END BEARINGS Bearing is a part of a bridge which receives all the forces from the structure above and

transmits the same to the supports. These are provided at the ends of the span of the main girders. The functions of the bearings are: a) Transmission of the end reaction to the pier. b) Provision of free movement of the lower chord in horizontal direction. c) The change in the angle of the girder is allowed. d) Reduction in impact due to live load. e) Damping of structural vibration. f) Limitation on the transmission of sound waves.

(IS Code Recommendations )IS: 1995 - 1961 stipulates the following specification:
1) For all spans in excess of 9 m provision shall be made for changes in length due to temperature and stress variation. The provisions for expansion and contraction should be such as to permit movement of the free bearings to the extent of not less than 25 mm for every 30 mm of length. 2) For spans greater than 15 m on rigid piers or abutments, bearings which will permit angular deflection of the girder ends shall be provided and at one end there shall be a roller, rocker or other effective type of expansion bearing. 3) For wide bridge and skew spans, consideration shall be given to lateral expansion and contraction. 4) In the design of bearings, provision shall be made for the transmission of longitudinal and lateral forces to the bearings and the supporting structures. 5) In seismic zones excess movement of the spans may be prevented by connecting the top saddle of the bearing to the bottom saddle through hinged connections. 6) Roller bearings for spans above 35 m should preferably be protected from dirt by oil or grease boxes. 7) Provision shall be made against any uplift to which the bearings may be subjected. 8) Rollers and Rockers shall be located by means of dowels, lugs or keys. 9) All bearings shall be designed to permit inspection and maintenance. Forces Acting on Bearings The following forces are considered in the design of bearings: 1) Reaction at the support 2) Longitudinal load 3)Uplift Forces 4)Transverse forces Types of Bearings Based on functional behaviours: 1) Fixed bearings: These allow only rotation. 2) Free bearings (Expansion bearings) These allow both rotation and translation. The movement may be due to creep in concrete, shrinkage, settlement, thermal stresses, braking force, uplift force. Generally one end of the bridge is provided with fixed bearing and the other with expansion bearing. If both the ends have fixed type bearings, internal stresses will develop in bridge structure. For a simply supported bridge girder, fixed bearing is at one end and free bearing at the other. But for continuous bridge girder, fixed bearing is at one end and free bearings at the other ends. Based on material used for bearings 1) Mechanical bearings - a) Ferrous bearings b) Non-ferrous bearings 2) Elastomeric bearings 3) Combined mechanical and elastomeric bearings. Mechanical Bearings: These allow longitudinal movements and end
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rotations by sliding, rocking or rolling. These are most commonly used. There are made of metals. a) Ferrous Bearings: These are the most commonly used mechanical bearing. These allow longitudinal movements by sliding of steel on steel and cast-iron. These allow rotations on pins, rollers and rockers. The types of ferrous bearings are i) Plate bearings ii) Roller bearings iii) Rocker bearings iv) Spherical bearings v) Knuckle-pin bearings vi) Railway board bearings. b) Non-ferrous Bearings: These are made from aluminium alloys. These should be used with copper. "Ball and Socket type bearing" is the most commonly used bearing. These permit rotation up to 0.09 radians. Elastomeric bearings: Elastomer is a polymeric substance obtained after vulcanisation. It possesses rubber like properties. It regains original shape completely upon unloading. These bearings allow longitudinal movement and rotation. These consist of one or more internal layers of elastomer bond to internal steel laminates by the process of Vulcanisation. These allow a horizontal movement of 70 mm and a rotation of 0.02 radians. Combined mechanical and elastomeric bearing: The mechanical bearings provide the longitudinal movement and the elastomeric bearings provide the rotation. Plate Bearings This is also called as sliding bearings. This does not allow rotation. This is recommended for use for spans less than 15 m. These can be fabricated out of steel, Teflon and Bronze. These are only used for straight bridges. These are unstable under lateral forces. This bearing contains sole plate and bed plate. The sole plate is attached to the bottom of the Bridge Supporting Structure. The bed plate is fixed to the supporting structure. The size of the plates depends upon end reaction and allowable

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compressive strength of the material used for supporting structure. For sliding, Pintles are fixed in

the bed plate.

Roller Bearings
This type of bearing allows both translation and rotation.

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Single Roller bearing

Multiple Roller Bearings. This is generally used for long span bridges. The roller is kept in position by using keys, lugs. A complete circular roller is provided for small sizes. For large size the segmental rollers are used. To take heavy loads number of rollers is used. Multiple Rollers permit horizontal moment very easily. For proper placing of roller spacer plates used. In the bottom stoppers are provided to avoid the movement of Rollers beyond the bottom plate. Rocker Bearings These are suitable for straight steel bridges. This type of Rocker bearing consists of a pin to accommodate very high deflections. These are used for spans more than 15 m. These are made of steel. These are connected with the substructure through a dead plate. These are bolted or welded to the bridge structure component. These do not permit horizontal movement. These allow only Rotation. IRCspecifications for Rocker pins: The diameter of the Rocker pin shall not be less than 60 mm. The pin shall be fitted to a depth 0.5d in the groove. The minimum clean ends above the top surface of the Rocker pin shall be 2.5 mm.

Rocker Bearing with curved Sole Plate

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Rocker Bearing with Curved Bed Plate

Rocker Bearing with Pin

Knuckle Bearings This is a special form of Roller bearing. A knuckle pin is inserted between top and bottom castings. The bottom casting is attacked to the top of the Rollers. The top casting is attached to bottom of the

Bridge girder. Spherical Bearing In this type of bearing a spherical convex Rocker rotates in a spherical concave seating. The seating is attached to base plate. The Rocker is attached with the distributed plate which is with the bottom of bridge girder.

Railway Board Roller Bearing Top castings are attached to the bottom of the bridge girder. The bottom casting is attached on the top of the rollers. The total height of the bearing is about lm. The pin is subjected to only bearing
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pressure. The whole bearing is enclosed in sheet metal box, filled with lubricating oil.

Rocker & Roller Bearing

These bearings allow translation and rotation. The nest of rollers facilitates translation. The rocker pin facilitates rotation. The main drawback is collection of dust.

IS code provisions 1) The minimum diameter of the roller shall be 75 mm. 2) The ratio of the length of the roller to the diameter shall be not more than 6 3) In the case of multiple rollers the gap between the rollers shall be not less than 50 mm. The allowable working loads per unit length of cylindrical rollers [on flat surface] shall be taken as: For mild steel 1) Single and double rollers 8D N/mm of length 2) Three or more rollers: 5D N/mm of length. For high tensile steel 1) Single and double roller: 10 D, N/mm of length 2) Three or more roller: 7D N/mm of length. where D is the diameter of roller in mm.

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Design Considerations for Elastomeric Bearings

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Design of Rocker Bearing

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Design a Rocker Bearing

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Design of Rocker and Roller Bearing

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Design Rocker and Roller bearing Data Vertical load due to (DL+ LL+ IL) = 900 kN. Vertical load due to wind = 200 kN. Lateral load due to wind = 250 kN. Longitudinal load = 300 kN.

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