CEng 5501 - Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

Department of Civil Engineering

October 2012
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9.1 Introduction to Inspection & Maintenance
• Most Bridge projects comprise of the following after the need for it is felt.
• Appraisal
• Feasibility Study
• Design
• Construction
• After construction, there should be regular follow up, monitoring and
maintenance
9.2 Appraisal
• Appraisal is the first investigation in a project design. It consists of highway
planning, site selection, preliminary surveys, gathering general hydrological
information and geological information. From this information, the possible
alternative bridge types and size can be decided.
9.3 Feasibility Study
• This is a more detailed extension of the appraisal. The objectives of feasibility
study are selection of the final bridge site and preliminary estimates of cost for
the different alternative bridge types. It means that more details are necessary
for the finally chosen bridge site. These are site survey, hydrographic data,
geotechnical data, environmental report and other pertinent information about
the selected bridge site.
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a) Site Survey: Topographic profile along the center line of the bridge is
required. Determination of high, medium and low water levels is also required

b) Hydrographical Data: This data extending over many years should be

available (e.g. peak velocity of the river water). For undeveloped area you
make hydraulic study of the entire region
 
c) Geotechnical Data: One or two soil borings may be sufficient at this
stage. In the final design stage borings will be made at each abutment and at
each pier

d) Environmental Report: The impact of the bridge on the landscape, and on

the natural ecology should be assessed and reported

e) Other Data: Such other information includes, the location of aggregates

for concrete, the cement supply, the type and condition of access roads, the
availability of water for concrete in the vicinity of the bridge site are
important information which have a direct bearing on the cost of construction.
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f) Feasibility Report: The data gathered and study made at the feasibility
stage will be reported as a feasibility report. This report help several
important decisions to be made such as selection of the most suitable bridge
site, cost evaluation, comparison of different bridge types and selection of the
best, evaluation of the environmental impact of the bridge construction, and
assessment of special loads or environmental hazards.

9.4 Design
• Design consists of structural analysis, section design and satisfying stability
requirements of the structure and its structural components. This culminates
in producing structural drawings and material specifications.
•  
• For design additional subsoil investigations (boring at each abutment and pier
location), additional detail study results are expected in some type of bridges,
(like wind tunnel test for suspension bridge, aerodynamic investigations),
studies on the earthquake response of the bridge, and special connections and
bearings are required
 CHAPTER 8 – CULVERTS & LOW LEVEL WATER CROSSINGS
9.5 Construction
• In the construction stage, what is on the design drawings will be put into the
physical structure. Design drawings, material and technical specifications and
bill of quantities make up a contract document that will be issued to contractors
for bidding. Then the contractor that wins the bid will take the job. The
contractor may use a construction method stipulated while preparing the bill of
quantities (of materials and tasks) or he may use his own method that may be
cost effective and that require shorter construction time. Well, this requires
the approval of the client’s engineer.
• The contractor has to carry out detailed analysis and design of the components
of the structure (and prepare his own detailed working drawings) to avoid
failure due to fabrication, handling and erection stresses.
•  
• Before construction begins the contractor is required to prepare his work
schedule and submit. Bar chart may be used for small bridges and network
methods (CPM or PERT) for big and complicated bridge projects.
•  
• In carrying out the construction, human and non-human resources will be so
managed so that the construction activities conform to the schedule or the plan.
The quality of the work will be attended and approved by the client’s engineer.
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9.6 Inspection and Maintenance
9.6.1 Inspection
• The construction of bridges represents a very substantial national investment, and
their use involves public safety. The service life expectancy of a bridge is 100
years. If the maintenance is faulty and if the structures are inadequate for present
day traffic and loading, the useful life may be drastically reduced.
•  
• Though the importance of proper maintenance cannot be over-emphasized, the
practice of maintenance of bridges leave much to be desired in most cases. The
obligation of assuring bridge safety and the conservation of the national investment
on bridges rests with the public agencies that operate and maintain these bridges.
In order to meet this responsibility, it is essential to evolve and implement suitable
inspection and evaluation procedures. The objective of bridge inspection
comprises the monitoring and the evaluation of the performance of each bridge
structure throughout its service life so that any deficiency in performance
could be detected and corrected early. Each State Highway Department or
Railway Zonal Administration should preferably have a separate cell for bridge
inspection under the control of an experienced bridge engineer, capable of
inspecting and pinpointing any trouble area that could cause the abandonment,
replacement or repair of a bridge. The cell should maintain individual files on each
bridge in its jurisdiction containing structural drawings, and particulars of first
construction repairs, maintenance works, inspections, etc.
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• The inspections could be classified as: (i) routine inspection; (ii) in-depth
inspection and (iii) special inspection. The routine inspection is particularly
applicable to short span bridges. It usually involves a general examination of the
structure, conducted on a regular basis, to look for obvious outward physical
evidence of distress that might require repair or maintenance attention. An in-
depth inspection requires a detailed visual examination of all superstructure and
substructure elements. This is particularly necessary in the case of old bridges and
structures of major proportions where structural failure could result in catastrophic
consequence. The in-depth inspection may be scheduled once in three to five
years. The special inspection is undertaken after special events such as
earthquake, cyclone or passage of unusually heavy loads.
•  
• The common locations of deficiencies are related to foundations, bearings, floor
systems, and connections and truss members. In general, the trouble spots to be
checked are: (a) deterioration and cracks in concrete; (b) evidence of foundation
settlement and movement; (c) metalwork cracks; (d) loose connections; (e)
damaged members; (f) poorly farmed structural details; (g) indiscriminate past
repairs; (h) excessive vibrations; (i) distress near expansion joints; (j) inoperative
expansion bearings; and (k) areas which have shown problems on other similar
structures.
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• One of the common defects in road bridge maintenance is the periodical addition
of surface dressing resulting in dead loads much in excess of original design.
Other areas of neglect include the bearings and expansion joints, which are often
inoperative due to defective maintenance. Painting of steel bridges should be
attended properly. In case of every major bridge, the inspecting engineer should
perform a Structural Integrity Examination at least once in five years to evaluate
the performance and adequacy of the entire foundation and the structural system.
In addition, the inspecting engineer should personally inspect the bridge on the
following schedule: (a) once a year for a complete inspection from foundation
up; (b) after each major flood, in case of river bridge, to examine effects of
scour and changes in stream bed and banks; (c) during one high temperature
period and one low temperature period each year to check the bearings for
proper movement and joints for performance; and (d) after each accident on
the bridge, to check for damages with a view to initiate immediate repairs.
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MAJOR CAUSES
• The bridge engineer should take every possible precaution to avoid failures, as
serious failures of bridges will often result in loss of lives, interruption of vital
traffic and costly repairs. Every bridge engineer would do well to study the
circumstances leading to any bridge failure that he may come across, so as to
learn lessons from such failures. The failure may be, partial or complete.
Complete failures generally attract attention. But partial failures also merit
careful study to avoid recurrence of the defects.
•  
• About sixty percent of the bridge failures are due to natural phenomena, i.e.,
due to flood, earthquake and wind.
•  
FLOOD FAILURES
• Almost half of the failures listed in the following table were due to floods. The
precaution
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• BARGE IMPACT
• Damages to bridges across navigable river caused by barges or ships are on the
increase. The vessels may be adrift or may hit the piers under power. The
damage to the bridge can be minimized by providing properly designed
protective fendering. When potential damage due to barge impact exists, it is
prudent not to use pile foundation with exposed piling above the river bed. In
such cases, sturdy well foundation with protective fendering will be desirable.
There is scope for research study into the distribution of the energy due to
impact causing damage to the vessel, the protective fendering and the bridge.
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FALSEWORK FAILURES
• Failures of false work can result in loss, injury, death and interruption to
traffic as much as bridge collapse.
• The problem of avoiding false work failures is not easy to solve because of many
economic and administrative problems. False work is a temporary structure
designed and erected to last long enough to support the final structure
during construction. Traditionally, this has been left to the contractor and as
an economic necessity, the formwork construction needs to use secondhand
materials to the extent possible, thus lacking the finesse of a finely designed
structure. With increased spans of our bridges, false work design has become
more complicated. The bridge false work design should be prepared by a
competent engineer, should be checked by the governmental engineers and
its erection should be under proper supervision. Immediately prior to and
during the placing of concrete, the constructed false work should be
carefully checked for joint fits, bracing, stiffness, overturning possibilities,
and foundation settlement and general adequacy. By improved methods of
construction and constant vigilance, we can avoid false work failures.
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DESIGN WEAKNESSES
• Bridge failures due principally to design weakness are relatively few.
According to Silby and Walker, failures due to weakness in design follow a 30-
year cycle, as evidenced by the following examples: Dee bridge (1847), Tay
bridge (1879), Quebec bridge (1907), Tacoma Narrows bridge (1940) and the
steel box girder bridges including West Gate bridge (1970). In each of these
cases, a factor, which was originally of secondary importance, became with
increasing scale, of primary importance and led to failure.
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EARTHQUAKE FAILURES
• Several types of failures have been noticed during earthquakes. A common
failure way by slab shortening. As abutments and piers moved together, some
decks buckled, some were crushed and some collapsed. Another type was the
horizontal displacement of piers due to movement of piles in liquefied soils
subjected to lateral loading. A third type involved differential settlement of
piers and abutments due to differences in soil characteristics due to
liquefaction. Column failures by crushing of concrete due to extreme torsion
have been noticed. In some cases, decks slid off their supports due to violent
shaking. Liquefaction of approach fills have resulted in settlement of fills in
relation to abutments, causing accidents to motor vehicles by impact against
the abutment back wall.
•  
• Several preventive measures have been suggested. Heavier and closer spaced
spiral reinforcement should be provided for columns. Such reinforcement
would retain the concrete in the core and prevent collapse. Restraint should be
provided at expansion joints and articulations such that ordinary expansion due
to temperature is permitted but larger movements under earthquake are
restrained. No splices are to be allowed in columns of less than 9m height, as
lapped splices of column bars have been found to be useless under earthquakes.
Approach slab with one end resting on abutment should be provided to permit a
smooth transition in case of settlement of approaches due to liquefaction of
the fill.
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FAILURES DUE TO WIND
• Bridge failures have occurred due to wind. Major examples include the collapse
of the Taybridge in 1879, and Chester bridge over Mississippi in 1944. Taybridge
failed due to aerostatic instability, as the design did not include provisions for
wind forces.
•  
• Tacoma Narrows first bridge failed in 1940 due to aerodynamic instability. The
recurrence of these type of failures is avoided in recent designs through
streamlining the deck and adequate stiffening. Chester bridge was blown off
into the river during a tornado. While very little can be done to save a structure
from the attack of a severe tornado the damage can be minimized by providing
proper anchorage of the deck with the substructures.
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FATIGUE AND CORROSION

• Fatigue may be defined as the gradual weakening of a structure due to
repetitive loading and is accompanied by spreading of crack. If the steel is
corroded at the tip of the crack, progression of the crack is accelerated. An
example of fatigue failure is the collapse of the Point Pleasant bridge (eye bar
suspension bridge) in 1957 due to fracture at the pinhole of a single eyebar.
•  
• Corrosion of reinforcement in concrete bridge may lead to spalling of concrete
and may render the bridge unsafe for modern traffic. Potential damage due to
corrosion in a backwater area can be prevented only by careful attention to
concrete cover to reinforcement, by proper placement and compaction of
concrete to avoid honeycombing, and by proper curing with potable water.
•  
• Special care should be devoted to grouting prestressing cable soon after
stressing so as to avoid corrosion of the prestressing tendons. Delayed grouting
and inadequate grouting of tendons may contribute to the failure of
prestressed concrete bridges.
•  
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