Bridges

Introduction
• It is the structure providing passage over an
obstacle without closing the way beneath.
• The required passage may be for road, a
railway, pedestrian, a canal or a pipeline.
• The obstacle may be river, road, railway,
valley etc.
Cross Sectional Elements of Bridge
• Decking
– Consisting of slab, girders , trusses etc.
• Bearing of the decking
• Abutments and piers
• River training works like revetment for slopes at
abutment, aprons at bed level.
• Approaches to the bridge to connect the proper
to the roads on either side
• Handrails, guard stones etc.
 Characteristics of Ideal Bridge
• The width of the bridge should be wider for
future adjustment of traffic.
• The bridge should be actually in level.
• The line of bridge should not present any
serious deviation from the line of approach
roads at either end.
• The bridge at whole should fit in the
surroundings.
• Provide services to sewerage telephone lines
etc.
• The bridge should carry standard loading or
any equivalent loading. With reasonable
factor of safety.
• The bridge should be economical in cost as
well as maintenance.
• The road surface of the bridge should be
similar to that of the roadway.
 Site Selection of Bridges
• Good foundation for abutments and piers.
• Firm and well define banks.
• Straight Reach to the stream/ river.
• Minimum length of the bridge.
• Right angle crossing of river
• Availability of construction materials.
• Absence of excessive under water
construction work.
• Absence of sharp curves.
• Absence of costly drainage works and river
training works.
 According to material of construction
• Timber
• Masonry
• Iron
• Steel
• Reinforced Concrete
• Pre stressed concrete
• Composite or Aluminum Bridge
 According to function
• Aqueduct(canal over a river)
• Viaduct(road or railway over a valley),
pedestrian, highway, railway, road-cum-rail or
pipeline bridge.
 Type of Superstructure
• Slab
• Beam
• Truss
• Arch and suspension bridges
 Span Length
• Culvert(less than 6m)
• Minor bridge(6-25m)
• Major Bridge(25-120m)
• Long Span Bridge(>120m)
 Choice of bridge type
• Availability of materials and funds.
• Economy in overall construction cost.
• Type of traffic.
• Topography and soil condition may affect the
choice of bridge in some extent.
• Climatic and environmental conditions
• Personal preference of the designer or
specialization of the construction agency.
 Type of Load in bridges
• Dead load(DL)
– Self weight of the bridges
– Constant in magnitude
• Live Load(LL)
– Occupancy load of vehicles, pedestrian, other
animals etc
– Keeps on changing
– Fully or partially present in the bridges
• Wind load
– Load caused by winds
– Act horizontally.
• Centrifugal forces
– When road bridge is located on the curve the
centrifugal force is taken into account.
• Longitudinal forces
– When vehicles brakes or accelerates longitudinal
forces are transmitted from its wheels to the deck
of the vehicles
– Longitudinal force depends on acceleration and de
acceleration
– Max longitudinal force results from sudden
braking of vehicles.
• Impact Load
– When vehicle is moving across the bridge, normal
rate of speed produces greater speed produces
greater stress than if the vehicle is in static
condition.
• Temperature Changes
– Expansion and contraction of the structural
components due to change in temperature.
• Erection Stress
Component of the bridge fabricate in the workshop
need to be erected. So provision of erection stress
should be in design.
• Seismic force
– Earthquake
• Lateral Load
– Lateral movement of roadway traffic. Taken as
600kg/m
 Beam Bridge
• It doesn’t take long to build a beam bridge.
• Beam bridge are useful in almost any location.
• Multiple type of materials are used.
• Cost of beam bridge is minimal for most
communities.
 Load on Beam bridge
• When load is applied to the bridge, the load
pushes down on the beam the top edge is
pushed together or compressed, while the
bottom of the beam is stretched or is under
tension.
 Arch bridges
• Composed of curved structure with
abutments on each end.
• Excellent strength.
• Get stronger as year pass.
• Look Attractive
• Difficult to build
• Limited life spans
• Can’t be built anywhere.
 Load on Arch bridge
• The weight of load is carried outward along
the curve of the arch to the abutments at each
end of the arch.
• The abutments also keep the end of the
bridge spreading out ward.
 Truss Bridge
• Extremely strong.
• Uses material effectively.
• Withstand extreme conditions.
• Roadways built on the structure.
 Suspension Bridges
• The Suspension bridge literally suspends the
roadbed from huge cables, which extends
from one end of the bridge to another.
• The cables are attached to two tall towers and
secured at each end by anchorages.
 Load on Suspension bridge
• The cable carries load of the suspension
bridge to the anchorages that are embedded
in solid rock or massive concrete blocks.
• The cables are spread over a large area in
order to evenly distribute the load inside the
anchorages to prevent cables from breaking
free.
 Freeboard
• The vertical distance between HFL and the
main carrying element is Freeboard.
• A vertical clearance of the lowest point of
superstructure from the highest flood level.
 Afflux
• When bridge is constructed the structure such
as abutment, wing wall, piers cause reduction
in natural waterway area. This contraction is
said to be afflux.
 Timber cantilever bridge
• Timber cantilever bridge is suitable for hilly
area where good quality of timber is available
in abundance and other construction material
is not easily available.
• It is suitable for light structure.
• It consist of two system for counter balanced
beam.
• Number of separate beams are placed on top
of each other.
• Each of end beam resting on abutments are
counter weighted to make construction
stable.
 Numericals
• A timber beam having a clear span of 6m and
is bearing length of 250mm carries a uniformly
distributed load UDL of 15kN/m including the
self weight of the beam. Assuming beam is
made of deodar Wood. Design the beam.
• Note: Refer IS code of Timber for Deodar Wood.