Construction Technologies of a Solid-Web Reinforced Concrete Arch Bridge for High-Speed Railway

Muhe Bridge is China's first solid-web reinforced concrete arch high-speed railway bridge. This bridge is located in the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi Province, where the terrain is complicated. The excavation of the south abutment foundation broke the local rock masses and caused a few unloaded joints. Composite pile foundation and anchor cables combined with shotcrete anchor technology were proposed to strengthen the foundation. The displacements of the foundation before and after the reinforcement were calculated and compared using the finite element method. A layer-by-layer construction scheme was adopted to construct the arch ring because its cross-section was too large. Finally, the additional forces and displacement of the rail tracks were investigated through bridge-track interaction analyses. The effects of long-term shrinkage and creep on the longitudinal stress and displacement of the rail tracks were revealed for different construction schemes. The results provide significant engineering experience for the construction of solid-web reinforced concrete arch bridges.