Summary

This work was commissioned by the Highways Agency to produce guidance for bridge designers by addressing the thermally induced soil/structure integration problem created by environmental changes of temperature and the associated cyclical displacements imposed on the granular backfill to the bridge abutments. It develops a better theoretical understanding of the cyclic performance, in particular the strain racheting in the backfill soil when in contact with a stiff structure. It also identifies the governing soil parameters and examines their influence in the interaction problem, develops numerical modelling procedures to predict interactive soil behaviour, and identifies and quantifies the controlling features of bridge structures relevant to the interaction problem.