Design of Steel Bridges

‫ وليد أبو الوفا‬.‫د‬ waboelwafa15@gmail.com www.facebook.com/StrEngDrWaleed

Components and classification

‫ وليد أبو الوفا محمد‬.‫د‬
Components of bridges
 What is a bridge ?

A bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road,

railroad track, river, body of water, or any other

physical obstacle.

3
 Components of Bridge Structures

The bridge structure consists of the following components:

 Superstructure or decking component

 Bearings (may be considered as superstructure)

 Substructure Component

4
Components of Bridge Structures

5
Components of Bridge Structures

6
Components of Bridge Structures

7
 Superstructure Components of Bridges

 The superstructure of the bridge structure

consists of deck slab, girder, truss etc.

 These components vary based on the type of

bridge (whether concrete or steel or composite).

 Superstructure of the bridge bears the load

passing over it.
8
Components of Bridge Structures

9
Components of Bridge Structures

10
 Bearings in Bridges
 The loads received by the decks are
properly and safely transmitted to the
substructure with the help of bearings.
 These are components of bridge that
enables even distribution of load on the
substructure material.
 This transmission is very essential in
situations where the substructure is not
designed to take the load action directly.
11
 Bearings in Bridges

The selection of bearing is dependent on

certain parameters, which are:
 Loads
 Geometry
 Maintenance
 Clearance available
 The displacement, rotation and deflection
Preference of the designer
 The cost criteria. 12
Bearings in Bridges

13
 Substructure Components of Bridges

The components involved in substructure of

bridges are:

 Piers
 Abutments
 Wing Walls and the Returns
 Foundation
14
 Piers

The piers are vertical structures used to

support deck or the bearings provided for
load transmission to underground soil
through foundation.
The pier structure has mainly two functions:
1.Load transmission to the Foundation
2.Resistance to the horizontal forces
15
 Piers

Most of the cases, piers are designed to resist

the vertical loads alone.

In areas which lie in the seismic zone, it is

recommended to design the pier for lateral
loads also.

16
 Piers

 Most of the piers are constructed using

concrete.
 Steel for the construction of pier is used in very
few cases till now.
 Use of composite columns i.e. steel columns
filled with concrete is used as new technology
of pier construction.
17
Piers

18
Piers

19
 Abutments

The abutments are also subjected to

lateral pressures mainly from the
approach embankment. The design
loads on the abutment is mainly
dependent on the:
• Type of abutment selected
• The sequence of construction
20
Abutments

21
Abutments

22
 Parapets and Handrails/ Guard Rails

 These components of bridges are not of

structural importance, but provided for the
safety concerns.
 These are provided above the decks.
 This will help in prevention of the vehicle
from falling off the bridge into the water
body below or as a means for the
separation of traffic streams.
23
Parapets and Handrails/ Guard Rails

24
 Foundation of Bridges

Foundation are structures constructed to

transmit the load from the piers, abutments and
wing walls to the soil.

25
Classification of bridges
1. Classification according to purpose of the bridge

A bridge can be designed for:

 Trains,
 Road traffic,
 Pedestrian,
 A pipeline,
 Barge traffic,
 An aqueduct
27
Train bridges

28
Road traffic bridges

29
Pedestrian bridge

30
Pipeline bridge

31
Barge traffic bridge

32
Barge traffic bridge

33
 2. Classification of bridges by materials

A bridge can be classified into

• wood bridges
• Concrete bridges
• Steel bridges
However, a combination of materials is used in bridge
construction. For example, a bridge may have a
reinforced concrete deck and steel main girders.
34
Wood bridges

35
Concrete bridges

36
Steel bridges

37
 3. Classification according to structural system

i) Bridges Carrying Loads Mainly by Bending

a- Beam bridges

b- Frame bridges

38
 Beam Bridges

 Beam bridges are the most common and the

simplest type of bridges.

 Beam bridges may use statically determinate

beams (simply supported or cantilever beams,
or continuous beams.

39
 Beam Bridges

 Simply supported beams are usually adopted

only for very small spans (up to 25m).

 Continuous beams are one of the most common

types of bridge. Spans for this system may vary
from short (less than 20 m) to medium (20 - 50
m) or long spans (> 100 m)
40
 Beam Bridges

 In medium and long spans, continuous beams

with variable depth section are very often
adopted for reasons of structural behavior,
economy and aesthetics.

 These systems are suitable for bridge spans up to

200 m for solid web girders and up to 300 m for
truss girders.
41
Beam Bridges

42
Beam Bridges

43
Beam Bridges (truss type)

44
 Frame Bridges

 Frame bridges are one of the possible alternatives

to continuous beams.

 Avoiding bearings and providing a good structural

system to support horizontal longitudinal loads, e.g.
earthquakes, frames have been adopted in modern
bridge either with vertical piers or with inclined
columns
45
Frame Bridges

46
Frame Bridges

47
 3. Classification according to structural system

ii) Bridges Carrying Loads by axial force

This type can be divided into:

 Bridges in which the primary axial forces

are compressive as arches.

 Bridges in which these forces are tensile,

as suspension bridges and cable-stayed
bridges 48
 Arch bridges

 An arch bridge is a semicircular structure with

abutments on each end.

 The design of the arch, the semicircle, naturally

diverts the weight from the bridge deck to the
abutments.

 The span of an arch bridge may reach up to 500

m. 49
Arch bridges

50
Arch bridges

51
Arch bridges

52
Arch bridges

53
Arch bridges

54
 Suspension bridges

ii) Bridges Carrying Loads Mainly by axial force

b- Suspension bridge

 A suspension bridge is a type of bridge where the

main load-carrying elements are hung from
suspension cables. Suspension bridges have two
tall towers through which the cables are strung.
55
Suspension bridges

56
Suspension bridges

57
Suspension bridges

58
 Cable stayed bridge

 A simpler form of cable bridges has been used-

Cable stayed bridges.

 They have been used for a range of spans, generally

between 100 m and 500 m, where the suspension
bridge is not an economical solution.

 Cable stayed bridges may be used with a deck made

of concrete or in steel.
59
Cable stayed bridge

60
 4. Classification of bridges by span

In bridge engineering, it is customary to identify

bridges according to their span lengths as short span,
medium span, and long span. A common practice is to
classify bridges by span lengths as follows:

 Short-span bridges less than 50 m

 Medium-span bridges 50 to 200 m
 Long-span bridges Over 200 m
61
 5. Classification of bridges by position

 Most bridges are fixed in place.

 However, to provide sufficient vertical clearance to

facilitate navigation through spanned waterways,
bridges are made movable; i.e., the bridge
superstructure changes its position relative to the
roads that they link.

 In general, three kinds of movable bridges exist:

62
 5. Classification of bridges by position

 The bascule bridge, which has a rotational

motion in the vertical plane

 The lift bridge, which has a translational

motion in the vertical plane

 The swing bridge, which has a rotational

motion in the horizontal plane
63
Bascule bridge

64
Lift bridge

Bascule Bridge

65
Swing bridge

lift bridge

66
67