Evaluation of Maximum Effective Temperature for Estimate Design Thermal Loads in Steel Box Girder Bridges

In order to obtain a reasonable value for the thermal load to use in designs, a bridge specimen of a full-size steel box girder (bridge) was manufactured. The temperature data were measured at 21 points in the bridge specimen and 19 points in the steel box bridge. The steel box bridge specimen was installed in a similar direction to a nearby real one. The maximum effective temperatures in the bridge specimen and bridge were calculated for air temperatures in the range of 24°C∼38°C. The maximum effective temperature of the bridge specimen and bridge showed correlations of approximately 93.2% and 87.4%, respectively, compared with the Euro code. The maximum effective temperature calculated in this study was very close to the Euro code and the maximum temperature of the Highway Bridge Design Criteria. When the effective temperature obtained in the study is combined with the highest temperature calculated from the Contour map for each region, the design criteria for the thermal load in domestic bridge design, taking into consideration the characteristics of each region, can be established.