Measured temperature and shrinkage effects on a 90 m long integral bridge in South Africa

The Van Zylspruit River Bridge is a 90 m long, fully integral bridge located on the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd national N1 route. It is a situated in central South Africa, an area known for its harsh climate, with both high and low temperatures. The bridge has been extensively instrumented to measure environmental and material property effects on the structural behaviour. The instrumentation was installed during construction and data have been logged continually from the construction phase onwards. In this paper, the results from the first phase of the monitoring project with regard to the measured effects of temperature variation and concrete shrinkage are outlined and the effects of these environmental effects on the structure are discussed. The results of the research should help to quantify the effect of temperature and shrinkage on the behaviour of the bridge and point towards how future designs should be approached, in particular how environmental and material property factors should be taken into account in the design and construction of longer integral bridges with specific reference to South African conditions.