BEARINGS
BEARINGS
BEARINGS
DEFINITION:-
The devices which are provided over the supports of bridge to accommodate the changes in
the main girders due to deflection, temperature, vertical movement due to sinking of the
supports, shrinkage, pressurising creep, etc. and to transmit the load from. the superstructure
to the substructure in such a way that the bearing stresses induced in the substructure are
within permissible limits are known as the bearings. Thus, the bearings are provided for the
distribution of the load evenly over the substructure material which may not have sufficient
bearing strength to bear or take up the load of superstructure directly.
In this chapter, some of the salient features of this important component of the bridge
structure will be discussed.
PURPOSES OF BEARINGS:-
2) To allow for angular movements of girder due to deflection under the load,
10) to transfer horizontal forces developed due to application of brakes to the vehicles, etc.
IMPORTANCE OF BEARINGS:-
It should be remembered that the successful functioning of a bridge primarily depends on the
design of its bearings. It is observed that faulty design or improper working of the bearings is
the main cause of failure of many bridges that have collapsed. The design of bearing to be
adopted for a particular bridge will mainly depend on the type of supports, length of the span
and the type of superstructure.
The bearings form an important component of a bridge and hence, extreme care and skill
should be exercised in its design, execution and maintenance. For major bridges, the cost of
bearings roughly works out to about 10 to 15 per cent of the total cost of the bridge. Hence,
there is ample scope of achieving economy by designing the bearings properly and carefully.
The terms free bearing and fixed bearing are used to indicate the function which is executed
from a particular bearing.
A free bearing is free to slide or move or roll and it thus allows longitudinal movement of the
girder.
A fixed bearing is fixed in position, But it rotates according to the deflection of the structure
which is being supported by it. Thus a fixed bearing allows free angular movement and it
does not permit any longitudinal movement of the girder. The design of fixed bearing
depends on the length of span, type of supports and type of superstructure.
TYPES OF BEARINGS:-
This is the cheapest type of fixed bearing which is adopted for road girder bridges of small
spans. It consists of a 30 mm thick cement grout pad of proportion 1:1. The dowel bars in
sufficient number and of diameter about 25 mm are provided to connect the superstructure to
the bed block. The length of the pad is made equal to the width of girder and its breadth along
the span is kept in such a way that the pressure on the pad does not exceed 18 N/mm². The
dowel bars are designed to take up the longitudinal forces in shear.
In case of expansion bearing, the bottom shoe is given a circular shape. The centre of circular
surface coincides with the centre of rocker pin. The bottom shoe rests on the bed plate. The
top shoe is provided with drill holes for fixing of the girder.
Fig. 11-1 shows an expansion bearing. It allows free angular as well as longitudinal
movement of the girder and it is useful for girders having small spans.
In case of knuckle bearing, the top of bottom shoe and bottom of top shoe are given semi-
circular shapes as shown in fig. 11-2. The knuckle bearing is adopted when it is desired to
provide only for angular movement of the girder which is fixed to the top shoe.
In case of rocker and roller bearing, a rocker pin is provided between the top shoe and the
bottom shoe and it is so arranged that the bottom shoe rests on rollers as shown in fig. 11-3.
The rollers are cylindrical in shape and they are free to roll on steel bed plate. A rocker and
roller bearing is therefore a free bearing which does not slide, but which rolls as well as rocks
over a smooth bed plate.
The use of rocker and roller bearing is generally recommended when lengths of span exceed
about 15 m or so. The important facts to be remembered in the design of a rocker and roller
bearing are as follows:
A) The initial setting of rollers in position should be carefully done. Otherwise they may not
remain truly vertical.
B) The load from the bridge should evenly be distributed over one or several rollers in both
directions, namely, longitudinal and lateral.
C) The number of rollers, their diameter and the choice of material should be made with
respect to the load likely to come on the bearing.
D) The piers or abutments should be provided at their tops with a seat in the form of bed
block or bed plate to receive the rollers.
E) The rollers, depending upon the design, may either be solid or ribbed. In case of a ribbed
roller, the number of vertical ribs is held together by means of a horizontal pin to form one
single roller.
F) The rollers should be placed in such a position that their constant movement will not cause
the displacement of rollers.
A fixed bearing which rocks about a pin like a hinge is known as a rocker bearing. In case of
a rocker bearing, a rocker pin is provided between the top shoe and the bottom shoe as shown
in fig. 11-4. A rocker bearing allows only free angular movement of the main girder and at
the same time, it transmits the pressure centrally to the bed plate. For spans greater than 20 m
or so, a rocker bearing is provided at Bottom shoe one end and at the other end, a rocker and
roller bearing is provided.
A rubber bearing consists of layers of rubber plates. The steel plates or wire-meshes are
introduced between the successive layers and a minimum cover of about 5 mm of rubber is
maintained along the edges. The steel plates or wire-meshes perform two functions:
A) The chance of relative sliding between the rubber plates is avoided: and
The desired thickness of rubber bearing can be obtained by selecting a proper number of
rubber plates. The synthetic rubber like Neoprene can be successfully used for preparing
rubber bearings. So it is also known as neoprene bearings.
If a thick rubber bearing is provided at one end and a thin rubber bearing is provided at the
other end, the former acts as a free bearing and the latter acts as a fixed bearing.
(7) Neoprene bearing pads: Neoprene bearing pads are moulded or cut from a moulded
sheet of high-grade, new neoprene synthetic rubber compounds. They are economically
efficient bearings for pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete or steel beams in bridges and buildings.
They permit a smooth and uniform transfer of load from the beam to the substructure and
allow beam rotation at the bearing due to deflection of the beam under load. They also allow
lateral and longitudinal movement of the beam caused by thermal forces.
Neoprene Pads have no movable parts and thermal expansion and contraction are absorbed to
give and take in shear. Neoprene rubber undergoes no marked stiffening at low temperature
when the thermal contraction of the bridge deck is at maximum. Such stiffening could be
deleterious to bearing and structure also. Correctly designed and suitably compounded
neoprene bearings can be confidently expected to function efficiently for at least a hundred
years.
There is no sliding motion between pad and beam or between pad and abutment. They are
easier to install than other type of bearings. They require no maintenance. Steel reinforced
neoprene bearings are used in compression. They are also known as elastomeric bearings.
They are composed of multiple laminates of elastomeric material separated by steel
reinforcement. Bearings having steel plates as the reinforcement shall be cast as a unit in a
mould under pressure and heated and the steel plates separating the elastomeric layers shall
be completely bonded by vulcanization to the elastomeric material on all surfaces.
An external load bearing steel plates shall be factory vulcanized to the elastomeric bearings
during the primary melding process. The overall size of the bearing, the number of laminates
and thickness of laminates are designed in accordance to the requirement of load to be
transferred.
In case of a sliding bearing, a sole plate is provided between main girder and bed plate as
shown in fig. 11-5 and the girder is rigidly connected to sole plate. The bed plate is fixed
rigidly with the bridge supports by anchor bolts. The sole plate is attached to the bed plate by
bolts through the slotted holes of the sole plate. The sliding bearing allows only longitudinal
movement of the main girder.
(9) Sole plate on curved bed plate bearing:-
In case of a sole plate on curved bed plate bearing, the main girder is fixed to the sole plate
which rests on a curved bed plate as shown in fig. 11-6. Such a bearing is useful when it is
desired to allow only free angular movement of the main girder.
In a strict sense, the tar paper cannot be termed as a bridge bearing. But for very small length
of span up to about 7 m or so, the tar paper can be used to perform the functions of a bearing.
The paper offers considerable frictional resistance to displacement to the extent of about 50
per cent to 70 per cent.
The bearings of the bridge are made of various materials. But following are the common
materials which are generally used to manufacture the bridge bearings:
(2) Lead
(5) Rubber
The bearings of cast steel, mild steel and tar paper are very common in India. The design of
an R.C.C. bearing is rather complicated. But its construction is cheaper and speedy. It can be
cast as soon as it is ready. The reinforcement in case of R.C.C. bearings is usually of spiral
type so that bursting tension can be effectively resisted.
As the metallic bearings are expensive in first cost and difficult to maintain, the recent trend
is to adopt elastomeric bearings. An elastomer is either natural rubber or a synthetic material
possessing characteristics similar to the rubber. The synthetic rubber in common use is the
chloroprene rubber known as 'Neoprene. The natural rubber has the following drawbacks:
B) It is inflammable.
a) It is possible to increase their resistance against oxygen and ozone by adding antioxidants
and antioxidants.
b) The height of this type of bearing is minimum and far less than that of roller or rocker
bearing. It thus leads to the reduction in the cost of the approaches.
The bearings rest on pier cap and hence, there is concentration of stresses at surfaces where
the bearings are placed. In order to distribute effectively the stresses, the bed blocks of
cement concrete are prepared to function as seats for the bearings. A bed block is a
distributing block of rich concrete placed at the top of pier. It is usually made about 80 mm
large in all directions of the contact area. The term bed plate is used to indicate a bed block of
steel.
The bearings should be properly maintained so as to keep them effective during their useful
life. In case of steel bearings, it should be examined that the bearings have sufficient
lubrication and there is residual wet grease between moving parts or contact surfaces. Where
the oil baths are used for the bearings, it should be checked to see whether the level of oil is
correct and the covers are properly in position so as to prevent the entry of external material
to contaminate the oil. If the grease or oil is badly contaminated with dust, it should be
cleaned and fresh grease or oil should be added.
(i) The anchor bolts are in position and not loose or bent;
(iv) There is any structural crack either in the constituents of the rollers themselves or in the
supporting members like the bed block, pier cap, etc.
The bearings should normally be greased once in three years and the last date of greasing
should be prominently marked on the face of the girders close to the abutments.
The use of elastomeric bearings has become popular and they are being most extensively
used on the road bridges and are being introduced on large scale on small span railway
bridges also. They should be inspected to ascertain the following:
A) General cleanliness of the bearings and their surrounding with special reference to keep
them away from grease, oil, petrol, etc.; and
B) Physical condition of the pads like flattening, bulging, splitting creep and evidence of
oxidation.