Comparative study of steel plate girder and prestressed concrete girder

Abstract

Bridge structure has achieved a worldwide importance because they are key element of any road network. Girder bridges are structurally the simplest and the most commonly used on short to medium span bridges which typically constructed with construction material either steel or concrete. The aim of this project is to compare between steel plate girder and prestressed concrete girder in term of cost, dimension, capacity and environmental impact which include designing and analysis. The work involve in this study is to design bridges that provide light vehicle communication between residential areas using steel plate girder and prestressed concrete girder for five different span length which is 15 meter, 20 meter, 25 meter 30 meter and 35 meter. Comparative between steel plate girder and prestressed concrete girder shows that the estimated cost of prestressed concrete girder is more expensive than steel plate girder for span length 15 meter and 20 meter whereas for span length 25 meter, 30 meter and 35 meter the estimated cost for steel plate girder is more expensive than prestressed concrete girder. In term of impact on environment, the material consumption for steel plate girder is lesser than prestressed concrete girder for all span length meanwhile the amount of embodied energy for prestressed concrete is lesser than steel plate girder for all span length. Thus, steel plate girder is recommended for span length up to 20 meter and for span length beyond 35 meter prestressed concrete girder is more desirable.