Equivalent Grid Beam Method for the Analysis of Orthotropic Steel Plate Bridge Deck with Trapezoidal Longititudal Ribs

The equivalent grid beam method for calculating the second system stresses of orthotropic steel plate bridge deckwith trapezoidal longititudal ribs is introduced in this paper. The rigidities of equivalent distribution beams are derived; the structure analysis programofthe orthotropic steel plate bridge deck is written; and the second system stresses are analyzed. Furthermore, the results obtained with the equivalent grid beammethod are compared to those obtained with the traditional Peklian-Esslinger method to verify its reliability.