Study of Curvature Effects in Composite Steel I-Girder Bridges Using the V-Load Method

Horizontally curved composite I-girder bridges are being increasingly used for highway interchanges and river crossings. The V-load method is widely used as a simplified method for the analysis of horizontally curved I-girder highway bridges as a straight I-girder considering the effect of torsion due to curvature. Recently, North American bridge design codes and specifications have specified certain limitations to treat horizontally curved bridges as straight ones in structural analysis and design. The purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of those specified limitations by the V-Load method, to compare the results from the V-Load method with those obtained from the finite element analysis and to develop empirical expressions for curvature limitation. The results of this study shows that the North American codes and specifications underestimate the response with their specified curvature limitations. Based on this study, a modified equation for the curvature limitation is proposed.