5.

Superstructure Design

1
Super Structure Design

2
Super Structure Design

3
 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 of the superstructure but also requires smaller
size for substructure and foundations.

 A clear understanding of the structural behavior of the bridge

under loads is essential for efficient design. 4
FACTORS CONSIDERED IN DECIDING BRIDGE TYPE

In general all the factors are related to economy, safety

and aesthetics.
1. Geometric Conditions of the Site
2. Subsurface Conditions of the Site
3. Functional Requirements
4. Aesthetics
5. Economics and Ease of Maintenance
6. Construction and Erection Consideration
7. Legal Considerations
5
Summary Selection of Bridges
For the selection of a bridge type, there is
no a single answer.
 For each span length there is more than
one bridge which meet the criteria
 Because of differences in skill of
contractors and local available material, it
good practice to allow contractors to
propose alternative design

6
 Classification of Bridges

Material Steel Concrete Wood Hybrid

Stone/Brick

Usage Pedestrian Highway Railroad

Span Short Medium Long

Structural Slab Girder Truss Arch

Suspension Cable-Stayed
Form

Structural Arrangement
7
The following types of bridges are
discussed as follows
• RC Bridge
• Steel Bridge
• Arch Bridge
• Truss Bridge
• Cable Stayed Bridge
• Suspension Bridge

8
Minimum Depth Requirements

9
 BRIDGE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

A general statement for assuring safety in engineering design is

that (Refer Chapter 4)

Resistance (of material & x-section) ≥ Effect of applied load

• When applying this principle ,it is essential that both sides of

inequality are evaluated for the same condition. For example if
the effect of the applied load is to produce compressive stress
on soil, then it should be compared with bearing capacity of
soil.

10
LRFD-LOAD COMBINATION TABLE (AASHTO TABLE 3.4.1-1)

DC
DD LCE Use one of these at a time
Load TU
DW BR
Combination WA WS WL FR CR TG SE
EH PL
Limit State SH
EV LS
EQ IC CT CV
ES
STRENGTH – I γp 1.75 1.00 - - 1.00 0.50/1.20 γTG γSE - - - -

STRENGTH - II γp 1.35 1.00 - - 1.00 0.50/1.20 γTG γSE - - - -

STRENGTH - III γp - 1.00 1.40 - 1.00 0.50/1.20 γTG γSE - - - -

STRENGTH – IV
γp
EH, EV, ES, DW, - 1.00 - - 1.00 0.50/1.20 - - - - - -
DC ONLY 1.5

STRENGTH – V γp 1.35 1.00 0.40 0.40 1.00 0.50/1.20 γTG γSE - - - -

EXTREME EVENT
γp γEQ 1.00 - - 1.00 - - - 1.00 - - -
–I
EXTREME EVENT
γp 0.50 1.00 - - 1.00 - - - - 1.00 1.00 1.00
– II

SERVICE - I 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.30 0.30 1.00 1.00/1.20 γTG γSE - - - -

SERVICE – II 1.00 1.30 1.00 - - 1.00 1.00/1.20 - - - - - -

SERVICE - III 1.00 0.80 1.00 - - 1.00 1.00/1.20 γTG γSE - - - -

FATIGUE – LL, IM,

- 0.75 - - - - - - - - - - -
AND CE ONLY

11
SELECTION OF RESISTANCE
FACTORS (Table 7.10 [A5.5.4.2.1]

12
Reinforced concrete bridges:
Advantages over steel bridges.
 adaptability of concrete to
The disadvantage
wide variety of structural
shapes
 Low maintenance cost  large dead weight
 Long life and better
resistance to temporary  difficulty to widen
overloads and dynamic
loads than steel bridges.
 Continuous and monolithic
 longer construction time
 good seismic resistance.
 They can also be given the
 requires formwork and
desired aesthetic false work
appearance.

13
LOAD & RESISTANCE FACTOR DESIGN

In the general equation for LRFD method of design

ΦRn ≥ η Σ γi Qi
η is the load modification factor that takes into its account
the ductility, redundancy and operational importance of the
bridge. It is given by the expression

η = ηd ηr ηi ≥ 0.95
Where ηd is the ductility factor, ηr is the redundancy factor
and ηi is the operational importance factor.

14
Minimum Depth Requirements

15
Bridge Section Resistance Analysis

 Flexural: Slab, Deck, Girder (T/Box)

 Axial-Axial Members- Piers,Truss
 Shear: Girder , Slab, Corbel, etc
 Torsional:Girder,Pier
 Combined:Pier, Girder

16
RC Section Flexural Resistance
Analysis

 Rectangular stress block is used for

determination of section capacity
equations
 Limits on maximum and minimum
reinforcement requirements

17
RC Flexural Section Resistance Analysis

18
RC Flexural Section Resistance Analysis

19
RC Flexural Section Resistance Analysis

20
RC Flexural Section Resistance Analysis

21
RC Flexural Section Resistance Analysis

22
Load Effects RC Bridge
Loads considered in Bridge analysis and
determine load effects are:
1. Gravity Loads ( Live/ Dead)
2. Lateral Loads ( Live/Dead)
3. Forces due to deformation
4. Collision Loads
Load effects: A deformation or a stress
resultant, i.e. Axial, shear, torque/or moment,
caused by applied loads, imposed deformation
or volumetric changes. 23
Live Load Effects RC Bridge
 Live load on bridges can occupy random positions both
longitudinally and transversely, and this affects the live
load shared by various beams. This aspect of live load
distribution is one of the primary concerns in the
analysis of bridge decks.

 Influence lines will be used to determine load

position for maximum effect and the magnitude of
these effects.

The following RC bridges will be discussed.

24
Moving Loading and Influence Lines
Influence Lines ( Review it)

25
 Bridge Analysis asper ERA
Recommendation
Any method of analysis that satisfies the requirements of
equilibrium and compatibility and utilizes stress-strain
relationships for the proposed materials may be used, including, but
not limited to:
Classical force and displacement methods;
Finite difference method;
Finite element method;-SAP2000,CSI Bridge, MIDAS Civil etc
Folded plate method;
Finite strip method.
Concrete bridges with a design span exceeding 8 m shall be provided with

camber, unless it is shown unnecessary

26
 Bridge Analysis asper ERA
Recommendation
• Many computer programs are available for bridge analysis.
Various methods of analysis, ranging from simple formulae to
detailed finite element procedures, are implemented in such
programs.
• Many computer programs have specific engineering assumptions
embedded in their code, which may or may not be applicable to
each specific case.
• When using a computer program, the Designer should clearly
understand the basic assumptions of the program and the
methodology that is implemented
• A computer program is only a tool, and the user is responsible for the
generated results.
• Accordingly, all output should be verified to the extent possible.
.

27
 Bridge Analysis asper ERA
Recommendation
A computer program is only a tool, and the user is responsible for the
generated results.
Accordingly, all output should be verified to the extent possible.

Computer programs should be verified against the

results of:
• Universally accepted closed-form solutions;
• Other previously verified computer programs; or
• Physical testing.
Reference AASHTO 2010 Article 4.4

28
Reinforced Concrete Bridges
 Slab bridge-10m ERA
 T-girder bridge-10-25m ERA
 Box girder bridge-25-50m ERA
 Continuous RC bridge-25m
 RC rigid frame bridges-30m

29
Minimum Depth Requirements

30
Slab Bridge<10m-12m:
Slab Bridge may be in the form
 Uniform thickness
 Voided slab

Slab Bridge normally requires more concrete

and reinforced steel than Girder Bridge of
the same span but the formwork is simpler
and less expenssive, hence they are economical
when these cast factor balance favorably.

31
32
 Slab Bridge Analysis

Slab bridges are most commonly used to span short

spans up to 12 meters. The load carrying
mechanism is by plate action, i.e., by bending and
twisting due to continuity in all directions. Application
of a load on the portion make the slab deflect into a
dish shape locally, causing a two-dimensional
system of bending and twisting moments, the
mechanism through which the load is transferred to
the adjacent elements of the deck, which are less
severely loaded.
 4z  z
4
 z
4
D 2  2 2 2  4   q
 x   y  y

33
Slab Bridge Analysis
Where:
Z is the downward deflection of the plate
q is intensity of uniform load
D is flexural rigidity of tile plate
 In the absence of closed form solution to the above
equation, approximate methods are developed.
 One method is the method of influence surfaces, which
uses design charts.
 Grillage method is also used for analysis and softwares
are available for this.
 Another method that AASHTO recommends is the
Strip Method.

34
 Slab Bridge Analysis-LIVE LOAD
 Depth Determination:
AASHTO Recommendations
Load distributions:The equivalent width of longitudinal strips per
lane for both shear and moment with one lane, i.e., two lines of
wheels, loaded shall be determined as:

E  250  0.42 L1W 1

The equivalent width, E of longitudinal strips per lane for both

shear and moment with more than one lane loaded shall be
determined as:

W
E  2100  0.12 L1W 1 
NL
35
Slab Bridge Analysis
Where:
 E = equivalent width (mm)
 L1 = modified span length taken  of the
actual span or 18,000 (mm)
 W1= modified edge-to-edge width of
bridge taken to be  of the actual width or
18,000 mm for multilane loading, or 9,000 mm
for single-lane loading (mm)
 W = physical edge-to-edge width of bridge
(mm)
 NL = number of design lanes as specified

36
Slab Bridge Analysis

37
 T-girder Bridge:
 T- Girders are used for bridges spanning from about
10meters-25 meters. These usually consist of equal1y spaced
beams (generally with spacing of 1.8-3.6m) spanning
longitudinally between supports.
 The slab is structural1y continuous across the top. The slab
serves dual purpose of supporting the live load on the bridge
and acting as the top flange of the longitudinal beams.
 Diaphragms are provided transversely between the beams
over the supports and depending on the span, at midspan and
other intermediate locations. The purpose of providing
diaphragms is to ensure lateral distribution of live loads to
various adjacent stringers, the magnitude of the share of each
stringer depends on the stiffness of the diaphragms relative to
the stringers and on the method of connectivity.

38
Super Structure Design

39
Minimum Depth Requirements

40
41
42
T-girder …
 Design of T- girder bridges consists of deck slab
analysis and design, and the T-girder analysis and
design.
 Structural analysis of the deck slab involves
taking a continuous strip perpendicular to
the girders (AASHTO Art.9.6.1) and analyzing
by moment distribution or using design aid
given by AASHTO, ILS for critical position of
loads. Extreme positive moment at any point
will be taken to apply to all positive moment
regions (Art 4.6.2.1.1

43
 Grillage Mesh

Bridge Deck Idealized Model (Deflected)

44
T-girder …
 The width of equivalent interior transverse strip over
which the wheel loads can be considered distributed
longitudinally in cast - in - place concrete decks is given
as [Table Art. 4.6.2. I .3-1]
 overhang, 11401-0.83lX
 positive moment, 660+0.55S
 negative moment, 1220+0.25S
 Where X is the distance from the wheel load to
centerline of support and S is the spacing of' the T-
beams.
 In the design of overhang deck slab design forces acting
on the post and railings or barrier should be
considered.

45
T-girder …


46
T-girder …
 Depth Determination For shear:
AASHTO provisions  Interior girders
 Load Distribution  Insert Equations
Factors:
For moment:  Exterior girders
 Interior girders  Insert Equations
 Insert Equations Design for flexure:
 Insert Equations
 Exterior girders  Design for shear:
 Insert Equations  Insert Equations

47
T-girder …
 The lever rule involves summing moments
about one support to find the reaction at
another support by assuming that the
supported component is hinged at interior
supports.

Figure. Model for Applying Lever Rule to

Three-Girder Bridges

48
GIRDER BRIDGE

49
Box Girder Bridge:
 Concrete box girder bridges are economical for spans
of above 25 to 45m. They can be reinforced concrete or
Prestressed concrete. Longer span than 45m will have
to be Prestressed.
 They are similar to T-beams in configuration except the
webs of T-beams are all interconnected by a common
flange resulting in a cellular superstructure. The top slab,
webs and bottom slab are built monolithically to act as
a unit, which means that full shear transfer must be
provided between all parts of the section.
 Reinforced concrete box girders have high torsional
resistance due to their closed shape and are particularly
suitable for structures with significant curvature. This
construction also lends itself to aesthetic treatment.

50
Box Girder Bridge:
Concrete box girder bridges have several advantages over
other types;
 1. The relatively shallow depth of box girders is all
advantage where headroom is limited like in urban
overpasses.
 2. Monolithic construction of the superstructure and
substructure offers structural as well as aesthetic
advantage. The pier caps for continuous box girders can
be placed with in the box, facilitating rigid connection to
the pier.
 3. They provide space for utilities such as water and gas
lines, power, telephone and cable ducts, storm drains
and sewers, which can be placed in the hollow cellular
section.

51
Box Girder Bridge:
 Depth For shear:
Determination:  Interior girders
 AASHTO  Insert Equations
Recommendations’  Exterior girders
 Load Distribution
 Insert Equations
Factors:
Design for flexure:
For moment:
 Insert Equations
 Interior girders
Design for shear:
 Insert Equations
 Insert Equations
Exterior girders
 Insert Equations

52
Box Girder …
Design Consideration:
 The structural behavior of box girders is similar to T-
beams. Box girders are essentially T-beams with
transverse bottom flange resulting in a closed,
torsionally stiff multi-cell configuration.

 The interior webs resist shear and often only a small

portion of girder moments. Consequently they are
usually thinner than the webs of T-beams. This is so
because, in the case of continuous T-beams, the webs
must resist the negative girder moments as well as all
the shear, and contain all the reinforcement for positive
moments.


53
Box Girder …
 The bottom slab (soffit) contains reinforcement for the
positive moment and also acts as a compression flange
in the negative moment regions of continuous spans.
The bottom slab also affords a superstructure
considerably thinner than a T- beam bridge of the same
span and permits even longer spans to be built.
 The structural analysis is same as for T-beams. Section
analysis is also same except the compression bottom
flange for continuous spans. The entire slab width is
assumed effective for compression.

54
Box Girder …
Cross-sections are taken as shown in Fig.
below a and b.

55
Box Girder …
Cross-sections are taken as shown in Fig.
below a and b.

a. Exterior girder b. Interior girder

56
Box Girder …
For adequate field placement and consolidation of
concrete, a minimum web thickness of 200 mm is
needed for webs without prestressing ducts; 300 mm is
needed for webs with only longitudinal or vertical ducts;
and 380 mm is needed for webs with both longitudinal
and vertical ducts. For girders over about 2400 mm in
depth, these dimensions should be increased to
compensate for the increased difficulty of concrete
placement.

57
Box Girder …
Bottom Flange
 The bottom flange thickness shall be not less than:
 140mm;
 the distance between fillets or webs of
Non-Prestressed girders and beams divided by 16

Top Flange
This is determined from slab depth requirement.

58
Continuous RC bridge:
Advantages Disadvantages
 Less number of bearings  Analysis is laborious and time
consuming
than simply supported
 Not suitable on yielding
bridge foundations
 Reduced width of pier
 Requires less number of
expansion joints
 Lesser depth of girder,
hence economical
supports.
 Better architectura1
appearance
 Lesser vibration and
deflection 59
RC rigid frame bridges:
 In rigid frame bridges, the deck is rigidly connected to the bridge
and piers. All the advantages of a continuous span bridge are
present here.
 Additional advantages of rigid frame bridges over continuous ones
are
 More rigidity of the structure
 Less moments in deck being partly transferred to the supporting
members
 No bearings are required
 Better aesthetic appearance than the continuous span structure
 As in continuous span bridges, these structures also require
unyielding foundation materials. The analysis is however, more
laborious than the former.

60
Steel Bridge:
Steel bridge construction consists of rolled steel
beams, plate girders or trusses with reinforced
concrete deck or steel plate deck-beam bridges

Steel has got several  constructed with ease and

advantages. this minimizing construction
 It is a high quality costs.
 Homogeneous,  usually lighter
 Isotropic material  reduced substructures
 It has high tensile and costs
compressive strengths.  shallower depth overhead
 considerable ductility clearance
 built faster  easy and faster to repair
than RC.

61
Steel …
Disadvantages
 Corrosion of steel is the major drawback
which requires prohibitively high
maintenance cost.
 Corrosion can reduce cross section of
structural members and weaken the
superstructure also.

62
Steel Bridge
 Rolled I-beams are used for spans up to
90 feet [27 m].
 Welded-plate girders are used for
spans greater than 90 feet [27
m]

63
64
65
Truss Bridge

66
Arch Bridge:
 Arches are generally characterized by the development of
inclined rather than vertical reactions under vertical loads.
 Cross-sections are designed for thrust, moment and shear,
with magnitudes depending on the location of the pressure
line as shown in fig.

 If the pressure line coincides with the axis of structure, (as in

a uniformly loaded parabolic arch), all cross sections will be
subjected to compression, with no moment or shear. If the
pressure line falls with in the kern, there will not be tension.
But if shape of structure and pressure line differs moment
may become dominant. 67
Arch…
Parts of arch bridges

68
Arch…
 The main parameter of an arch is the rise to
span ratio, r/s (1/6 to 1/10).
 From economic point of view it is attempted to
coincide the center of pressure of a given load
with center of line of the arch.
 Compared to the girder bridges, arch bridges
are economical because the dead load moments
in arch bridges are almost absent when the arch
is properly design.

69
 Arch…
Type of Arch Bridges:
 Based on location of deck with respect to arch rib

 Based on structural arrangement

70
 Arch…
 Masonry arch bridges

71
ARCH BRIDGE

72
Cable Stayed Bridge:
 Cable stayed bridges are ideal for spanning natural barriers of wide rivers,
deep valleys and for vehicular and pedestrian bridges crossing wide
interstate highways because they can provide long spans unobstructed by
piers.
 Longitudinal cable arrangement:
 Radiating (converging)

 Harp

 Fan /Modified fan/

73
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CCCC First Highway
Engineering Group
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0ac0012722m703 835 lAhu0mllti
35 ·
Recently, the Ethio-Bahir Dar
Abay River Bridge project,
constructed by CFHEC, has
completed its preliminary
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cable-stayed bridge in Ethiopia
with a total length of 380 meters
and a single bridge width of 24.7
meters. After its completion, the
Bridge will become a new
landmark for the Amhara Region,
contributing to the improvement
of local transportation and
economic development.
#CFHECNow #Bridge #Ethiopia

74
Suspension Bridge:
 The twin main cables from the tower of a suspension
bridge form a catenary from which the hangers are
suspended and fixed to the deck.
 Suspension bridges are economical when the span
exceeds 300m.
 The cables being very flexible do not take any bending
moment and are subjected only to tensile forces. The
stiffening truss stiffens the deck and distributes the live
load of the deck on to the cables. Otherwise the cables
would be subjected to local sag due to action of
concentrated live load and thus causes local angle
change in the deck system.

75
Suspension…
 The stiffening trusses arc hinged at the towers
and suspended at node points from
suspenders, which are usually high tensile
cables.
 Vertical suspenders have been used in many
bridges but diagonal suspenders have the
advantage of increasing the aerodynamic
stability.

76
Suspension Bridge

77
Suspension…

Types
 Simple Suspension Bridge

78
Suspension…

Suspension Bridge with Stiffening Truss

79
Suspension…
Suspension Bridge with Braced Chain

80
Suspension Bridge

81
Any Question?
Thank you
82.
References
1.ERA Bridge Design Manual, 2013 ( AASHTO -2010)
2.ERA Bridge Design Manual, 2002
3.AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Manual
4.Barker, Richard M., and Jay A. Puckett. Design of highway
bridges: An LRFD approach. John Wiley & Sons, 19971st Edition
(Text Book).
5.Barker, Richard M., and Jay A. Puckett. Design of highway
bridges: An LRFD approach. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
6.Chen, Wai-Fah, and Lian Duan, eds. Bridge Engineering
Handbook: Construction and Maintenance. CRC press, 2014.
7.Journal and proceeding articles
8.Other Internet Sources
83