In-Place Casting

In industrialized countries with limited availability of expensive skilled labor, medium-length prestressed-concrete bridges are cast in-place with special equipment to mechanize and accelerate construction and minimize labor demand and the construction cost of the bridge.

The efficient use of form travelers, movable scaffolding systems (MSS) and forming carriages requires cage prefabrication, special filling sequences for the casting cell, and specialized design of post-tensioning. Casting stages and staged application of post-tensioning control the structure-equipment interactions of flexible casting machines made with modern high-grade steels, and the risks (and the opportunities) of the trans-disciplinary interactions of mechanized in-place casting must be explored and managed.

Current bridge design standards provide minimal or no guidance on so critical issues, which further adds to the complexity of the problem. The eManuals of this collection address the needs of bridge owners, designers, construction professionals and educators interested in the design and construction of prestressed-concrete bridges with mechanized methods, and provide a unique wealth of knowledge, learning and insights on the topic.