Effects of Live Load on the Deflection of Long-Span PC Continuous Rigid-Frame Highway Bridge Based on Midas

Down-deflection is one of the most common diseases of long-span prestressed concrete (PC) bridge. According to relevant design codes and deflection calculation methods, effects of live load were not explicitly considered. Thus, it is necessary to analyze the live load effects on bridge down-deflection in detail. In this paper, the whole construction process of a long-span PC continuous ridge-frame bridge was firstly simulated by Midas/Civil software. Then, by multiplying a certain coefficient on uniformly distributed lane load, long-term deflection effects of live load were studied. Finally, by using two theories about the fatigue effect on deflection, the impact of repeated live load on long-term deflection was comparatively analyzed. The results show live load has an important effect on the down-deflection of PC continuous rigid-frame bridge.