Construction of the Galleria I-459 Flyover near Birmingham Alabama.

Bridge Stability Research

Much of our bridge research has focused on curved bridges, where “curved” refers to bridges with support girders curved in the horizontal plane.  The horizontally curved bridge girder carries its load transverse to the curvature of the beam while the arch supports it share of the load in the plane of curvature.  In the design of straight bridges, the primary girders can typically be designed as isolated members, subjected to bending only.  However, once curvature is added to the structure, an entirely different behavior results.  Torsion is introduced and all of the girders, cross-frames, and diaphragms push and pull on each other.  The behavior is extremely complex and the additional stresses due to curvature are significant.  A design guide entitled "Guide Specifications for Horizontally Curved Highway Bridges" is available to engineers who are designing curved bridges.  The research in which this "guide" was based was done in the early and mid 1970's and has many disparities and shortcomings.   The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the bridge design industry has recognized this problem for some time and two large scale projects were initiated:   (1) the FHWA Curved Steel Bridge Research Project (CSBRP) and (2) the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 12-38, Improved Design Specifications for Horizontally Curved Steel Girder Highway Bridges.  The overall objective of the CSBRP is to conduct fundamental research into the behavior of the curved steel bridges and that of NCHRP Project 12-38 to use established knowledge of the subject to update the Guide Specifications for Horizontally Curved Highway Bridges.   I was part of both of these projects and have authored several peer-reviewed publications along with several projects at UAB sponsored by the University Transportation Center.

STUDENTS

Mahendra Madhavan (PhD May 2006), Stability of Curved Bridge Girders during Construction, (published dissertation, UAB)

Lance Osborne (MSCE May 2002), Construction of Curved I-girder Bridges: Case Study of the I-459 Flyover, (project report, UAB)

Shekhar Patil (MSCE August 2008), Engineering Methodology for Considering Permanent Metal Deck Forms for Stability of Bridges during Construction, (published thesis, UAB)

PUBLICATIONS

Madhavan MK, Davidson JS, “Flange Local Buckling Formulation for Horizontally Curved Girders,” Journal of Bridge Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 14, No. 6, 424–435, November 1, 2009.

Madhavan MK and Davidson JS, “Elastic buckling of I-beam flanges subjected to a linearly varying stress distribution,” Journal of Constructional Steel Research, Volume 63, Issue 10, October 2007, Pages 1373-1383.

Madhavan MK and Davidson JS, “Elastic Buckling of Plates Subjected to Linearly Varying Edge Load,” Thin-Walled Structures, v 43, n 8, August, 2005, p 1264-1276.

Davidson JS and Yoo CH, “Effects of Distortion on the Strength of Curved I-Shaped Bridge Girders,” Journal of the Transportation Research Board, TRB Committee A2C02 - Steel Bridges, 2003.

Davidson JS and Yoo CH, “Evaluation of Strength Formulations for Horizontally Curved Flexural Members,” ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, Vol 5, No. 3, August 2000.

Davidson JS, Ballance SR and Yoo CH, “Behavior of Curved I-girder Webs Subjected to Combined Bending and Shear,” ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, Vol 5, No. 2, May 2000.

Davidson JS, Ballance SR and Yoo CH, “Effects of Longitudinal Stiffeners on Curved I-Girder Webs,” ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, Vol 5, No. 2, May 2000.

Davidson JS, Ballance SR and Yoo CH, “Analytical Model of Curved I-girder Web Panels Subjected to Bending,” ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering August 1999.

Davidson JS, Ballance SR and Yoo CH, “Finite Displacement Behavior of Curved I-Girder Web Subjected to Bending,” ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, August 1999.

Yoo CH and Davidson JS, “Yield Interaction Equations for Nominal Bending Strength of Curved I-Girders,” Journal of Bridge Engineering, ASCE, Vol 2, No. 2, May 1997.

Davidson JS, Keller MA and Yoo CH, “Cross-Frame Spacing and Parametric Effects in Horizontally Curved I-Girder Bridges,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 122, No. 9, September, 1996.

Yoo CH, Kang YJ, and Davidson JS, “Buckling Analysis of Curved Beams by Finite Element Discretization,” Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, Vol. 122, No. 8, August, 1996.

Lee SC, Davidson JS, and Yoo CH, “Shear Buckling Coefficients of Plate Girder Web Panels,” Computers & Structures, Vol. 59, No. 5, pp. 789-795, 1996.

Davidson JS and Yoo CH, “Local Buckling of Curved I-Girder Flanges,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 122, No. 8, August, 1996.

PRESENTATIONS

“A Historical Perspective and Recent Advances in U.S. Bridge Design Codes related to Curvature Effects on Steel Bridge Superstructures,” Keynote presentation, 8^th International Symposium on Steel Structures, November 5-7, 2015, Jeju, Korea.

“Stability Considering Permanent Metal Deck Forms During Construction of Long Span Bridges,” Shekhar Patil, Ramy S. Abdalla, and James S. Davidson, 2008 North American Steel Construction Conference and Annual Stability Conference, Nashville Convention Center, Nashville, Tennessee, April 2–5, 2008.

“Definition of Flange Compactness for I-Beams that are subjected to Combined Primary Bending and Torsion or Lateral Flexure,” Davidson JS and Madhavan MK, 2006 ASCE Structures Congress, May 18-21 2006, St. Louis Missouri.

“Flange Compactness Definition for Horizontally Curved I-Girders,” Davidson JS and Madhavan MK, 2005 North American Steel Construction / Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC) Conference, April 2005, Montreal Canada.

“Elastic Buckling of Centerline-Stiffened Plates Subjected to a Linearly Varying Stress Distribution,” Madhavan MK and Davidson JS, 2005 North American Steel Construction / Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC) Conference, April 2005, Montreal Canada.

“Lateral Stability of Braced Curved I-Girder Systems,” Davidson JS and Madhavan MK, 2005 North American Steel Construction / Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC) Conference, April 2005, Montreal Canada.

“Analytical Model to Evaluate the Distortion of Curved Thin-Walled Web Panels,” Davidson JS and Yoo CH, Fourth International Conference on Thin-Walled Structures, 22-24, Loughborough UK, June 2004.

“Elastic Buckling of Plates Subjected to Uniaxial Eccentric Compression,” Madhavan MK and Davidson JS, Fourth International Conference on Thin-Walled Structures, 22-24, Loughborough UK, June 2004.

“Elastic Buckling of Centerline-Stiffened Plates Subjected to a Linearly Varying Stress Distribution,” Madhavan MK and Davidson JS, Twenty-second Southeastern Conference on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, August 15-17, 2004, Tuskegee Alabama.

“Distortion Effects on the Stability of Curved I-Shaped Bridge Girders,” Davidson JS and Yoo CH, 2003 North American Steel Construction / Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC) Conference, April 2003.

“Elastic Local Buckling of Curved I-Girder Flanges,” Madhavan MK and Davidson JS, 2003 North American Steel Construction / Structural Stability Research Council (SSRC) Conference, April 2003.

“Effects of Distortion on the Strength of Curved I-Shaped Bridge Girders,” Davidson JS and Yoo CH, 2003 TRB Annual Meeting, TRB Committee A2C02 - Steel Bridges, January 2003.

“Distortion Effects on the Stability of Curved I-Shaped Bridge Girders,” Davidson JS and Yoo CH, 2003 Structural Stability Research Council Conference.

“Elastic Local Buckling of Curved I-Girder Flanges” Madhavan MK and Davidson JS, 2003 Structural Stability Research Council Conference.

“Stability of Horizontally Curved I-Girder Web Panels,” Davidson JS and Yoo CH, 2002 North American Steel Construction Conference and Structural Stability Research Council Conference, April 2002.

“Stability of Horizontally Curved I-Girder Web Panels,” Davidson JS and Yoo CH, 2002 Structural Stability Research Council Conference.

“Top Flange Diagonal Bracing of Horizontally Curved Box Girders,” Yoo CH, Davidson JS, and Zhang J, 12^th Engineering Mechanics Conference, ASCE, La Jolla, CA, May 16-20, 1998.

REPORTS

Patil SS, Abdalla RS, and Davidson JS, “Deck Forms for Bridge Construction Safety,” report published by the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA), UTCA Report 06210, 2011.

Davidson JS, Abdalla RS, and Madhavan MK, “Stability of Curved Bridges during Construction,” report published by the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA), UTCA Report 03228, December 2004.

Davidson JS, Abdalla RS, and Madhavan MK, “Design and Construction of Modern Curved Bridges,” report published by the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA), UTCA Report 01223, December 2002.

“Construction of Curved I-girder Bridges: Case Study of the I-459 Flyover,” Lance Osborne, MSCE student report and project presentation, April 2002.

Yoo CH and Davidson JS, “Curved Steel Bridge Research Project: Task D - Nominal Bending and Shear Strength,” report submitted to the Federal Highway Administration, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, as part of the Curved Steel Bridge Research Project, Contract No. DTFH61-92-C-00136, Auburn University, Highway Research Center, Auburn Alabama, August 2002.

Davidson JS, “Nominal Bending and Shear Strength of Curved Steel I-Girder Bridges,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Auburn University, Auburn Alabama, August 1996, 693 pps.

SPONSORED PROJECTS

Principal Investigator, “Deck Forms for Bridge Construction Safety,” sponsored by the Department of Transportation through the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA), January 2006 through August 31, 2007.

Principal Investigator, “Stability of Curved Bridges during Construction,” sponsored by the Department of Transportation through the University Transportation Center of Alabama (UTCA), January 2003 through March 2004.

Principal Investigator, “Design and Construction of Modern Curved Bridges,” sponsored by the Department of Transportation through the University Transportation Center of Alabama (UTCA), September 2001 through December 2002.