Novel geometric control technology for precast segmental bridges

The short-line match method (SLMM) is an effective and popular technology for accelerated bridge construction because it is characterized by a small construction area, minimal labor, and fast construction speed. However, a millimeter-sized error in the precast phase may be amplified to a meter-sized error at the end; therefore, SLMM has an extremely high requirement for geometric control. Construction project abandonment and rework accidents caused by geometric control failure frequently occur. Existing geometric control methods should be improved due to their incomplete consideration of geometric errors. This study presents a novel high-precision geometric control method (HPGCM) for SLMM. The proposed method includes the decoupling of deviation angles consisting of coupled components from different planes and the identification of deviation angles with different spatial positions. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through simulated and practical examples. The developed method exhibits high precision and reliable error-correcting ability. It can provide a reference for the construction of SLMM-based bridges in the future.