BRIDGE ENGINEERING

CHAPTER ONE

BRIDGE BASICS

AMOUD UNIVERSITY
Civil Engineering department
Borama/Awdal/Somaliland

LECTURE 1
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 BRIDGE BASICS

• A bridge is structure that spans a depression or provides

a passage between two points which are at a height
above the ground affording a passage for pedestrians,
vehicles, etc. In another way bridge can be defined as a
structure which provides a passage over an obstacle
without closing the way beneath.

• Its function is to carry a service over an obstacle to

transfer the loads from the service to the foundation at
ground level

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 MAJOR BRIDGE COMPONENTS

• Bridge engineering possesses its own unique language

which must first be understood by the designer in order
to create a uniform basis for discussion

• Most bridges can be divided into two major structural

components

1. Superstructure

2. Substructure

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• Figure below shows a typical, slab-on-stringer structure
which carries an overpass roadway over another road.
This particular structure, shown in the figure, consists of
a single span. (A span is defined as a segment of bridge
from support to support)

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 SUPERSTRUCTURE.

• The superstructure comprises all the components of a

bridge above the supports. The Figure 2 below shows a
typical superstructure. The basic superstructure
components consist of the following

1. Wearing surface

2. Deck

3. Primary members (Stringers or girders)

4. Secondary members (Diaphragms, lateral bracing)

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 THE WEARING SURFACE (COURSE
• The wearing surface (course) is the topmost layer of
material applied upon the deck to provide a smooth
riding surface and to protect the deck from the effects of
traffic and weathering.

• In some instances this is a separate layer made of

bituminous material, while in some other cases it is an
integral part of concrete deck

• The integral wearing surface is typically 1/2 to 2 in (13

to 51 mm). The bituminous wearing course usually
varies in thickness from 2 to 4 in (51 to 102 mm).
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• The thickness, however, can sometimes be larger due to
resurfacing of the overpass roadway, which occurs
throughout the life cycle of a bridge

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 THE DECK

• The deck is the physical extension of the roadway across

the obstruction to be bridged. It can be reinforced
concrete slabs or stiffened steel plates, etc. The deck is
the component of a bridge to which the live load is
directly applied

• The main purpose of the deck is to provide a smooth

and safe riding surface for the traffic utilizing the bridge
and to distribute loads transversely along the bridge
cross section.

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• In most bridges, the deck distributes the live load to the
superstructure. However, on some bridges (e.g., a
concrete slab bridge), the deck and the superstructure
are one unit which distributes the live load directly to the
bridge supports.

Deck Materials

• There are three common materials used in the

construction of bridge decks:
1. Timber

2. Concrete

3. Steel 13
• Timber Decks: Timber decks are normally referred to as
decking or timber flooring and the term is limited to the
roadway portion which receives vehicular loads

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• Concrete deck: Concrete permits casting in various
shapes and sizes and has provided the bridge designer
and the bridge builder with a variety of construction
methods. Because concrete is weak in tension, it is used
together with reinforcement to resist the tensile stresses

• Steel Decks: Steel decks are decks composed of either

solid steel plate or steel grids

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 PRIMARY MEMBERS

• Primary Members: Primary members distribute loads

longitudinally and are usually designed principally to
resist flexure and shear.

• In Figure above, the primary members consist of rolled,

wide flange beams.

• Beam type primary members such as those in the figure

are also called stringers or girders.

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• These stringers could be

 Steel wide flange stringers

 Steel plate girders (i.e., Steel plates welded together

to form an I section),

 Pre stressed concrete,

 Glued laminated timber, or

 Some other type of beam

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 Haunch

• Rather than have the slab rest directly on the primary

member, a small fillet or haunch can be placed between
the deck slab and the top flange of the stringer. The
primary function for the haunch is to adjust the
geometry between the stringer and the finished deck.

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 SECONDARY MEMBERS

• Secondary members are bracing between primary

members designed to resist cross-sectional deformation
of the superstructure frame and help distribute part of
the vertical load between stringers.

• The figure above shows a channel-type diaphragms used

between rolled section stringers. The channels are
bolted to steel connection plates, which are in turn
welded to the wide flange stringers shown.

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• Other Secondary members, (such as lateral bracing)
composed of crossed frames at the top or bottom flange
of a stringer, are used to resist lateral deformation.
caused by loads acting perpendicularly to a bridge's
longitudinal axis. Wind forces are an example of this
type of loading

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 SUB STRUCTURE

• The substructure consists of all elements required to

support the superstructure and overpass roadway. (In
Figure on page 2) this would be Items 3 to 6.

• The basic substructure components consist of the

following:

• Abutments: Abutments are earth-retaining structures

which support the super structure and overpass roadway
at the beginning and end of a bridge. Like a retaining
wall, the abutments resist the longitudinal forces of the
earth underneath the overpass roadway 22
ABUTMENTS

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• Piers: Piers are structures which support the super
structure at intermediate points between the end
supports (abutments). If the bridge consists of only one
span, it logically does not require a pier. Like abutments,
piers come in a variety of forms, some of which are
illustrated here below.

• From an aesthetic standpoint, piers are one of the most

visible components of a highway bridge and can make
the difference between a visually pleasing structure and
an unattractive one.
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Piers example

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• Bearings: Bearings are mechanical systems which
transmit the vertical and horizontal loads of the
superstructure to the substructure, and accommodate
movements between the superstructure and the
substructure.

• The use and functionality of bearings vary greatly

depending on the size and configuration of the bridge.
Bearings allowing both rotation and longitudinal
translation are called expansion bearings, and those
which allow rotation only are called fixed bearings
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• Pedestals: A pedestal is a short column on an
abutment or pier under a bearing which directly supports
a superstructure primary member. The term bridge seat
is also used to refer to the elevation at the top surface of
the pedestal. Normally pedestals are designed with
different heights to obtain the required bearing
elevations

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• Backwall: A back wall, sometimes called the stem, is
the primary component of the abutment acting as a
retaining structure at each approach

• Wingwall: A wingwall is a side wall to the abutment

backwall or stem designed to assist in confining earth
behind the abutment. On many structures, wingwalls are
designed quite conservatively, which leads to a rather
large wall on many bridges

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• Footing: As bearings transfer the superstructure loads to
the substructure, so in turn do the abutment and pier
footings transfer loads from the substructure to the
subsoil or piles. A footing supported by soil without piles
is called a spread footing. A footing supported by piles, is
known as a pile cap.

• Piles: When the soil under a footing cannot provide

adequate support for the substructure (in terms of
bearing capacity, overall stability, or settlement), support
is obtained through the use of piles, which extend down
from the footing to a stronger soil layer or to bedrock
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 APPURTENANCES SITE-RELATED FEATURES

• Appurtenances: An appurtenance is any part of the

bridge or bridge site which is not a major structural
component yet serves some purpose in the overall
functionality of the structure (i.e guide rails) The bridge
site, as an entity, possesses many different components
which, in one way or another, integrates with the
structure.

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 The major appurtenances and site related
features are
• Guide rails: designed to keep people or vehicles from
(in most cases unintentionally) lose their way into a
dangerous or off-limits areas

• Embankment and slope protection: both

aesthetically pleasing and provide for proper drainage
and erosion control

• Under drain: is a drainage system made of perforated

pipe or other suitable conduit that transports runoff
away from the structure and into appropriate drainage
channels 36
GUARDE RAILS

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Embankment and slope protection

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Under drain

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• Approach: The section of overpass roadway which
leads up to and away from the bridge abutments. It
helps to evenly distribute traffic loads on the soil behind
the abutment, and minimizes impact to the abutment
which can result from differential settlement between
the abutment and the approach.

• Traffic barriers

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• Name the missing components of the following bridge

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YES I CAN

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