@article{Wassim Nasr Eddine_Kassim Tarhini_Mounir Mabsout_2020, title={INFLUENCE OF RAILING STIFFNESS ON SINGLE-SPAN TWOLANE STEEL GIRDER BRIDGES}, volume={19}, url={https://geomatejournal.com/geomate/article/view/1758}, abstractNote={<p>The presence of railings or parapets acting integrally with the concrete deck placed on steel<br>girders has the effect of stiffening and therefore altering the lateral wheel load distribution on highway bridges.<br>The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Standard Specifications<br>for Highway Bridges and AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications procedures do not account for the<br>presence of railings when evaluating the load-carrying capacity of highway bridges. This paper presents a<br>parametric study using 3D finite element analysis to investigate the influence of railing stiffness on one-span,<br>two-lane steel girder bridges. Railings of different sizes were placed on one or both sides of the bridge deck,<br>in combination with various span lengths and girders spacing. AASHTO HS20 design trucks were placed<br>longitudinally and transversally in order to produce maximum longitudinal bending moments in the steel<br>girders. The wheel load distribution obtained from finite element analysis at the critical section of each bridge<br>were compared with the AASHTO procedures and with reference cases for bridges without railing. This study<br>confirmed that the presence of concrete railings modeled and built integrally with the deck tends to stiffen the<br>bridge superstructure. Further, the study quantified the effect of railing in increasing the load-carrying capacity<br>of steel bridges. The results of this research will therefore assist structural engineers in better designing new<br>steel girder bridges and/or evaluating more precisely the load-carrying capacity of existing bridges with railings<br>of different sizes. Bridge engineers can consider adding or stiffening railings/parapets as a practical method for<br>strengthening existing steel girder bridges.<br><br></p>}, number={73}, journal={GEOMATE Journal}, author={Wassim Nasr Eddine and Kassim Tarhini and Mounir Mabsout}, year={2020}, month={Sep.}, pages={33–40} }