Introduction to Mechanized Bridge Construction

In 44 pages, the bestselling title of the Bridge Engineering eManuals Project explores new and emerging bridge technology and modern construction methods for bridge owners, designers and construction professionals looking to save time, labor and costs, reduce risk, and increase the value and quality of bridge projects through mechanized construction.

The eManual explains the reasons for the industry trend toward mechanized bridge construction, discusses its principles, means and methods, and explores the different types of bridge construction machines and their influence on the design and construction of the bridge.

With extensive illustrations, the eManual introduces launchers and shifters for precast beam bridges, the different families of self-launching gantries for span-by-span construction of precast segmental bridges, and the overhead and underslung movable scaffolding systems (MSS) for span-by-span casting of box girders and solid, voided and ribbed slabs.

The eManual explores the overhead and underslung form travelers for balanced cantilever casting of segmental decks, cable-supported arches and cable-stayed bridges; the telescopic MSS for balanced cantilever casting of macro-segments, the self-launching gantries and lifting frames for balanced cantilever erection of precast segmental bridges, the self-launching gantries for span-by-span macro-segmental construction, and the span carriers with underbridge and the span launchers fed by tire trolleys for full-span precasting of railway bridges.

• Introduction
• Mechanized bridge construction
• Bridge construction machines
• Beam launchers
• Self-launching gantries for span-by-span erection of precast segments
• Movable scaffolding systems (MSS) for span-by-span casting
• Self-launching machines for balanced cantilever construction
• Span carriers for full-span precasting
• Conclusions
• Glossary
• References

The bestselling title of the eManuals Project provides an extensive introduction to modern bridge construction technology and is an indispensable gateway to more specialized monographs of the project.