International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Vol ume 4, Issue3, March-2013 1

ISSN 2229-5518

IJ SER 2013
http://www.ijser.org
Study of Effectiveness of Courbons Theory in the
Analysis of T-beam Bridges
M.G. Kalyanshetti and R.P. Shriram

Abstract-In order to compute the bending moment due to live load in a girder and slab bridge, the distribution of the li ve loads among
the longitudinal girders has to be determined. There are many methods to estimate load distribution. In this project Courbons method is
used to estimate the load distribution as it very popular and widely used because of its simplicity. But the Load factor obtained by
Courbons method is constant for all spans and this indicates the effect of variation of span is not at all considered. Therefore it is
proposed to study effectiveness of Courbons theory for various spans of bridge by varying number of longitudinal girders. In this
project STAAD software is used in which bridge models are analyzed using grillage method. Finally load factor obtained from grillage
analogy are compared with the Courbons load factors to find out the difference and to obtain a new equation which considers the effect
of span. The detailed study is carried out for four lane and six Lane bridges of spans 15m, 20m, 35m, 30m, 35m using IRC class A
loading by varing a number of longitudinal girders. Also the study reveals that Courbons theory gives higher values of bending moments
for exterior girder. Therefore the problem of over estimation of load on exterior girder is solved by using Modified Courbons equation.

Keywords- Longitudinal girder, Courbons theory, Grillage analogy, T-beam bridge, Staad-pro, Indian Road Congress, IRC Live Loads.

Introduction:
When a concentrated l oad i s appl i ed over a si ngl e beam
wi thi n the wi dth of an open spaced beam and sl ab deck,
some l oad shari ng cl earl y takes pl ace wi th adjacent beams,
but the member di rectl y under the l oad obvi ousl y defl ects
more than the others and the sl ab whi ch provi des the
transverse connecti vi ty between beams i s therefore
deformed. A bri dge deck i s basi cal l y a pl atform between
pi ers and abutments. I t coul d be a sl ab or a sl ab and gri d of
l ongi tudi nal and transverse beams. For desi gni ng the
pl atform el ements i t i s essenti al to anal yze their response to
the appl i ed l oad and esti mate how much of thi s l oad i s
apporti oned to each one of them. For thi s project I RC cl ass
A l oadi ng i s used and l oad factors are cal cul ated by using
Courbons theory. Fi nal l y these l oad factors are compared
to the l oad factors obtai ned from Gril lage anal ogy and
correcti on factor i s found out. New modi fi ed Courbons
equati on i s devel oped by usi ng thi s correcti on factor which
sol ves the probl em of overesti mati on of exteri or girder.

Indian Road Congress:
The I ndi an Road Congress (I RC) has formul ated standard
speci fi cati ons and codes of practice for road bri dges wi th a
vi ew to establ i sh a common procedure for the desi gn and
constructi on of road bri dges i n I ndia. The specificati ons are
col l ecti vel y known as the Bri dge code. Pri or to the
formati on of the I RC bri dge code, there was no uni form
code for the whol e country. Each state (or provi nce) had its
own rul es about the standard l oadi ng and stresses.
The I ndi an Roads Congress (I RC) Bri dge code as avai l abl e
now consi sts of ei ght secti ons as bel ow:

1) Secti on-I : General features of desi gn
2) Secti on-II : Loads and stresses
3) Secti on-III : Cement concrete (Pl ai n and rei nforced)
4) Secti on-IV : Bri ck, stone and bl ock masonry
5) Secti on-V : Steel road bri dges
6) Secti on-VI : Composi te constructi on
7) Secti on-VI I : Foundati ons and Substructures
8) Secti on-VI II : Beari ngs

Courbons method of analysis:
Thi s i s one of the earli est forms of rati onal anal ysi s of
bri dge decks and i s very popul ar i n vi ew of i ts si mpl i ci ty.
The expressi on for reacti on factor for i ndi vi dual
l ongi tudi nal gi rders (share of the total l oad by the
i ndi vi dual l ongi tudi nal girders) accordi ng to thi s method i s
gi ven by foll owi ng equati on-
P

=
P
n
_1+
n.c.d
i
d
i
2
_
Where,
P = total li ve l oad
e = eccentrici ty of the li ve l oad (or c.g.of l oads i n case of
mul ti pl e l oads),
di = di stance of gi rder i from the axi s of the bri dge,
n = number of l ongi tudi nal gi rders

Grillage method of Analysis:
The method consi sts of converti ng the bri dge deck
structure i nto a network of ri gi dl y connected beams at
di screte nodes i .e. i deal i zi ng the bri dge by an equi val ent
gri ll age. The deformati ons at the two ends of a beam
el ement are rel ated to the bendi ng and torsi onal moments
through thei r bendi ng and torsi onal sti ffnesss.
When a bri dge deck i s anal ysed by the method of Gri ll age
Anal ogy, there are essenti all y fi ve steps to be fol l owed for
obtai ni ng desi gn responses:
i . I deal izati on of physi cal deck i nto equi val ent gri ll age
i i . Eval uati on of equi val ent el asti c i nerti as of members of
gri ll age
i i i. Appl i cati on and transfer of l oads to vari ous nodes of
gri ll age
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Vol ume 4, Issue3, March-2013 2
ISSN 2229-5518

IJ SER 2013
http://www.ijser.org
i v. Determi nati on of force responses and desi gn envel opes
and
v. I nterpretati on of resul ts.


Parametric Study:
Anal ysi s of T-beam bri dge deck i s done by Courbons
theory and Gril l age Anal ogy wi th the hel p of STAAD
software.
A compl ete schedul e of parametri c study i s gi ven i n
fol l owi ng tabl e.

Tabl e 1: Li st of studi ed parameters

Type of Bri dge T-Beam Bri dge
Span 15,20,25,30,35m
Lane of Bri dge Four l ane Si x l ane
Carriageway wi dth 14m 21m
No. of l ongi tudi nal gi rders 3,4,5,6 5,6,7
Thi ckness of l ongi tudi nal
gi rders
500mm 500mm
No. of cross gi rders 5 5
Thi ckness of cross gi rders 250mm 250mm
Depth of deck sl ab 215mm 215mm
Thi ckness of weari ng coat 75mm 75mm
I RC standard l i ve l oad
Cl ass A-4
trai ns
Cl ass A- 6
trai ns

Parametri c study i s carri ed out as per fol l owi ng cases:
Tabl e 2: l i st of cases of parametri c study
Case
No
Lane Longi -
tudi nal
gi rders
Cross
gi rders
Span I RC Li ve
l oad
Case
-I
Four
l ane
3 5
15,20,25
,30,35
Cl ass A
Loadi ng
Case
-I I
Four
l ane
4 5
15,20,25
,30,35
Cl ass A
Loadi ng
Case
-I II
Four
l ane
5 5
15,20,25
,30,35
Cl ass A
Loadi ng
Case
-I V
Four
l ane
6 5
15,20,25
,30,35
Cl ass A
Loadi ng
Case
-V
Si x
l ane
5 5
15,20,25
,30,35
Cl ass A
Loadi ng
Case Si x 6 5 15,20,25 Cl ass A
-VI l ane ,30,35 Loadi ng
Case
-VII
Si x
l ane
7 5
15,20,25
,30,35
Cl ass A
Loadi ng




Al l bri dge model s prepared by gri ll age anal ogy are
anal yzed usi ng STAAD. Li ve l oad Bendi ng moments of al l
the spans are determi ned by Gri ll age method and by
Courbons theory. Al so l oad factors by gri ll age anal ogy and
by Courbons method are calcul ated.
Compari son of l oad factor by Gril l age Anal ogy and
Courbons method i s carri ed for each case and presented i n
the form of graph as fol l ows-

Variati on of l oad factor of exteri or girder (Girder
A) w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 3
l ongi tudi nal gi rders
Variati on of l oad factor of exteri or girder (Girder
A) w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 4
l ongi tudi nal gi rders
Variati on of l oad factor of exteri or girder (Girder
A) w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 5
l ongi tudi nal gi rders
Variati on of l oad factor of exteri or girder (Girder
A) w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 6
l ongi tudi nal gi rders
Variati on of l oad factor of exteri or girder (Girder
A) w.r.t. span for si x Lane Bri dge wi th 5
l ongi tudi nal gi rders
Variati on of l oad factor of exteri or girder (Girder
A) w.r.t. span for si x Lane Bri dge wi th 6
l ongi tudi nal gi rders
Variati on of l oad factor of exteri or girder (Girder
A) w.r.t. span for si x Lane Bri dge wi th 7
l ongi tudi nal gi rders





2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
3
3.1
0 20 40
Grillage
method
Courbon'
s theory
Load
factor
Span in 'm'
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Vol ume 4, Issue3, March-2013 3
ISSN 2229-5518

IJ SER 2013
http://www.ijser.org
Fig 1: Vari ati on of l oad factor of exteri or gi rder (Gi rder A)
w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 3 l ongi tudi nal gi rders




Fig 2: Vari ati on of l oad factor of exteri or gi rder (Gi rder A)
w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 4 l ongi tudi nal gi rders



Fig 3: Vari ati on of l oad factor of exteri or gi rder (Gi rder A)
w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 5 l ongi tudi nal gi rders





Fig 4: Vari ati on of l oad factor of exteri or gi rder (Gi rder A)
w.r.t span for four Lane Bri dge wi th 6 l ongi tudi nal gi rders



Fig 5: Vari ati on of l oad factor of exteri or gi rder (Gi rder A)
w.r.t. span si x Lane Bri dge wi th 5 l ongi tudi nal gi rders



Fig 6: Vari ati on of l oad factor of exteri or gi rder (Gi rder A)
w.r.t. span si x Lane Bri dge wi th 6 l ongi tudi nal gi rders




Fig 7: Vari ati on of l oad factor of exteri or gi rder (Gi rder A)
w.r.t. span si x Lane Bri dge wi th 7 l ongi tudi nal gi rders
1.95
2
2.05
2.1
2.15
2.2
2.25
2.3
2.35
0 20 40
Grillage
method
Courbon's
theory
Load
factor
Span in 'm'
1.55
1.6
1.65
1.7
1.75
1.8
1.85
1.9
0 20 40
Grillage
method
Courbon's
theory
Load
factor
Span in 'm'
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
0 20 40
Grillage
method
Courbon's
theory
Load
factor
Span in 'm'
2.25
2.3
2.35
2.4
2.45
2.5
2.55
2.6
2.65
2.7
0 20 40
Grillage
method
Courbon
's theory
Load
factor
Span in 'm'
1.9
1.95
2
2.05
2.1
2.15
2.2
2.25
0 20 40
Grillage
method
Courbon's
theory
Load
factor
Span in 'm'
1.65
1.7
1.75
1.8
1.85
1.9
1.95
0 20 40
Grillage
method
Courbon'
s theory
Load
factor
Span in 'm'
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Vol ume 4, Issue3, March-2013 4
ISSN 2229-5518

IJ SER 2013
http://www.ijser.org






Observations:
Fol l owi ng observati ons are obtai ned from the detai led
parametri c study
1. For exteri or gi rders bendi ng moment obtai ned by
Courbons theory i s more than the bendi ng
moment obtai ned by Gri ll age method for all the
spans and for i nteri or gi rder bendi ng moment
obtai ned by Courbons theory i s l ess than the
bendi ng moment obtai ned by Gril l age method for
al l the spans.
2. Variati on of l oad factor i n Gi rder A by Courbons
theory i s constant for al l the spans and vari ati on of
l oad factor i n Gi rder A by Gri ll age method i s
varyi ng from 15m span to 35m span. I t i s observed
that thi s vari ati on i s i n decreasi ng order.
Therefore there i s need to correct the equati on of l oad factor
gi ven by Courbons theory as the l oad factor obtai ned by
Courbons theory i s constant for al l spans. Hence correction
factors for each span are calculated and the equati on of
correcti on factor for Girder A i s obtai ned. For thi s the
maxi mum val ue of correcti on factor i s sel ected for each
span and a si ngl e graph i s provi ded whi ch wil l be
appl i cabl e to al l the cases of four l ane and si x l ane. Fi nall y
the equati on i s obtai ned by usi ng a parabol ic functi on y = a
+ bx + cx
2
. For thi s the method of l east squares i s used.
Fol l owi ng equati on i s obtai ned by usi ng method of l east
squares-
y = 0.000134x
2
- 0.0098x + 1.056
Here, x = Span of the bri dge, y = Correcti on factor

Load factor by modified Courbons equation:
By consi deri ng correcti on factor, Courbons equati on for
Load factor i s modi fi ed as

P

=
P
n
_1+
n.c.J

2
_ Corrcction octor
Fi nall y by usi ng thi s modi fi ed Courbons equati on l oad
factors are corrected.
Conclusion:
Thi s study i s carri ed out for four l ane and si x Lane bri dges
of spans 15m, 20m, 35m, 30m, 35m usi ng I RC cl ass A
l oadi ng by vari ng a number of l ongi tudi nal gi rders.
From the observati ons, i t can concl ude that-
Load factor obtai ned by Courbons method i s constant for
al l spans and thi s i ndi cates the effect of vari ati on of span i s
not consi dered but usi ng Gril l age anol ogy i t i s observed
that l oad factor i s not constant for al l the spans and i t i s
decreasi ng from l ower span to hi gher span. Al so Courbons
theory gi ves hi gher val ues of bendi ng moments for exterior
gi rder. To overcome thi s probl em and to obtai n actual
bendi ng moment a second degree equati on i s devel oped by
usi ng parabol i c functi on whi ch gi ves the correcti on factor

to get actual l oad factor for each span. Fi nal l y Courbons
equati on i s modi fi ed by usi ng correcti on factor which i s
gi ven as bel ow
P

=
P
n
_1+
n.c.J

2
_ Corrcction octor
Where, correcti on factor for each span i s cal cul ated by
usi ng the equati on
y = 0.000134x
2
- 0.0098x + 1.056
The above Modi fi ed Courbons equati on gi ves the val ues of
l oad factor which are nearl y same as obtai ned by gri ll age
anal ogy. Therefore the probl em of over esti mati on of l oad
on exteri or girder i s sol ved by usi ng Modifi ed Courbons
equati on.

Referances

1. D. Johnson Victor, Essenti al s of Bri dge
Engi neeri ng - Oxford & I BH Publ i shi ng Company
Pvt, Ltd. New Del hi .
2. N. Rajagopalan Bri dge Superstructure- Narosa
Publ icati ons.
3. Surana C.S., Agrawal R. (1998), Gri ll age
Anal ogy i n Bri dge Deck Anal ysi s , Tata McGraw
Hi l l .
4. T.R. Jagdish & M.A. Jairam, Desi gn of bri dge
structures, Penti ce hal l of I ndi a pri vate Li mi ted,
New Del hi .
5. IRC:5-1998-Standard Specificati ons and Code of
Practice for Road Bri dges, Secti on I General
Features of Desi gn (Seventh Revi si on)
6. B. C. Punmia Ashok Kumar Jain Comprehensi ve
RCC Desi gns - Lakshmi Publ icati ons.

M. G. Kal yanshetti - Assi stant Professor, Ci vi l
Engi neeri ng Department, Wal chand I nsti tute of
Technol ogy Sol apur, I ndi a.PH-9422646598.
Emai l : mgkal yanshetti @rediffmail .com
R.P. Shri ram- PG student ME Ci vil Structures,
Walchand I nsti tute of Technol ogy Sol apur,
I ndi a.PH-8149878760.
Emai l :rasi kashri ram@gmai l .com