Measurements and simulation of temperature in a portal frame bridge

Since thermal loads can cause cracking, they are important to consider in bridge design. In order to evaluate and develop thermal load cases based on real simulations, models for simulating temperatures can be used. In this paper, a model for thermal simulation is used to simulate temperature in a portal frame bridge outside Lund, Sweden. The results are compared with temperature measurements in 13 locations in the same bridge, which were made during a 12-month period. The results show that although many important material parameters were unknown, the model could recreate both daily and seasonal temperature variations, although it tended to render temperatures about 1°C lower than the measurements, at least during summer. The model can be used in future work in determining thermal load values for the specific bridge type, assuming the model uncertainty is considered by e.g. adding 1°C to calculated load values.