ÖBB Steyrtalbrücke – Belastungsprobe und Langzeitmessungen

ÖBB Steyrtalbridge – Load test and long term measurements At km 65,621 of the railroad track between Linz and Selzthal the Steyrtalbridge was rebuilt in the years 2013 and 2014. The essential design criterion from the client ÖBB Infrastruktur AG was the endeavor of an optimized bridge under consideration of life‐cylce‐cost, which among other things despite a bridge length of 182 m can be designed without high‐maintenance breather switches. Based on the current standards and certain design flexibilities, which are allowed in the codes special ways and techniques were used to calculate the rail tension. With this results of the rail‐structure‐interaction it was possible to design without breather switches. As consequence of the assumptions in the planning process it was necessary to make comprehensive measurements which shall give information of the real behavior of the bridge and compare them with the assumptions and results of the static calculation. Therefor static and dynamic load test were performed before opening to regular traffic. In addition long term measurements were carried out to evaluate the load‐bearing behavior over time and to confirm the calculation approaches for the verification of the rail‐structure‐interaction. In this article the planning of the monitoringsystem, the implementation and results of the load test and the following long term measurements are illustrated.     

Entwurf und Ausführungsplanung der Stöbnitztalbrücke

Auf der Neubaustrecke Erfurt – Leipzig/Halle werden zurzeit einige Talbrücken realisiert, die einen neuen, ganzheitlich orientierten Entwurfsansatz verfolgen. Bei diesen integralen bzw. semi‐integralen Bauwerken sind die Überbauten monolithisch mit den Pfeilern und teilweise mit den Widerlagern verbunden. Sie können deshalb schlanker und mit stetigen Übergängen zwischen den Bauteilen ausgeführt werden. Durch den weitgehenden Verzicht auf Lager und Fugen und durch die robuste Bauweise besitzen integrale Bauwerke eine wesentlich längere Lebenserwartung als herkömmliche Talbrücken. Die Scherkondetalbrücke und die Gänsebachtalbrücke wurden bereits in vorherigen Ausgaben beschrieben. In diesem Beitrag wird über den Bau der Stöbnitztalbrücke berichtet, die als Sondervorschlag der ausführenden Baufirma realisiert wird. The Bridge over Stoebnitz Valley – a Bridge without Bearings on High‐Speed Railway Route Erfurt – Leipzig/Halle Currently some large valley bridges are under construction on high‐speed railway route Erfurt‐Leipzig/Halle. These bridges follow a new holistic design philosophy. The superstructures of those integral or semi‐integral bridges are rigidly connected to the abutments and the columns. Therefore, they are more slender than conventional bridges and the bridges are very robust and durable because of the omitting of bearings and dilatation joints. The bridges over Scherkonde valley and over Gaensebach valley were already described in previous issues. In this paper the construction of the bridge crossing Stoebnitz valley is reported. This bridge is being built as an alternate design of the contractor.     

Neubau der ÖBB‐Donaubrücke Tulln – ein innovatives Brückentragwerk

104 Jahre nach ihrer Erbauung wurde die Eisenbahnbrücke der Österreichischen Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) über die Donau in Tulln einer Generalsanierung unterzogen. Als Tragsystem der neuen Brücke wurde eine Fachwerkverbundkonstruktion mit untenliegender Fahrbahn gewählt. Nach nur 16 Monaten Bauzeit konnte mit der Inbetriebnahme im Oktober 2009 ein Stück europäische Brückenbaugeschichte geschrieben werden. Für die Demontage der bestehenden Tragwerke und die Montage des neuen Tragwerks inklusive der Ausrüstung für den Bahnbetrieb stand eine 7‐monatige Streckensperre zur Verfügung. Die Herstellung des Ersatzneubaus des 440 m langen Brückentragwerks unter möglichst geringer Beeinträchtigung des Straßen‐, Bahn‐ und Schiffsverkehrs stellte höchste Anforderungen an den Bauherrn, die Planer und die ARGE Donaubrücke Tulln. Errection of the ÖBB‐Donaubrücke Tulln – an innovative bridge construction. 104 years after being built, the railway bridge of the Österreichischen Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) across the Danube at Tulln, Austria, has been completely refurbished. The new bridge is based on a composite over‐deck truss construction. After a construction time of only 16 months, commissioning in October 2009 was the last step in a project that will make European bridge construction history. For the dismantling of the existing supporting structure and the assembly of the new one incl. the railway facilities, the railway line was blocked for 7 months. Replacing the 400‐m long supporting structure while keeping the effects on road, rail and shipping traffic to the lowest possible level put highest demands on owner, planners and ARGE Donaubrücke Tulln.     

Die neue Lahntalbrücke Limburg im Zuge der BAB 3 – Wettbewerb und Entwurf

The new bridge over the river Lahn near Limburg as part of BAB 3, Germany – Competition and Design The effort of the responsible engineers and architects at the Lahntalbrücke Limburg always becomes clear when a new well‐designed bridge structure is needed for the representative Lahn valley. To handle the steadily increasing traffic prestressed concrete structures have gained acceptance for both replacement constructions. Both constructions also convince optically through their simplicity while leaving the creative presence of the cathedral in the valley unchanged.     

Schlanke Fußgängerbrücke aus Textilbeton

In Albstadt‐Lautlingen wurde eine ältere Fußgängerbrücke aus Stahlbeton durch eine elegante Brücke aus Textilbeton ersetzt. Durch die Kombination von textilbewehrtem Beton mit einer Vorspannung ohne Verbund ließ sich eine für Betontragwerke außergewöhnliche Schlankheit erzielen. Die 97 m lange Brücke über die Bundesstraße B 463 besteht aus sechs Fertigteilen, die bei einer Elementlänge von 17,2 m eine Bauhöhe von 43 cm aufweisen. Im Beitrag werden Konstruktion, Bemessung und insbesondere das Schwingungsverhalten beschrieben. Die Untersuchungen zu den verwendeten Baustoffen sowie zum Tragverhalten und zur Dauerhaftigkeit finden sich in einem separaten Beitrag in diesem Heft. A Pedestrian Bridge Made of Textile Reinforced Concrete The pedestrian bridge over a state road in Albstadt, Germany, had to be torn down due to immense corrosion damages of the steel reinforcement and was replaced by a new bridge. The design of the new bridge allows a slender and durable construction with high demands on the concrete surface. The bridge with a total length of 97 m is subdivided in six prefabricated parts with a maximum element length of 17,2 m and a span of L_s = 15 m. The height of only 43 cm is possible by using the innovative composite material textile reinforced concrete. Thus, a slenderness of L_s/H = 35 and an extreme slender bridge construction is achieved. Due to the non‐corrosive textile reinforcement a very small concrete cover is possible and, thus, webs and cantilever arms can be designed very thin. The paper describes the construction, design and dynamic behaviour. A report on materials, load bearing behaviour and on the durability is available as a separate paper in this issue.     

Das neue Ottendorfer Viadukt – ein außergewöhnliches Bauvorhaben

The Ottendorfer Viadukt – An extraordinary construction project. One of the titles of the Bishop of Rome is Pontifex. Pontifex means bridge builder. Now it is really presumptuous to compare bridge builders with a Bishop. But if it is feasible to build a bridge between people with a construction of a bridge like the Ottendorfer Viadukt too, then it is a success in the sense of the word Pontifex. Due to local conditions the reconstruction of the Ottendorfer Viadukt was a challenge in planning, technology and construction. It was only through the excellent cooperation of all involved parties, especially the owners, planners, executives, authorities and local residents, that this building project became a success. The result is an extraordinary civil engineering construction. The shape of the arched supporting structure was used for the first time at the Deutsche Bahn and presents an extremely aesthetic landscape brand in the Ottendorfer Valley.     

Das Schiffshebewerk am Drei‐Schluchten‐Staudamm,China – Bau des größten Fahrstuhls der Welt

The ship lift at the Three‐Gorges‐Dam in China – Construction of the world's largest elevator With a total height of 169 m, a maximal lifting height of 113 m and moved masses of approx. 33 000 t, the ship lift at the Three‐Gorges‐Dam in China will be the largest of its kind worldwide. The entire structure is nearing completion. Operational testing started in 2015. Located parallel to the existing fully operating five stage ship lock at the 2,3 km long barrage, the ship‐lift consists of four RC towers. A steely, water filled ship chamber with 132 m length, 23 m width and 10,5 m height will lift ships with a max. water displacement of 3 000 t. The construction gains its flexibility from an innovative combination of structural and mechanical parts. Since 2008 the ship lift structure was erected by climbing formwork. Due to the tolerances demanded by the embedded parts of the mechanical drive system, a special procedure of 1st and 2nd stage concrete and grouting had to be developed. The article describes the structural aspects of the project with focus on the execution.