Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO
TYPES OF BRIDGES
&
SELECTION
2021-03-30 Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A.

OUTLINE
➢ Bridge Classification
➢ Selection of Bridge Types
➢ Geometry of Bridges
➢ Materials
➢ Structural Arrangement
Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

2.1.CLASSIFICATION OF
BRIDGES
❖ Bridges can be classified on the basis
of the following criteria
▪ based on function
▪ based on construction material (for deck)
▪ based on fabrication
▪ Based on span type
▪ Based on span length
▪ based on type of superstructure
▪ based on superstructure support conditions
▪ based on relative elevation of bridge floor
Cont….
❖ Based on function:
 pedestrian bridge (pedestrians, bicycles)
 highway bridge (trucks, cars)
 railway bridge (trains)
 Transit guideway bridge ( city train )
 Aqueduct (canal over a river/valley)
 viaduct (rail/road bridge over a valley)
 Other types ( pipelines, utilities,)
Pedestrian Bridge

Highway Bridge

Railway Bridge

Aqueducts (Water Carrying) Bridge

Aqueduct (Canal Over A
River/Valley)

Utility Bridge (Pipeline )

Cont.…
❖ Based on method fabrication
 precast (RC/PC)
 cast-in-place (RC/PC)
 Pre tensioned (PC)
 post tensioned (pc)
 prefabricated (steel)
 Bolted (steel/ timber)
 welded (steel)
 etc

Precast Concrete Bridge

Cont.…
❖ Based on span type and Length
▪ Classification of bridge based on span type:
 Single span
 Multi-span
▪ Classification of bridge based on Span length:
 Short span
 Medium span
 Large span

Cont.…
❖ Classification based on span length:
▪ L ≤ 6m (Culvert)
▪ 7m < L ≤ 15m (Small span bridges)
▪ 16 ≤ L ≤ 50m (Medium span Bridges)
▪ 50 ≤ L≤ 150m (Large Span Bridges)
▪ L ≥ 150m (Extra Large Span Bridges)
❖ Different Manuals recommend different span

lengths as a criteria on selection of bridge types,

Cont.…
❖ Based on Type of Superstructure / Structural
Configuration/
 Slab bridge
 T-beam bridge
 Box-girder bridge
 Truss bridge
 Cantilever bridge
 Arch bridge
 Cable-stayed bridge
 Suspension bridge
 Box culvert

Arch Bridges
➢ Arch bridge is composed of a curved structure
with abutments on each end.
➢ The weight of the load is carried compression
force along the curve of the arch to the
abutments at each end of the arch contain
vertical and horizontal force.
➢ It is durable ,strong and easy to construction
➢ Can be used the span range of 35m to 200m
using RC /Steel.

Conti…
➢ Arch form is best suited to deep gorges with
steep rocky banks
➢ Masonry Arch Bridge, limited to short span
length
➢ In slab type arch for short spans, the space
between the deck slab or road way and the
arch slab (called spandrel)
➢ Such an arch is called a spandrel arch
Conti…
Stone Arch Bridge

Conti…
▪ Stone masonry arch bridges are strong and they

require very little maintenance.
▪ Disadvantage of Stone masonry arch bridges

- slow pace of construction;
- takes time to build stones ;
- each stone requires dressing
- stone requires matching with the surrounding stones.

Load distribution of arch bridge

Conti…
RC Arch Bridges
Slab Bridges
 Slab Bridges (RC) are a flat horizontal Deck with
out beam and used for short span (7m-12m).
➢ Advantage of Slab Bridge
-Less labor and form work

-Simple to arrange reinforcement
-Simple to Construct and pleasing in appearance
Disadvantage of Slab Bridge
-Not economical for longer spans

Cont.…
Slab Bridge

Deck-Girder (T)Bridges
❖ Deck-Girder Bridges (RC) are whose horizontal
Deck supported by Girder and used for medium
span (13m-26m).
▪ Consists of a beam simply supported on each side
by pier & can be made continuous
▪ Deck slab is cast monolithically with the girders

Conti…
▪ Simply supported T- beams are mostly pre-

stressed to reduce:
• deflection
• material
▪ Longer spans, the longitudinal T-beams are

laterally supported by cross beams called
diaphragms.
▪ Diaphragms offer resistance against the lateral
torsional buckling of the longitudinal T -beams.
Conti…
❖ Advantage of T-Girder Bridge

▪ Gives wider span range compared with
slab bridge
▪ High resistance for bending ,Shear ,
deflection
➢ Disadvantage of T-Girder Bridge
▪ Expensive to build compared with slab
bridge
Conti…
Beam/Girder Bridge/
Conti…
❖ Continuous Girder Bridges

▪ Usually not connected monolithically to
supports
▪ Suitable when unyielding supports are available
▪ Spans can be equal, but usually the end spans
are made about 16 to 20 % smaller than the
intermediate spans

Conti…
❖ Advantages of continuous girder bridges
over simply supported girder bridges.
▪ Reduced width of pier, thus less flow obstruction
and less amount of material
▪ Requires less number of expansion joints due to
which both the initial cost and maintenance cost
become less
▪ Lesser depth of girder, hence economical
▪ Better architectural appearance
Conti…
❖ Disadvantages of Continuous girder
bridges :
▪ Not suitable on yielding foundations
▪ Analysis is laborious and time consuming.

Box-Girder Bridges
❑ Box-Girder Bridges (RC) are a horizontal Deck
provided at top and bottom supported by Girder
and used for medium span (26m-50m).
❖ Advantage of Box-Girder Bridge
▪ Gives wider span range compared with T-Girder
bridge
▪ High resistance for bending ,Shear , Torsion,
deflection
❖ Disadvantage of Box-Girder Bridge
▪ Completely difficult to construct

Conti…
▪ RC hollow box girder bridges are economical in the
span range of 25 to 30m
▪ The cross section can consist of a single cell or
multi-cellular
▪ The cells can be rectangular or trapezoidal
❖ The components of the super structure are:
▪ Cantilever portion including the curb,
▪ Top slab carrying the roadway,
▪ webs, in this case two exterior webs and one
central web,
Conti…
Fig:-Box-Girder Bridge

Truss Bridges
❖ A composed of rigid frame steel with short,
straight pieces joined to form a series of triangles
or other stable shapes.
❖ Truss frame can support a greater span distances
and Light weight but poor in Aesthetics.
❖ It is more economical from two major structural
advantages:
▪ Primary forces in the members are axial forces
▪ Reduced self - weight when compared to solid web
systems

Conti…
❖ Main components of the truss girder bridges
are:
▪ Two main truss girders
▪ Floor beams - connecting bottom chord joints,
▪ Stringer beams - connected to floor beams
▪ Decking or flooring
▪ Top tie beams - parallel to the floor beams
▪ Lateral bracings - provided at the top and
▪ Bottom chord levels to resist horizontal transverse
loads

Conti…

Conti…
Truss Bridge
Bekalu G. Fundamental of bridge 2021-03-30

Plate Girder Bridges
 Plate Girder bridges are a horizontal Steel Deck
supported by steel Girder
▪ Have better strength,
▪ Offer wider span distances and Good in Aesthetics.
Plate Girder Bridge

Cable-Stayed Bridges
➢ Cable stayed bridge are whose deck is suspended by
multiple cables that directly attached with towers.
➢ Cable stayed bridge gives medium span up to 250m.
➢ Complex & expensive for construction.
➢ Good in poor soil condition b/c no anchorage at end
❖ Main components of a cable stayed bridge are
▪ Inclined cables,
▪ Towers and
▪ Orthotropic deck.

Conti….

Conti…

Conti…
Cable stayed Bridge

Conti…

Suspension Bridges
❖ Suspension bridges are whose Deck hangs from
massive steel cables suspender that attached with
Main cables, towers and anchorages.
❖ Complex ,expensive for construction & unsuitable
for rail.
❖ It gives longer span length up 2000m & good in
Aesthetic.
❖ The main cables support the weight of the bridge
(Traffic) and transfer the load to Towers and to the
Anchorage.
Conti…

Conti…

Conti..
Suspension Bridge

Cont.…
❖ Classification based on superstructure

support conditions:
▪ Simply supported bridge
▪ Balanced continuous bridge
▪ Cantilever bridge
▪ Rigid frame bridge

Simply Supported Bridges
❖ If all the spans of the bridge are pin and roller
support b/n sub-structure and super-structure.
❖ Advantage of Simply supported Bridges

▪ Analysis is very simple
▪ Good for strong soil
▪ Construction is very simple
▪ local failure can not change into global failure
Conti…
❖Disadvantage of Simply Supported

Bridges
▪ More number of bearings
▪ Greater width of pier, thus less flow
obstruction
▪ Require more number of expansion joints
▪ Depth of girder become high ,uneconomical
▪ High bending , shear , vibration and deflection
Conti…

Conti…
Simply Supported Bridge

Continuous Bridges
❖ Continuous Bridges are their consecutive
spans with out opening and one bearing
provided b/n super & sub structure.
❖ Advantages of continuous Bridges

▪ Less number of bearings
▪ Reduced width of pier, thus less flow
obstruction and less amount of material

Continuous Bridges
▪ Require less number of expansion joints through
which both the initial and maintenance cost
become less.
▪ Lesser depth of girder, hence economical
supports
▪ Lesser vibration and deflection
❖ Disadvantages of continuous Bridges
▪ Analysis is tedious and cumbersome
▪ Not suitable on yielding foundation
Conti…

Rigid Frame Bridges
❖ In rigid frame bridges, the decks are
monolithically Connected with the pier or the
vertical supporting system.
❖ Advantages rigid frame bridges
▪ Less moment in deck being partly transferred to the
support member
▪ Better resistance against dynamic loads preferable used in
seismic regions
▪ No bearings are required.
▪ It help to avoid slenderness of pier
Conti…
❖ Disadvantages rigid frame bridges
▪ Local failure will change into Global failure
▪ Difficult for Construction
▪ Difficult for maintenance
 Rigid frame Bridge

Cantilever Bridges
❖ Cantilever bridges were the solutions for large
deflections caused by heavy traffic on long span
truss bridges.
❖ Advantages of cantilever bridges
▪ Less concrete and form work are required
▪ Easy to construct at difficult crossing
▪ Fewer expansion joints are needed
❖ Disadvantages of cantilever bridges
▪ Requires more skill on the part of designer
▪ Difficult for maintenance
Conti…
Fig:- Cantilever Bridge

❖ Classification based on slab length:-
▪ Temporary bridges
▪ Permanent bridges
▪ Semi-permanent bridges
❖ Based on Horizontal arrangement
▪ Straight Bridges
▪ Skew Bridges
▪ Curved Bridges

❖ Classification based on Super-structure
Movement :
▪ Movable bridges
▪ Fixed bridges

❖ Bridge Classification Based on Construction
materials:
▪ Timber Bridge
▪ Masonry Bridge
▪ Reinforced Concrete(precast or Cast in Place)
▪ Steel Bridge
▪ Composite Bridge (concrete deck and structural
steel/ Timber)
▪ Pre-stressed Bridge (pre-tensioned or post-
tensioned)

Timber Bridge
❖Used for short

span length &
short life span
❖For light live
load
Timber Bridge
Masonry Bridge
❖ Use for short

span length &
small Depth Masonry Bridge
❖ Very durable

Steel Bridge
❖ Bridges Component have been constructed

from:-
▪ Cast iron
▪ Structural wrought iron
▪ Structural steel
❖ Advantage of Steel Bridge
▪ High strength and less self-weight load
▪ Shorter construction time, more economical
▪ Steel Bridge offers wider-span

 c
Conti…
❖ Disadvantage of Steel Bridge

▪ Their susceptibility to corrosion
▪ low fire resistance and high maintenance
cost
▪ It Needs modern construction methods,
expensive

Structural Steel Truss Bridge

Reinforced Concrete Bridge
❖ Reinforced Concrete bridge may be

-Cast in place/precast -Reinforced Concrete
-Pre-stressed (pre-tensioned or post-tensioned)
❖ Advantage of Reinforced concrete Bridges
-Durable-Long life time
-Low cost on maintenance
-Better resistance against impact load
-Better resistance to temperature changes

Cont.…
❖ Disadvantage of concrete superstructure

-Require longer construction time
-Difficult to widen and rebuild
-self-weight of the structure is high

Conti…
Reinforced Concrete Box Girder Bridge

Composite Bridge
❖ Composite Bridge is made from two

different material usually from Concrete-
Steel Composite.
▪ Deck from reinforced concrete
▪ Primary longitudinal members from steel or
timber

Cont.…
❖ Advantages of composite girders
-High load carrying capacity
-Saves formwork [w.r.t. concrete]
-Quicker in construction [w.r.t. concrete]
-Increased stiffness of a floor system [w.r.t. steel]

Composite Bridge
Pre-stressed Concrete Bridge
❖ If concrete material is placed under compression before

applying the loads , then it is call pre-stressed concret.
Pre-Stressed Concrete Girder

Conti…
Pre-stressed Concrete Bridge

2.2. SELECTION OF
BRIDGE TYPE
❖ Factors for selection of bridge types
1. Economy
▪ A general rule is that the bridge with minimum number
of spans, fewest deck joints and widest spacing of
girders will be the most economical.
▪ By reducing the number of spans, the construction cost
of one pier is eliminated.
2. Legal Considerations
▪ Applicable laws like environmental laws also govern
the type of bridge.
Conti…
3. Constructability
▪ Construction and erection considerations:
→ The larger the prefabricated or precast member, the

shorter the construction time.
→ The larger the members, the more difficult they are
to transport and lift into place.
→ The availability of skilled labour and specified
materials.

Conti…
4. Geometric requirements
➢ These are the requirements of the road
alignment such as vertical and horizontal
curves including grade.
5. Environmental concern
➢ Bridge and its associated works should not
have an adverse impact on adjoining land or
buildings, or the bridge itself be susceptible to
damage from the local environment.
Conti…
6. Subsurface Conditions of the Site

➢ If settlement is a problem, the bridge type
selected must be able to accommodate this rigid

frame bridge requires strong foundation
material .
➢ in general good sub surface condition require
simple bridge type.

Cont.…
7. Aesthetics
▪ Bridge should be attractive in addition to safety,
serviceability and economy
❖ Aesthetic aspect of bridge:
▪ Type and location of bridge have significant
impact on surrounding landscape
▪ During bridge design harmonize with natural
surrounding and neighboring structures

Cont.…
❖ Aesthetics generally achieved through:

▪ Slenderness
▪ Simplicity of form
▪ Conformity with surrounding
▪ Avoid unnecessary decoration
▪ Provide smooth transition b/n members

Conti…

Conti…
8.Functional Requirements
❖ The bridge must function to carry not only present
but also future volumes of traffic. There can be
possibility of widening.
▪ Slab and T-girder can be widened
▪ Box-girder is difficult to widen
9. Hydraulics
❖ Shall play vital role in the selection of the span and
span arrangement

Cost Vs Span Length Of Bridge
❖ Span length may be influenced by cost of
supper structure (cost/meter) & substructure
(cost/pier)
❖ If the substructure cost is about 25% of total
cost- shorter span is more cost effective.
❖ If the substructure cost is about 50% of total
cost- longer span is more economical.

Conti…

2.3. GEOMETRY OF BRIDGES
Span Length
Bridge type Recommended Span(m)
Slab R.C 7-12
T-Girder R.C 13-25
Box-Girder R.C 26-45
Extrados R.C 100-200
Steel plate Girder 10-270
Suspension Steel 300-2000
Cable Stayed R.C 90-250

2.4. MATERIALS
❖ The selection of materials during bridge
construction consider the ff cases:
▪ The deflection limit,
▪ Life-cycle cost,
▪ Traffic maintenance during construction stages,
▪ Construction scheduling and worker safety,
▪ Feasibility of false work layout,
▪ Passage of flood debris,
▪ Seismicity at the site,
▪ Suitability for future widening,

Conti….
❖ Steel and concrete (RC)

▪ Two mostly used materials for major components
of bridge construction
▪ Also employed in specific secondary components
such as barrier, bearing, expansion device etc…
❖ Wood
▪ Used in a few major structures
▪ Used more often in small bridge

ACCESS FOR MAINTENANCE
❖ Bridge should be made easy to inspect &
maintenance
❖ Total cost= Initial cost + maintenance cost
❖ Maintenance cost may govern the selection of bridge
▪ Steel bridge need a lot of maintenance in costal
region
▪ Concrete bridge usually require the last
maintenance

Thank You!!!
Bekalu G. Fundamental of bridge 2021-03-30

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CHAPTER TWO

2021-03-30 Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A.

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

▪ 16 ≤ L ≤ 50m (Medium span Bridges)

▪ 50 ≤ L≤ 150m (Large Span Bridges)

▪ L ≥ 150m (Extra Large Span Bridges)

❖ Different Manuals recommend different span

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Stone Arch Bridge

▪ Stone masonry arch bridges are strong and they

▪ Disadvantage of Stone masonry arch bridges

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

-Less labor and form work

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

▪ Simply supported T- beams are mostly pre-

▪ Longer spans, the longitudinal T-beams are

❖ Advantage of T-Girder Bridge

❖ Continuous Girder Bridges

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Bekalu G. Fundamental of bridge 2021-03-30

Plate Girder Bridge

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Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Cable stayed Bridge

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Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

❖ Classification based on superstructure

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

❖ Advantage of Simply supported Bridges

❖Disadvantage of Simply Supported

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

Simply Supported Bridge

Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

❖ Advantages of continuous Bridges

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Fundamental of Bridge Design Yesuf A. 2021-03-30

 Rigid frame Bridge

Fig:- Cantilever Bridge