civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

BRIDGE ABUTMENTS
Bridge abutments are the interface between bridges and the earthworks provided on their approaches. Because they support the ends of bridges, they share elements in common with bridge piers. Because they hold back earth in the approach fills, they also share elements in common with retaining walls. This article deals with how to draw bridge abutments. We need to understand the basic principles underlying the design of abutments to be able to draw these objects correctly. We will apply knowledge of contour mapping, linked views, sections, and transformation of references.

1. examples of abutments
The figure to the right shows examples of bridge abutments. The upper left image shows the abutment for a railway bridge built in 1930. Clearly visible is a seat to support the girder and retaining walls that extend outward and back from the seat at approximately 45 degrees. This type of retaining wall is called a wing wall. The upper right image shows a recently completed two-span overpass bridge. The abutments have been enclosed with ellipses. The triangular components visible on either side are wing walls. The two middle images show abutments from the same bridge. The image on the left shows the front wall of the abutment and the support for the girder. The image to the right shows the end of the girder and the triangular wing wall. The lower two images show a movable bridge which pivots about a vertical axis at the central pier. The image to the right shows the abutment after the superstructure has pivoted away. Clearly visible are the bearing seat and small triangular wing walls.

Examples of abutments

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civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

2. description of typical abutments

There are many different types of abutment. In this course, we will work with one specific type. This is a common type of abutment and will be suitable in many situations. The description given in this article is somewhat simplified but nonetheless accurate. We begin our description by considering the abutment in its context. The upper figure to the right shows a single-span bridge crossing a highway. There are fills on both approaches, which carry the road that crosses the highway. The bridge is supported at both ends by abutments. Bridge rail and guard rails on the approaches have not been shown. The second image to the right is a view from above. We observe that, away from the abutments, the fills slope away from the upper roadway at 2 horizontal to 1 vertical measured transverse to the axis of the upper roadway. When the fill on the left side reaches AB, the slopes curve around. The slope along a given line of steepest descent remains 2 horizontal to 1 vertical. The figure ABC thus forms a portion of a cone. For the situation shown in the figure, the existing terrain is flat and level. Path AC will therefore be a quarter circle, since it is formed by intersecting a cone with a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the cone.

Abutments for a simple overpass bridge

2h

: 1v

2h : 1v

Fill slopes near abutments. Existing terrain is flat and level. 2

bridge abutments

civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

The intersection of the fill slope near the abutment and the existing terrain is not always a quarter circle. In the figure to the right, the existing terrain slopes up from the bottom of the figure to the top. The roadway crossing the highway remains straight and level. (The bridge superstructure has been removed for clarity.) The threedimensional surface described by ABC remains a portion of a cone, but path AC, formed by the intersection of the cone and the existing terrain, is no longer an arc of a circle but rather an arc of an ellipse. In general, as for any fill slope, the curve defined by the toe of the fill slope as it curves around the abutment will be defined by the intersection of the fill (with given slope) and the existing terrain. It will therefore often be an irregular curve.

Existing

terrain

higher

B
: 1v 2h

2h : 1v

Existing

terrain

lower

Abutments on sloping terrain

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civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

The images to the right show views of the abutment that include the portions not normally visible because they are buried. (Existing terrain is flat and level.) We see now the abutment supports vertical reactions from the bridge and carries them to a foundation. We also see how the abutment holds back earth behind the bridge.

Abutments for a simple overpass bridge

Abutments for a simple overpass bridge

bridge abutments

civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

3. components of typical abutments

The figure to the right shows several different views of a typical abutment. These will be used to name its components. The abutment is supported by a foundation, which in this case rests on a competent layer of rock or soil. Many types of foundation are possible but in this course, we will consider only a simple type of foundation called a spread footing, which is essentially a block of reinforced concrete. The foundation supports the abutment stem, which is a concrete wall. This wall transfers vertical reactions from the bridge superstructure to the foundation and thus functions as a common bridge pier. It also prevents the earth located behind the abutment from spilling out towards the bridge, and thus functions as a retaining wall. The top of the stem is called the bearing seat. It is a shelf that supports the bridge superstructure. The rear portion of the stem extends up to the top of the roadway. This component is called the back wall. The back wall functions only as a retaining wall, preventing earth from spilling forward towards the bridge and thus maintaining the integrity of the approach roadway. It does not support vertical load. Extending outward at ninety degrees from the stem and back wall are the wing walls. These are retaining walls that prevent earth from spilling out sideways since the earth on the inside of the wing walls is higher than the earth on the outside. These components thus also maintain the integrity of the approach roadway. The bridge superstructure rests on devices called bearings. These are devices that perform the function of the pin supports and roller supports used in models for structural analysis.

CL Bearings Wing wall Back wall Bearing seat

Stem Foundation

Wing wall

Foundation

Wing wall

Back wall Bearing Stem

Foundation
3-D views of abutment: Top: from behind Bottom: from the front 2-D views of abutment: Top: Plan Bottom: Side elevation 5

bridge abutments

civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

There is a gap between the bridge superstructure and the back wall. This permits the bridge to expand and contract due to change of temperature and other actions. An expansion joint is normally installed at the top of the gap to prevent water from leaking down from the roadway to vulnerable structural components. Expansion joints will not be drawn in this course.

G L B

4. principles governing dimensioning

The following principles are generally valid in engineering practice and will be applied in this course. 1. Total width of the abutment, B, should be equal to the total width of the bridge, including curbs and rails.

2. The profile of the top of the back wall should be the same as that of the surface of the bridge deck. Curbs and rails should match. 3. Gap G between superstructure and back wall depends on the expected expansion and contraction of the superstructure. In this course, we will take it to be 300 mm. 4. Length of wing walls L is determined by the slope of the fills. The wing walls must be long enough to hold back any fills that are higher on one side of the wall than the other. 5. Bottom of wing walls should be parallel to the slope of the soil touching the outside of the wall. Penetration of wing wall into soil depends on depth of frost penetration. In this course, wing walls should penetrate at least 1200 mm into the fill. 6. Abutment components should be at least 300 mm thick. 7. Offset around the stem D should be at least 300 mm on all sides. 8. Width of foundation E depends on geotechnical considerations. In this course, it should be at least twice the thickness of the stem.
6 Abutments for a simple overpass bridge

E D

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civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

9. Foundation should be at least 1.5 m thick. 10. Elevation of bottom of footing depends of geotechnical considerations. 11. Size of bearings depends on the type of bearing used and the reactions they must transfer from superstructure to abutment. In this course, bearings will be taken to be 300 mm high and 800 mm square in plan. The edge of bearings should be at least 150 mm away from the edge of a structural component.

bridge abutments

civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

5. abutments for a small overpass bridge

We return to the example presented in the previous article on earthworks. The figure to the right shows how we had left the situation. Fill slopes have been drawn, but they will need to be adjusted to suit the location and design of the abutments. We would like the total length of the bridge crossing this highway to be between 35 and 40 m. In addition, we would like the bridge to be more or less symmetrical about the centreline of the highway it crosses.

Roadway with approach fills

CL bearings End of bridge

We begin by putting the bridge superstructure into the drawing, at our current best estimate of its location and length. (We have turned off the fill layer for clarity.) The figure to the right is an elevation view of the result of this process. Total length of bridge from end to end is 40 m. On this basis, we can locate centreline of bearings and front face of the abutment stem. We recall that in the previous section, we stated that the bearings would be 800 mm square and that they would be at least 150 mm from the edge of a structural component. So centreline of bearings must be 150 + 800/2 = 550 mm from the end of the bridge, and also 550 mm from the front face of the abutment stem. These dimensions are shown for the left end of the bridge in the figure to the right. They will be the same for the right end of the bridge.

Front face of abutment stem

550

550

Prole grade line of new road

Elevation: New overpass bridge in its approximate location and length

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civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

We now locate the top and toe of the new fill slopes for the abutments. We want to be sure that the new fill will not encroach on the lower highway and will remain sufficiently clear of the bearing seat. For this, we will define the requirement that the minimum vertical distance from the top of the bearing seat to the fill shall be 1500 mm. In the previous section, we stated that the height of bearings would be 300 mm. So the total vertical distance from the bottom of the bridge to the abutment fill, measured at the front face of the abutment stem, must be 1800 mm. The intersection of the abutment fill and the front face of the abutment is called Point A in the figure to the right. It is clear from the image that the toe of the fill does not encroach on the new highway. So the proposed fill slope as drawn in the figure satisfies the requirements related to elevation of fill at the front face of the abutment stem and to the toe of fill at the shoulder of the lower highway. If this requirement is not satisfied, then the fill slope needs to be lowered (maintaining the same slope) or a different type of abutment should be used. Point B is the intersection of the new abutment fill and the edge of the new road, which corresponds to the end of the wing walls. Since the fill reaches the top of roadway at this point, wingwalls are not required beyond this point. The same checks are performed at the left end of the bridge. This information, together with the principles stated in the previous section, give us a suitable basis for drawing the abutments. We will assume that the top of the foundations will be 900 mm below the level of the edge of the shoulder of the lower highway. The resulting arrangement of abutments is shown in the figure to the right. All that remains now is to draw the abutment fills. We begin by truncating the previously drawn approach fills by vertical planes XX and YY, which pass through the ends of the abutment wing walls as shown.

Edge of shoulder of lower highway Front face of abutment stem

1100 End of bridge

1800

Toe of ll Proposed slope of abutment ll

Elevation: Locating top and toe of fill slope for abutment

X
Elevation: Abutments in their proper location

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civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

The truncated approach fills are shown in the images to the right in elevation and in a three-dimensional view.

Elevation: Approach fills trimmed to back of wing walls

Three-dimensional view of trimmed approach fills

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bridge abutments

civ 235s civil engineering graphics 2012

All that remains is to draw the four cones at the corners of the abutments and to define the curve formed by the intersection of the cones and existing terrain. This is shown in the images to the right. When drawing in three dimensions, it is relatively straightforward simply to draw the cone and to locate the points at which it intersects the existing terrain. When drawing in two dimensions, it is possible to draw the cone as a contour diagram (the contours will be quarter circles) and to locate the intersection of a given contour on the cone with a corresponding contour on the existing terrain. Joining these points of intersection will produce the correct curve of intersection of the cone and the existing terrain. The only things that remain to be drawn are the barriers on top of the abutment and the bearings. These have not been drawn in the views shown.

Elevation: Completed abutments with fills

Completed highway with cuts, fills, and abutments

Close-up view of abutments and fills

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