Van Brienenoordbrug I (case study)

The Van Brienenoord Bridges are two steel tied arch bridges with a span of 287 meters and diagonal hangers. This analysis only considers one of the bridges, carrying six lanes of the A16 motorway in Northerly direction. Three lanes are the main carriageway and three are the parallel carriageway. Traffic across the bridge is heavy with approximately 2 million trucks passing per year (2020). The width of the bridge is 33,5 meters. The structure consists of arches and main girders formed by box sections. Heavy cross girders span from main girder to main girder and support a secondary longitudinal girder at the center of the bridge. Minor cross girders span between the main girders and central girder. An orthotropic deck spans between the minor and major cross girders. The bridge carries the A16 motorway in northernly direction. At the location of the bridge, the A16 motorway consists of a main carriageway and a parallel carriageway in a local-express lane system. Both carriageways consists of three lanes. The bridge consists of (starting from the north side) of a (concrete) approach bridge, a (steel) bascule movable bridge, the (steel) main arch and a (concrete) approach bridge. This case study focuses on the main arch only. The total length of the bridge is 1320 meters. The length of the main arch is 306 meters with a span of 287 meters. The width of the bridge is 33,5 meters. The main span consists out of a tied double arch structure with diagonal hangers supporting the main girders. The arches and main girders are placed 24,9 meters center to center. The bridge has an orthotropic deck that spans on to cross-girders. The cross-girders then span between a central girder and the two outer main girders. To the outside of each arch, cantilevering from the main girders is a cycle path. The arch is mostly constructed out of S355 steel. The arches are braced in plan with diagonals and cross members . The main girders are supported from the hangers connected to the arch. There are a variety of connections in the bridge. They can be welded, riveted or a combination of riveted and bolted (at the hanger connections). When the new West bridge was built in 1990, the West cycle path was no longer accessible. Instead of adding a new cycle path to the new West bridge, the existing East cycle path was widened. The arch is formed from a box section. It has a constant cross section over the central section of the bridge of 2,5 by 1,25 meters. As the arch approaches each of the spring points, it increases to a maximum depth of 3,17 m. The web plates of the arches are internally braced with a longitudinal stiffener and diaphragms. The longitudinal stiffener is supported by a K-bracing which runs along the entire length of the arch at mid-height of the webs. The diagonal and horizontal bracing members of the arch are box sections. In the middle of the span the bracing acts as a truss. At the spring points, the bracing members form a moment resisting portal frame to stabilize the arch while allowing traffic to pass through. The main girders are box sections of 3,5 meters by 1,2 meters but increase to 5,1 meters in height near the arch spring point. Plate thicknesses vary of the span. At the centerline of bridge the central girder is placed. It consists of a continous I-beam spanning between major cross girders at 14,35 m centers. It has a height of approximately 2 meters. The top flange of the central girder is formed by the deck plate. There are three main types of cross girders. All are I-sections where the top flange is formed by the deck plate. Firstly, there are the arch spring point cross girders, which are heavier since they are part of the moment resisting frame stabilizing the arch. Then there are major cross girders and minor cross girders. The major cross girders are spaced at 14,35 centers. These support the central girder as well as the orthotropic deck. The minor cross girders are shallowerer and span between the main girders and central girders. They are spaced every 2,05 meters and support the orhotropic steel deck. The orthotropic deck consists of a 10 mm steel deckplate stiffened longitudinally by open stiffeners (bulbs) spaced at 300 mm. Traffic across the bridge is heavy with approximately 2 million trucks passing per year (2020). About 3/4 of these are on the main carriage way, the other 1/4 on the parallel carriageway. The number of trucks is expected to grow to approximately 3 million in 2050.


Object description

The Van Brienenoord Bridges are two steel tied arch bridges with a span of 287 meters and diagonal hangers. This analysis only considers one of the bridges, carrying six lanes of the A16 motorway in Northerly direction. Three lanes are the main carriageway and three are the parallel carriageway. Traffic across the bridge is heavy with approximately 2 million trucks passing per year (2020). The width of the bridge is 33,5 meters. The structure consists of arches and main girders formed by box sections. Heavy cross girders span from main girder to main girder and support a secondary longitudinal girder at the center of the bridge. Minor cross girders span between the main girders and central girder. An orthotropic deck spans between the minor and major cross girders. The bridge carries the A16 motorway in northernly direction. At the location of the bridge, the A16 motorway consists of a main carriageway and a parallel carriageway in a local-express lane system. Both carriageways consists of three lanes. The bridge consists of (starting from the north side) of a (concrete) approach bridge, a (steel) bascule movable bridge, the (steel) main arch and a (concrete) approach bridge. This case study focuses on the main arch only. The total length of the bridge is 1320 meters. The length of the main arch is 306 meters with a span of 287 meters. The width of the bridge is 33,5 meters. The main span consists out of a tied double arch structure with diagonal hangers supporting the main girders. The arches and main girders are placed 24,9 meters center to center. The bridge has an orthotropic deck that spans on to cross-girders. The cross-girders then span between a central girder and the two outer main girders. To the outside of each arch, cantilevering from the main girders is a cycle path. The arch is mostly constructed out of S355 steel. The arches are braced in plan with diagonals and cross members . The main girders are supported from the hangers connected to the arch. There are a variety of connections in the bridge. They can be welded, riveted or a combination of riveted and bolted (at the hanger connections). When the new West bridge was built in 1990, the West cycle path was no longer accessible. Instead of adding a new cycle path to the new West bridge, the existing East cycle path was widened. The arch is formed from a box section. It has a constant cross section over the central section of the bridge of 2,5 by 1,25 meters. As the arch approaches each of the spring points, it increases to a maximum depth of 3,17 m. The web plates of the arches are internally braced with a longitudinal stiffener and diaphragms. The longitudinal stiffener is supported by a K-bracing which runs along the entire length of the arch at mid-height of the webs. The diagonal and horizontal bracing members of the arch are box sections. In the middle of the span the bracing acts as a truss. At the spring points, the bracing members form a moment resisting portal frame to stabilize the arch while allowing traffic to pass through. The main girders are box sections of 3,5 meters by 1,2 meters but increase to 5,1 meters in height near the arch spring point. Plate thicknesses vary of the span. At the centerline of bridge the central girder is placed. It consists of a continous I-beam spanning between major cross girders at 14,35 m centers. It has a height of approximately 2 meters. The top flange of the central girder is formed by the deck plate. There are three main types of cross girders. All are I-sections where the top flange is formed by the deck plate. Firstly, there are the arch spring point cross girders, which are heavier since they are part of the moment resisting frame stabilizing the arch. Then there are major cross girders and minor cross girders. The major cross girders are spaced at 14,35 centers. These support the central girder as well as the orthotropic deck. The minor cross girders are shallowerer and span between the main girders and central girders. They are spaced every 2,05 meters and support the orhotropic steel deck. The orthotropic deck consists of a 10 mm steel deckplate stiffened longitudinally by open stiffeners (bulbs) spaced at 300 mm. Traffic across the bridge is heavy with approximately 2 million trucks passing per year (2020). About 3/4 of these are on the main carriage way, the other 1/4 on the parallel carriageway. The number of trucks is expected to grow to approximately 3 million in 2050.

Civil engineering type
:
Road network Bridge
Year of construction
:
1965
Composed of materials
:
Location coordinates
:
51° 54' 16.46" N, 4° 32' 33.57" E
Country
:
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Object analysis

The bridge owner (Rijkswaterstaat, the ministry of transport) has concluded, on the basis of an exploratory assessment, that a full recalculation of the bridge is required (ULS and FLS). The scope of the anslysis includes the main arch structure and excludes any side structures such as the approach spans. The recalculation is to be performed according to the relevant Eurocodes, their Dutch National Annexes, a supplementary Dutch code for existing structures and supplementary requirements by Rijkswaterstaat. The models used in the analysis are to be validated with measurements on the bridge. Measurements will be taken of 3 months of normal traffic. Moreover, a load test will be performed on an otherwise empty bridge.

Case type
:
Consulting

Object state

General state of the object is good, but the conservation (paint) is end of life. Minor corrosion at various locations. Fatigue cracks are present in the orthotropic deck.

Observed deterioration processes
:
Observed damage types
:
Performance indicators
:
Deformation, Traffic information via WIM/BWIM, Cracks (width/length/pattern), Anomalies (delamination/spalling)

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This case study was contributed by Sjors van Es of TNO. Last edited by technical staff.