Measurement Based Performance Evaluation of a Segmental Concrete Bridge

Construction of the U. S. 183 segmental viaduct in Austin, Texas provided the opportunity to study many topics in need of research, mostly for segmental box girder design and construction. Field instrumentation and testing of various elements of the structure, including two piers and four superstructure multi-span units, provided a large amount of data for evaluation. Most of these measured results were presented and evaluated in this dissertation. Topics under study included post-tensioning force losses, thermal gradients and their effects, live load response, behavior of local zones and other discontinuity zones, the diffusion of post-tensioning forces, and an evaluation of semi-continuous multi-span bridge units. Recommendations were made for improved design and construction practices.