This month, we are involved in the experimental campaign of the AVI LIC project at the ICITECH laboratories of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). The project “Digitized, Automated and Intelligent Systems for the Shoring of Large Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structures” is in collaboration with the company Levantina, Ingeniería y Construcción (LIC) and funded by the Agència Valenciana de la Innovació (AVI).
The laboratory tests focused on different types of shoring towers with different heights. In the first test, we performed one module of the bridge shoring tower with a 3m height and simulated the horizontal displacements of a bridge deck during its construction. To do this, we connected the reaction wall to an upper steel frame by means of a hydraulic jack capable of applying horizontal loads to the shoring system.
In the second test, we assembled two modules of the bridge shoring tower with a 6m height. Like in the previous test, we connected the hydraulic jack to an upper steel frame for applying horizontal loads to simulate the displacements of a bridge deck during its construction.
We hope to understand better how horizontal loads and deformations actuate on shoring tower systems during bridge construction and help to increase the safety of bridges and viaducts during their construction.
