Project Tab
The Project tab allows you to enter general information about the project. You can return to this tab at any time and make changes.
Defining Project Information
Define the project by entering general information such as project name, number, state, job number, general description and Code and Units. This information is shared with all component programs. The selection of US_AASHTO on this tab allows you to specify either LRFD or LFD/Standard on the component program tabs. Depending on the license purchased, the Design Code drop down allows you to select US_AASHTO, Canada_CHBDC or India_IRC, the country codes currently supported.
Three options (i.e., None, Integral Abutment Bridge, and Response Spectrum Analysis) are currently available under Analysis Option
None
When this option is selected, there will be no particular preference in the analysis.
Integral Abutment
As is well known, the primary benefit of integral abutments is to offer jointless bridges to improve the durability of the structure.
The most common integral abutment type is the pile bent abutment. This continuity causes the structure to move as a whole also creating restraining moments at the top of abutments. This effect is addressed by integrating superstructure and substructure in the analysis.
Different states and provinces have different approaches to design integral abutments. The level of analysis performed varies from practically none to full-bridge analysis including soil structure interaction. The continuity between the abutment and the superstructure is typically established after erection of girders. The implementation in LEAP Bridge Concrete incorporates the popular method of designing girders conservatively while accounting for restraint to abutments via superstructure connectivity. LEAP Bridge Concrete also uses the concept of user-specified equivalent pile lengths in lieu of soil structure springs.
The Integral Abutment Bridge feature is used only for analyzing piers and abutments. Substructure workflow is the same as before. Users can read reactions from Precast/Prestressed Girder and CIP RC/PT Girder, or generate them within Substructure. Piers and abutments are then analyzed for these loads as part of a full bridge 3D model. In other words, the integral abutment option restrains the tops of piers and abutments through the fully connected superstructure and other substructures. Without the Integral Abutment Bridge option, the piers and abutments are analyzed as frames with no restraints at the top.
There are no changes made to the superstructure analysis and design procedures. For example, in Precast/Prestressed Girder girders do not consider negative moments that may be caused by interaction with integral abutments. This is typically done to achieve conservative girder designs.