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Abstract:
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Prosperity and quality of life of our modern society is also based on a well-established road network
for movement of goods and passenger traffic. Bridges are a vital, but also vulnerable part of this
network. They are expensive in construction and maintenance – about 1-2% of the construction
expenses have to be invested into maintenance per year. Because of their important role in the
transportation network, great care must be taken during the design and construction phase and in the
following surveillance while it is in service. Bridge design and analysis is an iterative process. During this process the engineer is looking for
the best solution for given criteria by changing specific system parameters. Engineering experience
helps to reduce the time required, but there will still be a need for many iteration steps until the
design criteria are met. Computer programs nowadays should provide the best possible support for
this design process. The construction sequence combined with long-term effects has an influence on
the target engineering design. Within structural analyses, it is necessary to account for long-term
effects in the calculation and to minimize undesired influences.
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