Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Abutments
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Subtructures
Substructures may be classified as ‘end
supports’ or ‘intermediate supports’, according to
their position along a bridge.
End supports can be abutment walls with
associated wing walls for closed side spans, and
either skeleton abutments or bank seats for
bridges with open side spans.
Intermediate supports are the piers and columns
in all bridges with more than one span.
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Bridge Abutments
Current practice is to make decks integral with
the abutments. The objective is to avoid the use
of joints over abutments and piers.
Expansion joints are prone to leak and allow the
ingress of corrosion agents into the bridge deck
and substructure.
In general all bridges are made continuous over
intermediate supports and decks under 6m long
with skews not exceeding 30° are made integral
with their abutments.
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Bridge Abutments
Usually the narrow bridge is cheaper in the open abutment form and
the wide bridge is cheaper in the solid abutment form. The exact
transition point between the two types depends very much on the
geometry and the site of the particular bridge.
In most cases the open abutment solution has a better appearance
and is less intrusive on the general flow of the ground contours and
for these reasons is to be preferred.
It is the cost of the wing walls when related to the deck costs which
swings the balance of cost in favour of the solid abutment solution
for wider bridges.
However the wider bridges with solid abutments produce a tunneling
effect and costs have to be considered in conjunction with the
proper functioning of the structure where fast traffic is passing
beneath.
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Bridge Abutments
Solid abutments for narrow bridges should only be
adopted where the open abutment solution is not
possible. In the case of wide bridges the open abutment
solution is to be preferred, but there are many cases
where economy must be the overriding consideration.
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Open Abutments
A bridge constructed at
existing ground level to
span across a road in
cutting may need only
nominal bank seats if
good foundation strata
are available at shallow
depths. This may give
rise to problems where
negative reactions are
likely to develop.
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Open Abutments
Spill-through or skeleton
abutments are suitable
where spread footings
are needed at a level well
below a bank seat.
It is often advantageous
to design a footing to
offset the foundations in
relation to the bearings,
because the permanent
horizontal loading shifts
the reaction.
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Various Types of Open Abutments
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Piled Foundation
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Wall Abutments
Mass concrete is
Mass economic for small
Concrete heights, such as where
headroom is less than
that needed for vehicular
traffic.
Cantilever is simple to
form but demanding high
Cantilever concentration of
reinforcement in the stem
as height increases
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Wall Abutments
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Choice of Abutments
Wall Abutments
These are normally designed as a reinforced concrete
cantilever fixed along the base slab.
Strutted abutments may be used for square bridges up
to 12m span, where advantage is taken of the
propping action of the deck to relieve the foundation
pressure under the toe of the footing.
Backfilling to these walls is generally selected granular
material and earth pressures are often assessed on
the basis of an equivalent fluid density.
Typical details :
a) Wall height – from 5m to 9m
b) Wall thickness – 0.7m to 1.1m
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Choice of Abutments
Skeleton Abutments
This type of end support consists of transverse cill beam across
one or more buried columns carrying the loads down to a base. It
can be used where the road over a bridge is on embankment and
a suitable foundation can be obtained near the previous existing
ground level.
Typical details :
Columns spaced at 3.5m center and directly under deck bearings
where possible to avoid large bending moments in the cill beam.
Columns placed at ends of the cill beam since wing walls are
cantilevered horizontally from each end.
The rear face of a column is usually vertical and the front face
battered at 1:6 since each column is designed to act as a vertical
cantilever from the continuous based slab and horizontal loads
have a large effect.
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Choice of Abutments
Bank Seats
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Wing Walls
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Wing Walls
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Modes of Failure
The stability of an abutment should be
checked for several modes of failure :
Sliding failure
Overturning
Foundation yield
Slip Circle
Structural failure
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Abutments – Modes of Failure
Sliding Failure
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Abutments – Modes of Failure
Sliding Failure
Resisted by friction in granular soils or adhesion
in cohesive soils, aided by the passive resistance
of the soil in front of the toe.
If public utilities are to install services in front of
the wall, the location or depth of the trenches may
invalidate the passive resistance.
Sliding resistance can be increased by
incorporating a heel below the foundations. Factor
of safety = 2.0 considering passive resistance.
JKR use f.o.s = 1.5 not considering passive
resistance.
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Abutments – Modes of Failure
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Abutments – Modes of Failure
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Basic Components of Abutment
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Forces on an Abutment
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Forces on an Abutment
Dead load due to the superstructure. Proper
dead load include self-weight of beams and
deck. Superimposed dead load include
premix, surfacing, services and railings etc.
Live load on the superstructure.
BS 5400 – HA UDL and HD KEL
BS 5400 – HB (45 units) abnormal vehicle load
JKR Standard – special vehicle (SV)
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Forces on an Abutment
Self-weight of the abutment – Components
of the abutment include main body, wing walls
and approach slab.
Traction force – Horizontal forces due to
braking and acceleration of vehicles. BS 5400
specifies maximum traction force. JKR puts a
maximum value of 253 kN.
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Forces on an Abutment
Temperature variations – Expansion and contraction
due to temperature variation will induce force in the
substructure. Substantial movements occur in steel
bridges. The temperature induced movements or
deflections give rise to forces which will be transferred
to the abutments.
Creep and shrinkage – These are time dependent
properties of concrete. For both creep and shrinkage,
it is assumed (JKR practice) that about 50% occurs
after 3 months and about ¾ has taken place after 6
months.
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Forces on an Abutment
Earth pressures – The equivalent fluid concept (Rankine’s or
Coulomb’s theory) is normally used for calculating the earth
pressures on an abutment, but the selection of the appropriate
intensity depends on the degree of restraint offered by the wall
and the particular calculation being considered.
In a situation where a wall can move by tilting or sliding and the
backfill is a free draining granular material, active pressures are
assumed.
A common design approach is to use an equivalent fluid
pressure of 5H kN/m2, where the active coefficient, Ka is normally
0.25.
Modern compaction technique for placing the backfill material
and the use of more rigid type of construction have caused many
designers to estimate design pressures for the at-rest condition.
The value of the earth pressure coefficient at-rest, Ko is often
taken to be 1.5-2.0 times the active coefficient, Ka.
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Forces on an Abutment
Surcharge pressure – The effect of HA and
HB loadings on the carriageway behind the
abutment is arbitrarily treated as an additional
surcharge loading. The nominal values
suggested in BS 5400 for live load surcharge
are 10kN/m2 for HA loading and 20kN/m2 for
HB loading. The weight of granular material is
assumed to be 19kN/m3.
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Forces on an Abutment
Wind loading – must be considered only for
bridges with spans greater than 20m. A typical
value for wind speed of 40 mph is assumed for
30m span.
Seismic loading – There was only one case
so far in 1960 of medium size disturbance.
Long span bridges such as Penang Bridge
include seismic loading consideration in the
design.
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Forces on the Abutment
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Abutment (Load Case 1)
WA
Self Weight during construction
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Abutment (Load Case 2)
DL + HA
1/3 PSHB
Tr + Fstc + W
Pa
WA
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Abutment (Load Case 3)
DL + HB
1/3 PSHB
Tr + Fstc + W
Pa
WA
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Abutment (Load Case 4)
DL
Fstc
WA
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Design Standards for Abutments
British Standards
BS 5400: Part 2: Specification for Loads
BS 5400: Part 4: Code of Practice for the
Design of Concrete Bridges
BS 8002: Code of Practice for Earth Retaining
Structures
BS 8006: Strengthened/Reinforced Soils and
Other Fills
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Design Standards for Abutments
Design Manuals
BD30: Backfilled Retaining Walls and Bridge
Abutments
BD37: Loads for Highway Bridges
BA41: The Design and Appearance of Bridges
BA42: The Design of Integral Bridges
BD42: Design of Embedded Retaining Walls and
Bridge Abutments
BD57 and BA57: Design for Durability
BD70: Strengthened/Reinforced Soils and Other Fills
for Retaining Walls and Bridge Abutments
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Basic Design
Considerations
Cantilever Wall Abutment
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Cantilever Retaining Wall
The CONCRETE CANTILEVER
RETAINING WALL is constructed of
reinforced concrete and it supports
backfill soil by a cantilever action.
The cantilevered stem portion is fixed
at the bottom and is free at the top.
The base slab serves as a fixed
support and prevents against sliding
and overturning.
There is an option to install a key at
the bottom of the base slab to ensure
further safety against sliding.
These walls provide prolonged
durability and serviceability. They are
widely used due to their ease in
construction and cost-effectiveness.
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Cantilever Retaining Wall
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Analysis & Design of Cantilever
Retaining Wall
Stability Analysis
Design of Concrete Members
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Modes of Failure
Overturning
Sliding/Translation
Bearing capacity
Bending or shear failure of stem
Bending or shear failure of heel
Bending or shear failure of toe
Bending or shear failure of key
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Design Considerations
The design of the wall must:
Resist sliding along its base
Resist overturning
Not exceed the bearing capacity of the
soil beneath the base
Avoid excessive settlement.
Built structurally strong to resist failure
from the build up of internal stresses
produced by external forces
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Forces and Pressures on
Retaining Walls
The basic objective is to apply the conditions for
static equilibrium, which are:
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Forces on Cantilever Wall
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Lateral Earth Pressures
Lateral earth pressure is normally calculated
based on Rankine or Coulomb’s theories.
Lateral earth pressure is assumed distributed
triangularly. The location of resultant is at 1/3 of
height.
If there is surcharge, lateral earth pressure from
surcharge is distributed uniformly. The resultant
is at ½ of height.
The lateral earth pressure is calculated at the
edge of heel.
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Lateral Earth Pressures
Ka.wH
Pa = 1/2Ka.γH2
H/2
H/3
Ka.w Ka.γH
Due to surcharge Due to backfill soil
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Pressure Coefficients
The Rankine active earth pressure coefficient Ka
for the specific condition of a horizontal backfill
surface is calculated as follows:
Ka = (1 – sin(φ)) / (1 + sin(φ))
φ is the angle of internal friction of soil backfill.
The equation is modified if the backfill surface is
sloped.
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Stability Analysis
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Overturning
The rotating point for overturning is normally
assumed at bottom of toe. The height of soil
used to calculate lateral earth pressure should
be from top of earth to the bottom of footing.
Elements that resist overturning are weight of
stem, weight of footing, weight of soil above
footing. If there is a surcharge, the weight of
surcharge can also be considered.
The factor of safety against overturning is
resisting moment divided by overturning
moment. Acceptable factor of safety is between
1.5 to 2.
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Factor of Safety for Overturning
Overturning moment is The resisting moment is
calculated from : calculated as :
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Factor of Safety for Overturning
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Checking for Bearing Pressure
Σ W
Eccentricity, e = B/2 –X
B/2
Either,
X e ≤ B/6 or e > B/6
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Bearing Pressure
If e ≤ B/6, the maximum and minimum footing
pressure is calculated as:
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Bearing Pressure
If e > B/6, Qmin is zero,
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Sliding
The driving force that causes retaining wall to
slide is the lateral earth pressure from soil and
surcharge.
The forces that resist sliding are passive
pressure at toe, the friction at the base of the
footing; and the passive pressure against the
key if used.
The factor of safety against sliding is the total
resisting force divided by total driving force.
Acceptable factor of safety is between 1.5 to 2.
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Factor of Safety for Sliding
The driving force for sliding is calculated as
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Factor of Safety for Sliding
The passive resistance (if any) at the toe of
retaining wall is calculated as
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Factor of Safety for Sliding
The factor of safety is calculated as
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Forces on the Abutment
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Design of RC Members
1. Check thickness of stem for shear stress.
2. Design stem reinforcement for bending.
3. Check thickness of heel for shear stress.
4. Design heel reinforcement.
5. Check shear stress for toe when the toe is long.
6. Design toe reinforcement for bending.
7. Check shear stress in key when key is deep
and narrow.
8. Design key reinforcement for bending.
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Design of Stem
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Design of Heel
eu ≤ B/6
eu > B/6
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Design of Toe
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