ABSTRACT
Brazil faces two major challenges with respect to the construction and maintenance of the infrastructure system (bridges, railways and roadways): the continental dimensions and the lack of qualified professionals. According to the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT), the Brazilian road network has a significant number of temporary wooden bridges, constructed in precarious conditions with an imminent risk to the safety of the users. This paper is aimed to contribute to the development of the country’s road infrastructure through the development of a bridge parametric design procedure. The parametric model is designed in the software Rhinoceros3D/Grasshopper and used as a standard design for the modeling and analysis of simply supported beam bridges with free spans between 10 m and 40 m. The cross-sections of the independent elements, as well as the preliminary dimensions, are dynamically determined by means of scripts elaborated in the Python programming language. The algorithm allows modeling concrete beam bridges to overcome single spans (between 10 m to 40 m) or large spans with successive supports, considering any topography. From the parametric model, a structural analysis can be carried out to obtain the acting forces and displacements. The main advantages of the described model are the possibility to simplify the structural design process and carry out an optimization procedure. An example of application of the model is presented.
