Structural Behavior of a Concrete Box Girder Bridge

During the past three years the California Division of Highways and the University of California at Berkeley have carried out an extensive program of research pertinent to concrete box girder bridges. Although the program had a number of objectives, its primary goal was the study of the manner in which live loads are distributed transversely in a box girder. Secondary objectives involved the determination of: a. dead load distribution, b. influence of intermediate diaphragms on live load distribution and c. influence of barrier curbs and railings on live load distribution. The program also included a study of analytical methods which might accurately describe the empirically determined behavior of the structure.