Numerical analysis and experimental validation for static loads of a composite bridge structure

The development of a new structure is performed in many different phases. The first phase is the conceptual design, which is necessary to give a preliminary shape to the structure. Afterwards the structural analysis phase follows which is the most important part of the development of a new structure. Analytical methods in complex structures are very demanding and sometimes even impossible to be applied. For this reason the numerical methods are entering the stage and give solutions concerning the structural integrity of the structure that is being examined.In the present work the numerical analysis of an IPC pedestrian bridge and the corresponding experimental results are presented. The aim of this work is to provide the scheme of a numerical modeling procedure that will be applied in the future for the dimensioning of similar structures. In addition different types of elements were investigated as well as different sizes of mesh in order to conclude to a model that gives an exact solution taking into account the computational cost. The model is validated by using real test data extracted from the experimental analysis performed on a real prototype under static loading.