REINFORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE DESIGN

This project was a 4 month assignment involving the designing of a cast-inplace reinforced concrete pedestrian bridge. The primary objective consisted of designing a general arrangement of all concrete members involved (bridge girder, pier, foundation), as well as their concrete reinforcements in such a way that it meets safety regulations while also remaining economical. Furthermore we were to present the full design on an AutoCAD template such that a contractor could easily comprehend and build the design in a realistic scenario.

Using a custom python script I wrote, I would solve for the shear, moment and normal force diagrams of all members using the Force-method, taking into account dead, live and a custom earthquake load into account. Based on the obtained demand values, we would design a full steel reinforcement design using methods taught in CIV313, ultimately presenting the final design in the way of 3 AutoCAD template design

Reflection

This project played a major role in shaping my aspirations in engineering design. This project was a lot more comprehensive when compared to the somewhat similar steel design project.

In this project, we were not simply responsible for selecting appropriately sized members, instead we were responsible for the design of the entire bridge structure itself, from selecting an appropriate cross section of the girder, to dimensioning the foundation and pier connections, to not only selecting but appropriately choosing the positioning of steel reinforcement.

Overall, this project solidified to me that I enjoy working on design projects like this; projects which have a challenging and demanding process, but give a sense of proper accomplishment once completed.

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