Conceptual design of prestressed slab bridges through one-way flexural load balancing

In this paper a study on prestressed concrete slab bridges is presented. A design philosophy based on the concept of load balancing through prestressing is proposed in order to minimize the effects of delayed deformations due to creep. Aspects related to the stress redistribution inside these bridges for time-dependent phenomena are analyzed and discussed, by applying the principles of aging linear visco-elasticity. Prestressing is seen as an equivalent external load which counterbalances the permanent loads applied to the bridge, nullifying the elastic deflections due to sustained loads, and thus avoiding the related delayed deformations. An optimization of the structural behavior through the use of one-way prestressing is achieved. The determination of a convenient variable depth of slab bridges and the correspondent layout of tendons is considered as a useful means for applying the load balancing concept in actual cases of structures like long cantilevers or bridge decks. A case-study related to the slab bridges built 30 years ago at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia is presented and discussed, in order to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach to the conceptual design of prestressed concrete bridges.