pressures and abutment movements. Analysis of the data seems to indicate that the deck cross-sectional shape (defined as the ratio of surface area to the cross-sectional area) has a significant effect on the effective bridge deck temperature, abutment movement and earth pressure.