International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research

and Science (IJAERS)

Peer-Reviewed Journal
ISSN: 2349-6495(P) | 2456-1908(O)
Vol-10, Issue-1; Jan, 2023
Journal Home Page Available: https://ijaers.com/
Article DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijaers.101.17

A Review on design and analysis of steel bridge with

identification of load bearing capacity
Mohini Dharwe1, Mohit Kumar Prajapati2
1M.Tech. Research Scholar
2Faculty Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Technology, Vikram University Ujjain, MP, India

Received: 19 Dec 2022, Abstract— Strengthening old bridges is an increasingly relevant strategy
Receive in revised form: 16 Jan 2023, for risk prevention and operation continuity in management of
infrastructures. Transportation networks are subjected to progressively
Accepted: 21 Jan 2023,
stricter environmental and load conditions, leading to a growing number
Available online: 30 Jan 2023 of deficient structures, also due to aging and deterioration. However,
©2023 The Author(s). Published by AI employable resources are finite, from both economic and environmental
Publication. This is an open access article points of view. For these reasons, strengthening opportunities should be
under the CC BY license considered as a viable option, improving bridges with low economic and
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). environmental impact. With this perspective, a selection of some of the
most interesting strengthening techniques for old truss steel bridges is
Keywords— truss bridges; railway bridges;
presented. To address effective solutions, the most frequent problems in
steel bridges; strengthening.
old truss railway bridges are first presented. Literature analysis and
experts’ interviews were conducted and compared to results obtained
from a representative bridge cluster. Different solutions addressing
highlighted problems are then collected and qualitatively evaluated, in
terms of efficacy on structural and typical construction requirements.
Finally, general remarks and recommendations based on collected
evidence are presented.

I. INTRODUCTION II. BACKGROUND

A bridge is a means by which a road, railway or other Steel is widely used in building as material. Because of steel
service is carried over an obstacle such as a river, valley, have many factors affecting in mechanical properties,
and other road or railway line, either with no intermediate availability in a variety of useful and practical shapes, more
support or with only a limited number of supports at economy, design simplicity, and ease and speed of
convenient locations. Bridges range in size from very construction. In another hand Steel can be produced with a
modest short spans over, say, a small river to the extreme variety of properties by adding many enhancements to suit
examples of suspension bridges crossing wide estuaries. our different requirements. The principle requirements are
Appearance is naturally less crucial for the smaller bridges, strength, ductility, weld ability, and corrosion resistance.
but in all cases the designer will consider the appearance of Steel design, or more specifically, structural steel design, is
the basic elements, which make up his bridge, the an area of knowledge of structural engineering used to
superstructure and the substructure, and choose proportions design steel structures. The structures can range from towers
which are appropriate to the particular circumstances to homes to bridges. There are currently two common
considered. The use of steel often helps the designer to methods of steel design: The first and older method is the
select proportions that are aesthetically pleasing. Bridges Allowable Strength Design (ASD) method. The second and
are an essential part of the transport infrastructure [1]. newer is the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
method.

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Dharwe and Prajapati International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science, 10(1)-2023

III. LOADS ON STEEL BRIDGE TRUSSES control must be maintained so that the designer has to
Trusses are used in bridges to transfer the gravity load of provide sufficient strength in the structure to carry present
moving vehicles to supporting piers. Depending upon the and future predicated loads.
site conditions and the span length of the bridge, the truss 3. Wind Loads: Wind loads are caused by the pressure of
may be either through type or deck type. In the through type, wind acting on the bridge members. They are dynamic loads
the carriage way is supported at the bottom chord of trusses. that depend on such factors as the size and shape of the
In the deck type bridge, the carriage way is supported at the structure, the velocity and angle of the wind. For design
top chord of trusses. Usually, the structural framing purposes, AASHTO specifications give wind loads as
supporting the carriage way is designed such that the loads uniformly distributed static loads. This simplified loading is
from the carriage way are transferred to the nodal points of intended for rigid structures that are not dynamically
the vertical bridge trusses. sensitive to wind; that is, structural design is not controlled
by wind loads. It applied as horizontal loads acting on the
superstructure and substructure and as vertical loads acting
upward on the deck underside. The magnitude of the loads
depends on the component of the structure and the base
wind velocity used for design.

V. STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
Truss bridges usually present different features in terms of
static scheme, spans, overall length, geometry and so forth.
However, they are assembled by the same structural
elements such as main trusses, deck elements and
connections. As a matter of fact, these are the references for
bridge inspection manuals [11-12]. For this reason, the
Fig.1: load distribution over a steel truss bridge. encountered problems for the truss bridge type are
organized and presented according to the mentioned
IV. LOADS scheme. Attention is focused on main trusses, deck
elements, connections, in association with the strengthening
1. Dead Loads: The dead load represents the weight of interventions presented. However, it is good to remember
structure itself and any other immovable loads (equipment) that bracings and bearings may also require strengthening.
that are constant in magnitude and permanently attached to
the structure. It consists of the weight of the main supporting
trusses or girder the floor beams and stringer of the floor VI. LITERATURE REVIEW
system. Structural design is that the true dead load of the YongjianLiu, Advances in the application and research of
structure that cannot be determined until the bridge is steel bridge deck pavement: The common diseases of
designed and a final design cannot be accomplished unless orthotropic steel deck pavement have seriously affected the
the true dead load is known. The dead load acting on a service life and safe operation of long-span steel bridges.
member must be assumed before the member is designed; This paper presents an overview on current application and
one should design the member of a structure in such a research status of steel bridge deck pavement.
sequence that to as great an extent as practicable the weight Comparations were made on the design requirements of
of each member being designed is a portion of the dead load steel bridge deck pavement in several specifications of
carried by the next member to be designed. China, USA, and Japan. The pavement structures, deck
2. Live load: The live load for highway bridges consists of stiffnesses and corresponding environmental temperatures
weight of the applied moving load of vehicles and were collected from 119 steel bridges around the world.
pedestrians. Highway bridges should be designed to safely Based on the information collected, the material
support all vehicles that might pass over them during the life performance, combination mechanism, technical
of the structure actually; the traffic over Highway Bridge characteristics and application prospects of various
will consist of multitude of different types of vehicle. It’s pavement structures were analyzed. Finally, comparison
not possible for the designer to know what vehicles will be was made on different calculation methods of bridge deck
use the structure or what the required life of the bridge will stiffness. Results show that double-layer EAM, GAM +
be to ensure the safety of the structure. Some form of the SMAM and ERS are the most commonly used pavement

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structures of steel deck presently. However, for most of bidirectional cyclic loading. In addition, a microscope
application cases, the actual life cannot reach the design damage index for evaluating ULCF fracture initiation life of
service life of 15 years. Rigid base can significantly steel bridge piers was proposed. The findings show that
improve the stress condition of surface pavement and steel ductile cracking firstly appeared at the junction between the
top plate [1]. stiffened base plate and bottom weld at the corner position
ChaoJiang, Fatigue assessment of fillet weld in steel bridge of steel bridge piers under bidirectional cyclic loading, and
towers considering corrosion effects: Field inspection that initial crack growth did not reduce the strength capacity
shows that the fillet weld in steel bridge towers may be [4].
subjected to corrosion and fatigue loading simultaneously. HuiyunXia, Preparation and performance of durable
To ensure the structural safety in the service life, corrosion waterproof adhesive layer for steel bridge deck based on
effects on the fatigue life of the fillet weld in steel towers self-stratification effect: In view of the shortcomings of the
were investigated in this study. A prediction procedure of existing steel bridge deck waterproof adhesive layer
the fatigue life of the weld was firstly proposed based on the (WAL), such as poor durability, high construction cost and
fracture mechanics method and verified by the test results. long construction period, a new preparation method of
Three types of corrosion effects, pitting corrosion at the waterproof coating with self-stratification effect is
initial crack, pitting corrosion near the initial crack, and the proposed. In this paper, poly butyl acrylate-methyl
corrosion fatigue crack growth were considered. Three methacrylate–styrene block copolymer with lower glass
corrosion levels were also defined under different corrosive transition temperature was synthesized by free radical
environments. By taking the Third Nanjing Yangtze River solution polymerization, and 5 kinds of self-stratification
Bridge as an example, a modified finite element (FE) model coatings were obtained by mixing it with epoxy resin at
integrated with the local shell model was established to different mass ratios. The glass transition temperature,
analyze the stress variation of the fillet weld in steel towers. thermal stability and chemical composition of acrylic resin
Based on the stress influence lines, the maximum stress were characterized by DSC, TGA, and FT-IR. The self-
range was obtained under the vehicle load [2]. stratification behavior of the coatings was confirmed by FT-
ZheZhang, Fatigue performance and optimal design of IR, SEM, and water contact angle test. The basic
corrugated steel–concrete composite bridge deck: performance and road performance of above self-stratifying
Orthotropic steel bridge deck (OSD) has been widely used waterproof coatings were tested according to specific
in long and medium span bridges. However, traditional standards [5].
OSD with U-ribs is prone to fatigue cracking at the deck-to- JiaSun, Structural optimization of steel bridge deck
rib welded joint. Corrugated steel–concrete composite pavement based on mixture performance and mechanical
bridge deck (CSCCBD) composed of corrugated steel plate, simulation: The upper layer of modified SMA mixture
concrete layer and perforated plate shear connectors was (SMAM) and the lower layer of epoxy asphalt mixture
proposed recently to improve the fatigue performance of the (EAM) is a steel bridge deck pavement (SBDP) structure
bridge deck. In this paper, comparing of the fatigue with application potential, but there is a lack of systematic
performance of OSD and CSCCBD was conducted through research on it. In this study, the pavement material and
finite element (FE) analysis. The results showed that the structure of SMAM + EAM were optimized using mixture
stress amplitude of deck-to-rib welded joint of CSCCBD performance tests and finite element analysis, which
was reduced by more than 90 % compared with OSD. The provided guidance to facilitate its promotion and
fatigue problem of deck-to-rib welded joints can be solved application. Firstly, the pavement performance and dynamic
fundamentally. It is further studied that distribution of properties of SMAMs and EAMs prepared with different
fatigue vulnerability details of CSCCBD. The most binders were compared to preferably select the appropriate
unfavorable fatigue vulnerability details are located around SBDP material. Secondly, the dynamic modulus master
the diaphragm-to-rib weld. The fatigue life of CSCCBD was curves of the mixtures were established to provide material
evaluated based on the linear cumulative damage theory [3]. parameters for pavement structure design. Finally, the FEA
ShuailingLi, Ultra-low cycle fatigue fracture initiation life method was applied to comparatively analyze the dynamic
evaluation of thick-walled steel bridge piers with mechanical response of the pavement structure for different
microscopic damage index under bidirectional cyclic structures, thickness combinations, and temperatures to
loading: Strong earthquakes can cause ultra-low cycle optimize the SBDP structure purposefully. The results
fatigue (ULCF) fracture in steel bridge piers. This paper demonstrated that EAM had better high-temperature rutting
examined the fracture behavior of two thick-walled square resistance than SMAM, while SMAM had superior
section steel bridge piers subjecting to horizontal moisture damage and skid resistance [6].

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Qing-ChenTang, Hybrid control of steel-concrete tensioned (PT) base rocking steel bridge piers. The PT
composite girder bridges considering the slip and shear-lag rocking steel bridge pier comprises a circular tube with
effects with MR–TMD based on train-bridge interactions: welded circular base plate that is pre-compressed to its base
With the speed of trains higher and bridge structures by means of gravity loads and/or a PT tendon. The input
towards larger spans with lighter weight, the train-bridge factors were column diameter, column diameter-to-
resonance will become fairly pronounced. Therefore, to thickness ratio, column height-to-diameter ratio, cross-
ensure the safety of bridge structures, research on vibration sectional area of tendon-to-column ratio, tendon initial post-
control is of far-reaching significance, especially for steel– tensioning ratio, dead load ratio, base plate thickness, and
concrete composite girder bridges with mechanical base plate extension. Response variables were column
properties, such as slip, and shear lag. Therefore, based on residual drift, column shortening, ratio of degraded stiffness
a magnetorheological tuned mass damper (MR–TMD), this to initial stiffness, maximum lateral strength to uplift force
paper proposes a hybrid control strategy for the steel– ratio, and lateral strength reduction ratio. Nine ML
concrete composite girder bridge considering whether the techniques that range from the simplest to advanced
trains are either on or off the bridge, and applies it to a techniques were used to generate the predictive models [9].
numerical example, reducing vertical dynamic responses of TomaszMaleska, Effect of the soil cover depth on the
a railway steel–concrete composite girder bridge based on seismic response in a large-span thin-walled corrugated
train-bridge interactions [7]. steel plate bridge: The common use of corrugated steel plate
O.Bouzas, A holistic methodology for the non-destructive (CSP) bridges and culverts has been increasing in recent
experimental characterization and reliability-based years. Despite the growing popularity of these objects, there
structural assessment of historical steel bridges: Nowadays, is very scarce research concerned with the response of such
several historical steel structures present damage and an structures to seismic excitation. Therefore, the aim of the
advanced deterioration state induced by human or natural study is to determine the effect of seismic excitation on a
actions, causing fluctuations in geometrical, physical, and CSP bridge with span exceeding 17 m and a variable depth
mechanical properties that dramatically affect their of the soil cover above the steel shell (from 1.0 to 5.0 m).
mechanical behavior. Due to the economic, cultural, and The obtained results demonstrate that the depth of the soil
heritage value, these constructions must be cover has a significant impact on the response of the bridge
comprehensively assessed to verify their current condition [10].
state. This work presents a holistic methodology aimed at DaoyunYuan, Fatigue damage evaluation of welded joints
the non-destructive experimental characterization and in steel bridge based on meso-damage mechanics: Welding
reliability-based structural assessment of historical steel is a rapid and flexible connection that facilitates the use of
bridges. It comprehends from the experimental data a broad range of steel bridge. However, fatigue cracks
acquisition to the finite element model updating and the initiating from various welded connection details are
probabilistic-based structural assessment to obtain the common problems in steel bridges. Therefore, it is vital to
reliability indexes of serviceability and ultimate limit states. accurately evaluate the fatigue damage evolution and
Several sources of information are considered in the fatigue life of welded joints in steel bridge. In this study, a
evaluation process, thus, results are more realistic and fatigue damage evolution model based on the meso-damage
accurate and can be used for optimal decision-making mechanics was proposed to evaluate the fatigue damage of
related to maintenance and retrofitting actions. The welded joints in steel bridge. The number density of micro-
feasibility of the methodology has been tested on O cracks was adopted as the damage variable in the fatigue
Barqueiro Bridge, an aging riveted bridge located in evolution model. Finite element modelling and user
Galicia, Spain. The study first involved a comprehensive material subroutine (UMAT) in ABAQUS were combined
experimental campaign to characterize the bridge to simulate fatigue damage evolution of welded joints in
effectively at multiple levels: geometry, material, and steel bridge. The fatigue damage evolution model was
structural system by the synergetic combination of different embedded in UMAT while the UMAT was coupled with the
tools and methods: in-depth visual inspection, terrestrial finite element model of the welded joints under cyclic
laser scanner survey, ultrasonic testing, and ambient loading [11].
vibration test [8].
OskarSkoglund, A numerical evaluation of new structural
Tadesse G.Wakjira, Explainable machine learning based details for an improved fatigue strength of steel bridges:
efficient prediction tool for lateral cyclic response of post- Fatigue is often the decisive design factor when
tensioned base rocking steel bridge piers: This study designing steel bridges and improving the fatigue strength
presents a novel explainable machine learning (ML) based of critical details can reduce the amount of steel material
predictive model for the lateral cyclic response of post-

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used. In this paper, the fatigue strength of four different in service lifetime are numerous. The in-service safety
structural detail solutions are investigated and compared assessment of these structures is a complex problem. This
through numerical simulations. Two of the evaluated article emphasizes the importance of rehabilitating the
structural details have not been used before in bridge structure of existing steel bridges, considering the historical
construction. The most promising structural detail managed monument character of these structures, as well as the reuse
to improve the fatigue strength by more than 25% compared of existing structures, part of sustainable development. The
to the conventional solutions used today. The numerical paper is presenting a study case for an historical riveted steel
studies were performed as a preparation for future testing bridge build in the beginning of twentieth century, with an
[12]. assessment method considering the structural integrity by
AlirezaGhiasi, Damage detection of in-service steel railway means of fracture mechanics [15].
bridges using a fine k-nearest neighbor machine learning
classifier: Minor areas of surface corrosion in steel railway VII. CONCLUSIONS
bridges can grow progressively and lead to localized section
In this paper, different possible strengthening solutions for
losses and structural failure over time. This paper proposes
old steel truss Steel bridges have been proposed. Their
a novel combined damage detection approach for the
choice is generally motivated by different aspects, such as
classification of various extents and degrees of cross section
structural efficacy, construction times, required traffic
losses due to damages like corrosion using a k-Nearest
interruptions and maintenance ease. First, the analysis of
Neighbor (kNN) machine learning classifier. A Finite
material and structural features has outlined that
Element (FE) model of an in-service railway bridge is
strengthening requirements: (1) are related to brittleness and
developed and validated using vibration data from field
low-redundancy characteristics of truss steel bridges; (2) are
testing and these combined FE-field data are trained and
mainly associated to problems localized in deck elements,
tested to classify various corrosion cases following the
namely stringers, cross beams, and connections. Literature
Australian Standard AS7636 [13].
review, interviews and direct examination of a target bridge
JeonghwaLee, Improved design of intermediate diaphragm cluster also suggest that often problems are not present on a
spacing in horizontally curved steel box bridges: Eccentric single element only but interest a whole class of structural
live loading acting on the steel box girders induces cross- components. For this reason, it is opportune to assess
sectional distortion in the steel box sections. In particular, whether a global strengthening solution can be more
the distortional behavior in horizontally curved steel box effective that a set of local interventions. Being the latter
bridges can be significant compared to that in straight ones; better known and more extensively adopted, an examination
the reason is that the curvature effects of horizontally curved of global strengthening strategies is conducted and
steel box bridges can provide additional distortional presented through real case studies. The overview
behavior due to gravity and live loads even without highlights that: (1) load bearing capacity for main trusses is
eccentricity of the applied loadings for every construction generally not a problem, however a global intervention can
sequence (self-weight for non-composite and live loads for reduce fatigue sensitivity in main trusses connections and
composite box sections). Therefore, to control the increase the overall structural robustness and safety; (2)
distortional warping normal stresses induced by the extensive interventions on the deck can not only solve the
distortional behavior, it is necessary to install intermediate phenomena localized in single problematic elements, but
diaphragms in the box sections for straight and horizontally improve the overall behaviour of the structure, in terms of
curved box bridges [14]. deformations, sensitivity to brittle failures, vibrations and
DorinRadu, Residual life of a historic riveted steel bridge - maintenance. We believe that there are many more smart,
engineering critical assessment approach: Sustainability has innovative solutions that have been used, but they are not
become an increasingly important component of always reported in the literature, since bridge designers and
requirements for the rehabilitation of bridge structures. bridge owners are normally not so interested in producing
Responsible use of our limited natural resources is essential papers for conferences and journals. Thereof, strengthening
for future generations, so the whole bridge rehabilitation may not always be the best solution for deficient old truss
process must be taken into account, in terms of structural railway bridges. However, an updated knowledge of
integrity. The environmental impact for these types of available techniques and a creative approach can expand the
structures is major – demolition and reconsideration of e.g. upgrade possibilities for existing bridges, increase their
reinforced concrete structure being examples of poor lifetime and safety with low economical and environmental
management of resources and energy. On the existing roads impact, while preserving our historical heritage.
and railways network steel bridges with more than 100 years

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