Design of RC Slab Bridge

Presented by
NC Sharma
Associate Professor, IOE
 Slab Bridge Cross Section of Slab

Solid slab bridge

Solid slab bridge with

cantilever footpath

Main load bearing member in super

structure of bridge is slab
Voided slab bridge with
Span coverage of slab bridge cantilever footpath
Solid Slab - up to 10m
Voided Slab up to 15m
Prestressed Concrete Slab up to 25m

Positive aspects Negative aspects

Increases clearance above the afflux due to the
shallow depth of slab
Gives clean attractive appearance
Has good lateral load distribution characteristics
due to its good torsional stiffness
Requires low maintenance cost
Has heavy self weight for larger span
Economically not effective for large span
of bridge
Can cover small span
 General Arrangements of Deck of Solid Slab Bridge

Railing
Kerb Wearing
CW Course Drainage
Spout
D
RC Slab
Expansion Joint

RC Slab
D

Tar Paper

Abutment

Approach
Slab
 Design Steps of RCC Solid Slab Bridge
I. Planning and Preliminary Design of Slab Bridge [Ref. IRC 5]
Select type of slab, railing, wearing coat and materials require.
Assign depth of slab using deflection control criteria and sizes
of carriageway, footpath/kerb, wearing coat and railing.

Footpath/Kerb Wearing Course h

CW
b

Railing B D Slab

Width of kerb 0.225m from railing

Depth of kerb/footpath 0.225m
Width of footpath (b) 0.6m
Carriage way width (CW) - It depends on number of lanes
= 4.25 m for single lane
= 7 m or 7.5m for double lane
Height of railing (h) 1.1m half width of railing
Depth of slab (D) is found by deflection control criteria
D = span/15 to span/12 for simple span
= span/25 to span/20 for continuous span
II. Analysis of Deck Slab [Ref. IRC 6 & IRC 21]
Position live load longitudinally and transversely at each critical section of slab to get
maximum responses and find longitudinal bending moment, longitudinal shear force
and transverse bending moment per unit width of slab due to live load at each
critical sections.

Transverse Positioning of Live

Load to Get Maximum Responses

emax

Maximum eccentric position of vehicle gives maximum longitudinal BM and SF

emin

Minimum eccentric position of vehicle gives maximum transverse BM

 Longitudinal Positioning of Live Load to Get Maximum BM

For Track Loading BM at the considering section will be

maximum when track load is
L2 positioned in such a way so that
x2 x2 = x1 L2 /L1

x1
L1

For Train/Wheel Loading BM at the considering section will be maximum

when train/wheel load is positioned in such a way
so that the ratio of R1 / L1 and R / L will equal or
just change their signs
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5
R1 / L1 = R / L
or
L1 R1 / L1 > R / L just change in to R1 / L1 < R / L
L
R1 - Resultant of wheel loads lying on the left of the
considering section
R Resultant of wheel load entered in bridge deck
 Longitudinal Positioning of Live Load to Get Maximum BM

For Track Loading For Train/Wheel Loading

L2 p W1 W2 W3 W4 W5

x1 L1 L1
L

Draw ILD of BM at critical section. Draw ILD of BM at critical section.

Position track load in such a way so Position wheel loads in such a way
that product of the intensity of track so that summation of the product
load and area of ILD occupied by of loads and respective ordinates of
track load (p A) is maximum. ILD (Wy) is maximum.

p intensity of track load W- magnitude of wheel load

A area of influence line diagram y- ordinate of ILD under
under track load load
Longitudinal Positioning of Live
Load to Get Maximum SF
Influence line diagram is drawn to
get maximum SF at critical sec.
For Track Loading
due to track and train/wheel
p loading.

SF at any critical section will be

maximum when
l pA is maximum for track
loading
p intensity of track load
A area of influence line diagram
under track load
For Train/Wheel Loading
Wy is maximum for
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 train/wheel loading
W- magnitude of wheel load
y- ordinate of ILD under load

l
 Compute effective width of slab at each critical section and obtain live load
bending moment and shear force per unit width at these sections.

Strip of slab, which bears the load on the slab is effective width of slab.

Effective width of slab for a concentrated/patch load is calculated by the

following equation.
bef = a (1-a/l) + b1

Where,
bef - Effective width of slab on which the loads acts
l - Effective span in case of simply supported slab and clear span in case of
continuous slab
a - Distance of center of gravity of load from nearer support
b1 - Width of concentration area of load (b1 = W + 2h )
- Constant depending upon the ratio l'/l (See table of IRC 21 for value of )
l' - Width of slab
h - Thickness of wearing course
W- Contact width of wheel/track parallel to the width of bridge (Ref. IRC 6)
Effective Width of Slab Effective width should not
exceed the actual width of
the slab.
bef = a (1-a/l) + b1
When concentrated load is
close to the unsupported
edge of a slab, the
Abutment Load effective width shall not
a
exceed the above value or
half of the above value
River plus the distance of the
l
load from the unsupported
edge.
b1 = W+2h
When effective widths for
two adjacent loads
overlap, in such cases the
resultant effective width
l will be equal to the sum of
individual widths minus the
Plan of Slab Bridge overlap.
 Compute dead load and find dead load bending moment and shear force per unit
width at critical sections.

wu
Self wt of slab and wearing coat
per unit width of slab
l

Maximum BM at mid span (Mu) = wu l2/8

Maximum shear force at support (Vu) = wu l/2

Find transverse bending moment (TBM) due to live load and dead load per unit width
of slab. Use codal formula to find TBM. [Refer cl.305.18.1, IRC 21]

Max. TBM =0.3 of L.L.BM + 0.2 of D.L. BM

III. Design and Detailing of Deck Slab [Ref. IRC 21, IRC 112 & IS 456]

Check depth of slab d and revise if necessary.

Compare with the depth requires for balanced section

dbal = (Mu /Q b)1/2

When d > dbal , slab section is designed as SRUR rectangular section
When d < dbal , slab section is designed as DR rectangular section
Normally slab is designed as SRURS

Find longitudinal reinforcement Astfor maximum longitudinal bending moment.

Find area of steel of longitudinal bars Ast, diameter of bars and their spacing
Ast = Mu / 0.87fy(d - 0.416xu) for SRURS
Ast Ast,min = 0.12% of gross sectional area of slab

Find transverse reinforcement for maximum TBM

Find area of steel of longitudinal bars Ast, diameter of bars and their spacing
Ast = Max. TBM / 0.87fy(dtr - 0.416xu)
Ast Ast,min = 0.12% of gross sectional area of slab
 Check slab for shear

Depth of slab is checked for shear

Compare uv with uc
When uv uc shear reinforcement is not required
Normally shear reinforcement is not provided in slab

Design kerb/foot path as a beam for edge stiffening

Edge stiffening beam is designed for its self weight, dead and live load on it and
horizontal load of 7.5 KN/m at top of kerb/footpath.
Find diameter and numbers of longitudinal bars of beam for maximum BM
and diameter and spacing of vertical stirrups for maximum SF and
horizontal load
Carryout detailing of reinforcement

Check anchorage length of main bars at support

Curtail main bars if necessary
Provide temperature steel at top of slab as per codal provision

Provide 250 mm2 area of steel bars per unit meter in both direction of
slab or minimum area of steel bars as temperature bars
 Reinforcement of Slab Bridge

Vertical stirrups
of edge stiffening beam Temperature reinforcement

Side face
reinforcement Transverse reinforcement
Bars of edge Longitudinal reinforcement
stiffening beam
Design Problem
Design a Slab Bridge to meet the following requirements
Bridge clear span 6m
Bearing width of slab 400 mm
Carriage way Two lane
Footpath on either side of bridge
Wearing coat Asphalt concrete

Select type of slab, railing, wearing coat and materials require.

Assign depth of slab using deflection control criteria and sizes of
carriageway, footpath/kerb, wearing coat and railing
Position live load longitudinally and transversely at each critical section
of slab to get maximum responses and find longitudinal bending
moment, longitudinal shear force and transverse bending moment per
unit width of slab due to live load at each critical sections.
Compute effective width of slab at each critical section and obtain live
load bending moment and shear force per unit width at these sections.
Compute dead load and find dead load bending moment and shear
force per unit width at critical sections.
Find transverse bending moment (TBM) due to live load and dead load
per unit width of slab. Use codal formula to find TBM.
Design slab and carryout detailing of reinforcement.
Analyze and design edge beam of slab
Planning and Preliminary
Design of Slab Bridge

Carriage way 7.5 m

Cross Section of Bridge
Width of footpath 1 m
Height of footpath 0.3 m
Thickness of W.C. 0.05 m at edge
0.11 m at crown
Height of railing 1.1m
Size of railing post 0.225m 0.225m
Spacing of railing post - 1.6 m
Heavy steel pipe of dia. 48.3mm
Thickness slab - 0.55 m
Camber of W.C. 2.5%

Longitudinal Section of Bridge

Transverse Positioning of Class A Load for maximum BM
1 0.4 1.8 1.8 1.8

Longitudinal Positioning of Class A Load maximum BM

114KN IF f / bIef I II 114KN IF f / bIef
1.2
2.6

6.4

bef = a(1-a/l)+b1 = 5.03 m

bIef = bIIef = 1+0.4+1.8+1.7+ bef / 2= 9.215m

 Transverse Positioning of Class A Load for maximum SF
1 0.4 1.8 1.8 1.8

Longitudinal Positioning of Class A Load for maximum SF

114KN IF f / bIef I II 114KN IF f / bIef

0.905 1.2

2.105
6.4

bef = a(1-a/l)+b1 = 2.65 m for I axle

bIef = 1+0.4+1.8+1.7+ bef / 2= 5.875m
bef = a(1-a/l)+b1 = 4.45 m for II axle

bIIef = 1+0.4+1.8+1.7+ bef / 2= 6.77m

 Reinforcement of Slab Bridge

4-12 mm
b2 Temperature reinforcement
8mm @ 180 mm c/c
12mm @ 300 mm c/c a3, a4
vertical stirrups b4, b5

10 mm 6-20 mm 20 mm @ 167 mm c/c

side bar b1 12 mm @ 167 mm c/c a1
a2
b3