DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF BEAM SUPPORTED BRIDGE

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
Concrete slab and t-girder bridge have been a dominant bridge type in Ethiopia for a long time.
Especially in the recent years a lot of road construction has been done, some are under
construction and in the future a number of road projects are planned. As the projects are getting
vast, we have to improve and make efficient our design approach everyday.
The design process is usually subdivided into several steps, beginning with conceptual
design. Compiling the requirements for the new bridge and any important characteristics of its
planned site forms the base for any design. The further design process will comprise many drafts
and revisions until a feasible design has been produced.
Constructability issues need to be included from a very early stage to ensure that the
bridge can be built in a safe and economical manner. In the beginning the dimensions of
structural members will be chosen mostly based on the designers experience, in later stages
engineering software is then employed to compare alternatives and optimize member
dimensions. Finally, complete analytical calculations for all important construction stages and
detailed shop drawings will be produced.
Technical factors such as bridge type and erection method, labor-related factors, and the
particular needs of the owner need to be considered by the designer. All the mentioned factors
should be considered in designing the bridge before structural analysis is begun.
Analysis of the structural system generally makes use of a variety of simplifying
assumptions. An adequate factor of safety should be incorporated to account for any uncertainties
on the load and resistance sides of structural equations.
Designing with redundancy against structural failure increases the overall safety of the
bridge. Any numerical results produced by engineering software need to be checked for
consistency and accuracy of results to capture errors or omissions that might have been incurred
during the modeling process. Finally, the results need to be interpreted by the structural engineer
to apply them to the real structure.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

This thesis research has the following objectives:
To make the manually computed routine calculations as simple as possible
To write a computer program which analyze and design slab and T-girder reinforced
concrete bridges for different load types and cases.
y To provide manual for using the software properly.
1.3 Methodology
The methodology for carrying out the research work was focusing on reviewing different
journals from the Internet in addition to the locally available books and journals that are related
to the research work.
The study included Critical assessment of the different analysis methods, writing an
interactive computer program illustrating the application of the computer program, sample
problems is presented.
1.4 Scopes and Limitations of the Study
The design software has been limited to design of superstructure of reinforced concrete
slab and T-girder bridge. Moreover, since skewness of bridges is not considered only non skew
bridges can be designed using this software.

TWO - LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Reinforced Concrete Bridges
2.1.1 Introduction
An efficient design of bridge superstructure is essential to achieve overall economy in the
whole bridge structure in that the superstructure dead weight may form a significant portion of
the gravity load the bridge must sustain and transmit to the foundation. A light superstructure is
economical not only in material requirements but also requires smaller size for substructure and
foundations. A clear understanding of structural behavior under loads is essential for efficient
design.
Reinforced concrete is used extensively in highway bridges because of its economy in
short and medium spans, durability, low maintenance costs, and easy adaptability to horizontal
and vertical curvature. The principal types of cast-in-place supporting elements are the
longitudinally reinforced slab, T beam or girder, and cellular or box girder [6] .
The raw materials of concrete, consisting of water, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, and
cement, can be found in most areas of the world and can be mixed to form a variety of structural
shapes. The great availability and flexibility of concrete material and reinforcing bars than steel
sections have made the reinforced concrete bridge a very competitive alternative. Since in
Ethiopia there is shortage of steel and also importing has its own problems, reinforced concrete is
still of better choice.
Cast-in-place concrete structures are often constructed monolithically and continuously.
They usually provide a relatively low maintenance cost and better earthquake-resistance .
Comparing the economics of different bridge types, the construction cost and
maintenance cost should be considered in parallel. A general rule is that the bridge with
minimum number of spans, fewest deck joints and widest spacing of girders will be the most
economical [3]. By reducing the number of spans, the construction cost of one pier is eliminated.
Deck joints are a high maintenance cost item, so minimizing their number will reduce the life

cycle cost of the bridge. Generally, concrete structures require less maintenance than steel
structures
Reinforced concrete bridges possess several advantages over steel bridges.
- adaptability of concrete wide variety of structural shapes
- Low maintenance cost
- Long life and better resistance to temporary overloads and dynamic loads than steel
bridges.
- Cast-in-place Reinforced concrete structures are continuous and monolithic, attributes,
which translate into easy construction, low cost and good seismic resistance. They can also be
given the desired aesthetic appearance.
The disadvantage
- large dead weight
- difficulty to widen
- longer construction time
- requires formwork and false work
A bridge controls the capacity of the transportation system. For instance: If the strength
of the bridge is unable to carry heavy trucks, loads limits will be posted and heavy trucks will be
rerouted. Bridges are expensive structures. The cost per meter of a bridge is high in comparison
to the road. If the bridge fails, the transportation system will not be in a position to give function.
Therefore, bridge designer has control over the capacity, cost and Safety.
2.1.2 Materials
2.1.2.1 Concrete
2.1.2.1.1 Compressive Strength
In these Design Specifications, the compressive strength of concrete, fc, is determined
from tests on 150 mm cylinders at the age of 28 days in accordance with the Ethiopian
Standards. It is common practice that the specified strength be attained 28 days after placement.
Other maturity ages shall be assumed for design and specified for components, which will
receive loads at times appreciably different than 28 days after placement.

Figure2.1 Typical stressstrain curves for concrete under uniaxial compression loading.
Figure shows typical stressstrain curves from unconfined concrete cylinders under
uniaxial compression loading. The strain at the peak compression stress is approximately 0.002
and maximum usablestrain is about 0.003.
2.1.2.1.3 Shrinkage and Creep
Values of shrinkage and creep, specified herein, shall be used to determine the effects of
shrinkage and creep on the loss of prestressing force in bridges other than segmentally
constructed ones. These values in conjunction with the Moment of Inertia shall be used to
determine the effects of shrinkage and creep on deflections. The shrinkage coefficients shall be
assumed to be 0.0002 after 28 days and 0.0005 after one year of drying.
Shrinkage of concrete can vary over a wide range from nearly nil if continually immersed
in water to in excess of 0.0008 for either thin sections made with high shrinkage aggregates or
for sections which are not property cured.

Creep is influenced by the same factors as shrinkage, and also by magnitude and duration
of the stress, maturity of the concrete at the time of loading, and temperature of concrete.
Figure 2.2 Factor kc for Volume to Surface Ratio
Creep shortening of concrete under permanent loads is generally in the range of 1.5 to 4.0
times the initial elastic shortening, depending primarily on concrete maturity at the time of
loading.
2.1.2.2 Reinforcement
2.1.2.2.1 General
Reinforcing bars, deformed wire, cold-drawn wire, welded plain wire fabric and welded
deformed wire fabric shall conform to the materials standards as specified herein.
Reinforcement shall be deformed, except that plain bars or plain wire may be used for
spirals, hoops and wire fabric. Bars < 10 mm should not be used for cast-in-place structures.

The nominal yield strength shall be the minimum as specified for the grade of steel
selected, except that yield strengths in excess of 520 MPa shall not be used for design purposes.
Bars with yield strengths less than 270 MPa shall be used only with the approval of ERA. Tensile
requirements are as indicated in Table 2.4.
2.1.2.2.2 Stressstrain curve
The behavior of steel reinforcement is usually characterized by the stressstrain curve
under uniaxial tension loading. Typical stressstrain curves for steel Grade 300 and 420 are
shown in Figure below. The curves exhibit an initial linear elastic portion with a slope calculated
as the modulus of elasticity of steel reinforcement Es= 200,000 MPa; a yield plateau in which the
strain increases (from y to h) with little or no increase in yield stress(fy); a strain-hardening
range in which stress again increases with strain until the maximum stress (fu) at a strain (fu) is
reached; and finally a rangein which the stress drops off until fracture occurs at a breaking strain
of b.

Figure 2.3 stress strain curve

2.2 Bridge Types
2.2.1 Slab Bridges
Single span slab bridges are perhaps the most common bridges in Ethiopia. They can be
economical for spans up to 18 m. Above 15 m they should preferably be ribbed as shown in
Figure 2.4 below
SLAB
VOIDED SLAB
RIBBED SLAB
Figure 2.4 Sections of Voided (Hollowed) Slab and Ribbed Slab Bridge Decks Concrete
slab bridges, longitudinally reinforced, may be simply supported on piers and/or abutments,
monolithic with wall supports, or continuous over intermediate supports[6]. Longitudinally
reinforced slab bridges have the simplest superstructure configuration and the neatest
appearance. They generally require more reinforcing steel and structural concrete than do girdertype bridges of the same span. However, the design details and formworks are easier and less
expensive[7].