RESEARCH ON INTEGRAL BRIDGE ABUTMENTS

Integral bridges have no bearings or joints between the decks and abutments, thus they can significantly reduce bridge life-time costs. However, the soil behind the abutment is subjected to cyclic loading from the abutment as the deck length varies due to annual temperature variations. Great uncertainties have arisen about the ultimate magnitude of the lateral earth pressure behind integral abutments. This paper summarizes the researches related to integral abutments, including field monitoring, small-scale testing, stress path testing, and numerical modeling. It is revealed that the soil pressure will continue to increase with the cycling actions, and the mechanism has been discussed. The researches related to the dynamic behavior of integral abutments are also summarized. Due to the integral connection, the inertia force of the deck imposes a significant influence on the seismic interaction between the abutment and soil.