Mitigation of seasonal temperature change-induced problems with integral bridge abutments using EPS foam and geogrid

• Published in: Geotextiles and geomembranes Vol. 49; no. 5; pp. 1380 - 1392
• Main Authors: Liu, Hao, Han, Jie, Parsons, Robert L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Essex Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Bridge abutments; Bridges; Compressibility; Concrete pavements; Deformation; Earth pressure; Elastic limit; EPS foam; Geographic information systems; Geogrids; Geosynthetics; Girder bridges; Girders; Highway construction; Inclusions; Integral bridge abutment; Integral bridges; Lateral earth pressure; Lateral pressure; Modulus of elasticity; Placement; Polystyrene resins; Seasonal temperature change; Settling; Geosynthetics; Lateral earth pressure; Integral bridge abutment; EPS foam; Seasonal temperature change
• ISSN: 0266-1144; 1879-3584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geotexmem.2021.05.010

Expansion of bridge girders in summer moves integral bridge abutments toward backfill, causing high lateral earth pressures behind the abutment. Some backfill material slumps downward and toward the abutment when the abutment moves away from the backfill due to bridge girder contraction in winter. Placement of geogrids within the backfill can increase stability of the backfill while placement of compressible inclusions (e.g., Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam) can reduce lateral earth pressures behind the abutment caused by bridge girder expansion. In this study, six physical model tests were conducted with 30 abutment top movement cycles due to simulated seasonal temperature changes to study the performance of integral bridge abutments with different mitigation measures. The test results showed that geogrid reinforcements caused higher maximum lateral earth pressures at the same abutment movement, but geogrids with wrap-around facing significantly reduced the backfill surface settlements. The combination of the EPS foam and geogrids could minimize lateral earth pressure increase and backfill settlement. The EPS foam reduced the abutment toe outward movement when the abutment top was pushed against the backfill; however, the mitigation effects by the EPS foam was limited due to its small thickness and relatively high elastic modulus in this study. •This paper investigated the effect of EPS foam and geogrid reinforcement on the reduced lateral earth pressure and backfill settlement behind integral bridge abutment due to simulated temperature change.•Geogrid reinforcement increased resistance to bridge abutment movement and reduced backfill settlement.•EPS foam reduced resistance to bridge abutment movement and lateral earth pressure.