Design of RC Abutment
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Structural SpreadsheetsDesign of RC Abutment
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Structural SpreadsheetsBRIDGE DESIGN
Chapter 5:
Substructure
Dr Shahiron Shahidan
[email protected]
drshahironshahidan.weebly.com
5.1 Introduction
• Abutments function as both earth retaining structures and as vertical
load carrying components.
• Parapet abutments are detailed to accommodate thermal movements
with strip seal or modular expansion devices between the concrete deck
and the abutment end block.
• Integral and semi-integral abutments are designed to accommodate
movements at the roadway end of the approach panel.
5.2 Type of Abutments
GRAVITY ABUTMENT
• A gravity abutment resists horizontal earth
pressure from the rear, with its own dead weight.
• To be stable, this leads to massive-sized
abutments.
• These abutments may be of mass concrete or
stone masonry.
• A gravity abutment is composed of a back wall
and splayed wing walls, which rest on foundation
COUNTERFORT ABUTMENT
A counterfort abutment is very much similar to
a counterfort retaining wall. In counterfort
abutments, a thin wall called counterfort
connects the breast wall to the footing. These
counterforts are spaced at regular intervals so
that the breast wall is designed as a supported
slab rather than as a cantilever.
U-ABUTMENT
When the wing walls of a gravity abutment
are placed at right angles to the back wall, the
abutment is known as the U-abutment. The
name 'U-abutment' is due to the shape of this
abutment in plan. The wing walls are typically
cast monolithically with the abutment back
wall and cantilevered both vertically and
horizontally
STUB ABUTMENTS
Stub abutments are relatively short abutments,
which are placed on top of the embankment or
slope. Sufficient rocky terrain must prevail at the
site, so that the stub abutment can be supported
on piles which extend through the embankment
5.3 Stabilization Analysis
• The Dimension of the abutment such as top width, bottom width and front and back
batters are fixed first.
• These dimensions depend on type of the abutment, height requirement, depth of
foundation, etc:
• Table 12.1 shows the minimum top widths to be fixed for abutments based on their
heights.
• The bottom width should be such as to create sufficient self-weight to enable stability.
• In any case, the bottom width should not be less than 0.4 times the height. The
abutment so designed must be checked for stability.
• An abutment must be safe against:
• Overturning
• Sliding
• Eccentricity of the resultant with respect to centre of the base
• Maximum base pressure
5.4 Pier
A pier is an intermediate supporting structure of a bridge. Piers are generally
constructed using concrete through steel is also used. Piers are conventionally
reinforced and help in:
Sustaining dead load and live load
Facilitating a long bridge to be converted into segments or bays
Adding something to the appearance of the bridge as a whole
Example 1
