Concrete hinges in bridge engineering

Abstract

Concrete hinges were developed over 120 years ago and have since been used successfully in many bridges. Despite this long tradition, many engineers do not know about these sustainable and cheap hinge constructions. The different types of concrete hinges can be distinguished according to their appearance or their way of transferring stresses. This paper presents a classification of existing concrete hinge connections and describes the principles of their load-bearing behaviour. A significant amount of experimental and theoretical research work was carried out in the 1960s to understand how these hinges functioned. Different models for hinge design and construction were developed in different countries. Experimental investigations confirmed the high structural capacity of concrete hinges and their great potential for use in bridge construction. To this day, all correctly executed existing concrete hinges are in good condition, and no damage has been observed. Many existing bridges were built with concrete hinges, which were designed according to existing design rules. To demonstrate the range of possible applications of concrete hinges, existing bridges and the details of the hinges used are presented. Recommendations are given for the design and construction of concrete hinges.