Bridge Investigation:25/01/2018

Preliminary Work
• Collect the Index Map showing the location of
the bridge, topography of the area and the
important towns and villages in the area
• Prepare the topographical features of the area
for a sufficient distance on either side of the
bridge and indicate the possible bridge sites.
• This distance varies from 100m to 1500m on
either side of the bridge based on the
importance on the catchment are where the
bridge is located.
Preliminary Survey
• The fixed bridge sites are visited to collect further data required to fix the final
site for the bridge construction.
• The following requirements are to be satisfied before fixing the site for the bridge
construction.
• The channel is well defined and narrow
• The river course should be stable and high banks
• The bridge site shall be far away from the tributaries to reduce influence of them
• If river is meanders, locate the bridge site at the nodal points of the river course,
which are not effected by the meandering.
• Avoid skew crossing and select square crossing
• The proposed bridge should have proper alignment with shortest approach road.
• Avoid curves in the approaches
• The site should be strong geologically
• Materials and labour should be available
Square Crossing of Bridges
• Construction of the Dhola
Sadiya bridge began in
2011- Constructed over
Lohit River-Total length of
the bridge 9.15km.
• Adopted Skew Alignment
with curved approach
and square crossing
Straight Alignment and Square Crossing
Bridge with Skew Angle
Detailed Survey
• Conduct the following Detailed Survey after satisfying requirements of the
ideal bridge site conditions.
• Conduct the survey both upstream and downstream of the proposed site
and show the information about the
• (a) Name of the river and the road
• (b)Outline of the banks
• (c)direction of flow of water
• (d) Alignment of the approaches and skew angle of the bridge
• (e) name of the nearest town
• (f) Bench mark and its RL
• (g) Cross section of the river
• (h) LWL (low water level)
• (i) HFL (highest flood level- and year of occurrence)
• (j) Surface velocity at bridge site
• (k) River bed profile for the determination of slope
Determination of Design Discharge
• The discharge across a natural stream can be estimated by

Empirical Formulae

Rational Method

Area-Velocity method

Unit Hydrograph method

Available Records
Empirical Formulae
H
Y
D
R
O
G
R
A
P
H
Area
Velocity
Method
Design Discharge
Maximum Value Obtained from any two methods
If the value exceeds the next high value by more than 50%, the
maximum discharge is limited to 1.5 times the lower Estimate.
The design discharge may be calculated for a return period of 50
years
 LINEAR WATER WAY

Linear waterway should

be the full width of the
channel or stream for the
water to travel
 Linear Waterway
For the Water Course whose banks are
well Defined the Linear Waterway is the
full width of the channel or stream
Linear Waterway
Effective Linear Waterway
• Effective Linear Waterway= Total width of the waterway of the bridge-
mean submerged width of the piers and their foundation down to the
mean scour level.
• If the width of the waterway reduces below the regime condition of a
channel special attention should be given to Afflux and velocity of
water under the bridge.
• Due to the reduced waterway, velocity, afflux and scour depths
increases. This needs excess deeper foundations and protective
works.
Aggrading river

Aggrading: Rivers in this reach are prone to raise their beds

by sediment deposition, due to reduction in velocity.
Degrading river
Sinking of pier

Degrading: lowering of bed by erosion due to higher

velocity
 Stable river

Stable: No perceptible rise of lowering of river bed occurring

over long periods
 AFFLUX
• Afflux is the heading up of water
over the flood level caused by
construction of waterway at a
bridge site.
Economic span

Economic span depend

upon the cost of :

Substructure

Superstructure
Economical Span
• For a given linear waterway the total cost of the superstructure
increases and the total cost of the substructure decreases with
increase in the span length
• The most economical span length is that for which the cost of
superstructure equals the cost of the substructure.
• Total cost of the bridge= Cost of approaches+ Cost of two abutments
including foundation + (n-1)times cost of pier including foundation+
Cost of superstructure (n x k x square of the span of the
superstructure) + cost of the railings ( k x span length of the bridge)
• For the cost should be minimum the differentiation of the above
function must be equal to zero
Location of Piers and Abutments
• Keep the number of spans should be low, as piers obstruct water flow
for which odd number of spans is to be preferred.
• Avoid the pier at the deepest location of the channel by suitably
adjusting the span length
• The alignment of the piers and abutments should be parallel to the
direction of the stream
Scour Depth
Maximum depth of Scour for Foundation
Design
 Other Data
• Nature of stream i.e. fixed or
erodible river bed for fixing the
waterway, scour, afflux etc.
• Waterway is perennial, seasonal
or Tidal
• Nature of bed material i.e. silt,
sand, gravel etc.- This information
is required to find the Silt factor.
Catchment Area and Run-Off Data
• Catchment – Shape, Nature , Area- Length and width in km, slope
(both in Longitudinal and cross)
• Maximum Intensity of Rainfall with frequency
• Annual Rain fall in cm
• Nearby features like any reservoirs
• Changes in the catchment due to afforestation, deforestation
Geological Data
• Seismic disturbances and its magnitude
• Soil condition in the river bed, banks and approaches
• Trial pit details showing various strata positions
• SBC of the soil
 DHOLA-SADIYA BRIDGE

• Considering the
geological vulnerabilities
of the North East, being a
high-seismic region, the
bridge was built using
state-of-the-art
equipment, including
imported hydraulic rigs,
and provided seismic
buffers in all its 182 piers.
Micro zonation
Maps
Geotechnical Investigations
• The necessity of conducting soil investigation at each site of the
bridge pier as follows.
To know the Nature of the soil deposit upto sufficient depth
To know the thickness and composition of each soil layer
To know the if any rocky strata is available
To know the engineering properties of the soil and rock strata
Geotechnical Investigation
• The particle size of the
soil strata of the bed will
indicate the Lacey’s silt
factor. This will give the
depth of foundation
Geotechnical Investigation
• The nature of the soil i.e. clay, stiff clay, sand etc. will indicate the
difficulty of driving of the piles or sinking of the wells
• The characteristics of the soil like cohesion, angle of internal friction,
unit weight etc. will give the capacity of the pile and the resistance of
the soil to the well foundation
• Coefficient of Compression of the soil will predict the settlement
characteristics of the foundation
Depth of Soil Explorations
Layout of Borings
• The bore-holes are locate
along the centre line of
the proposed bridge at
each pier and abutment at
each end.
• Also locate the bore-holes
on either side of the
centre line of the bridge.
• Locate the bore holes on
either side of the
embankment i.e.
approaches of bridges at a
distance of the twice the
depth of foundation
 Bore-log & Sub-soil profile
• On the basis of the soil boring details, a
separate bore log is prepared showing
nature of soil, depth and level of each
layer starting from bed or ground level
 Sub-Soil Profile

• From the bore logs

sub-soil profile is
prepared for the
entire bridge site
BORINGS FOR SOIL EXPLORATIONS
• Method of borings
• (i) Auger boring;
• (ii) Wash boring;
• (iii) Shell & Auger boring;
• (iv) Percussion boring;
• (v) Rotary boring.
Method of Sampling

• Two types of soil samples shall be taken viz:

• (i) Disturbed samples and
• (ii) Undisturbed samples.
 Testing of Soil Samples
• Cohensionless Soil:
• (a) Classification Tests, density etc.
• (b) Field Test
• (i) Plate Load Test
• (ii) Dynamic Penetration Test
• (c) Laboratory Tests
• (i) Shearing strength — Tri-axial
• Cohesive Soil:
• (a) Classification Test, density etc.
• (b) Field Test
• (i) Plate Load Test
• (ii) Unconfined Compression
• (iii) Vane Shear Test
• (iv) Static Cone Penetration Test
• (c) Laboratory Test
• (i) Shearing Strength —Tri-axial
• (ii) Consolidation Test.
BORING TOOLS
SURVEY OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS
• While preparing tender documents the sources of all materials
available should be declared.
Choice of Bridge Type

• Adopting the Road

cum Railway Bridge
to economize the
cost of construction
for satisfying the
road and railway
traffic

GODAVARI BRIDGE
Choice of Bridge Type
• If navigational
clearances required use
arches, cantilever
bridges, cable stayed,
suspension bridge HOWRAH BRIDGE

MAHATMAGANDHI
SETU-BIHAR

BANDRA-WORLI BRIDGE
Choice of Bridge Type
• Railway line with low volume
of traffic use low level
structure to avoid long and
high approaches for
navigational purpose.

PAMBAN BRIDGE
Choice of Bridge Type
• High level structure with
uninterrupted traffic on
National Highways and need
to reduce the number of piers
use cantilever bridge or cable
stayed bridge or series of
simply supported steel
trusses
NEW ZUARI BRIDGE-GOA
Choice of Bridge Type
• Climatic conditions will
avoid some type
bridges. For example
use precast prestressed
concrete bridges for the
corrosive environment
instead using cable
stayed bridge.

ZUARI BRIDGE-GOA
Choice of Bridge Type
• Deck bridges are preferred for
the better view of the
surroundings

RAINBOW BRIDGE NIAGARA FALLS

• Arch bridge is preferred if the
soil condition is rocky

KATRA- A RAIL BRIDGE OVER CHENAB

RIVER IN KASHMERE VALLEY-359m Height
 Choice of Bridge Type

• Weak soil condition may lead

to the use of simply
supported spans instead of
continuous spans.

Liquefaction Effect-
Japan
 Choice of Bridge Type
• Submersible bridge are
preferred if the funds are in
short
Choice of Bridge Type
• Type of Traffic- For highways any type is preferred
• For Railways- it is preferred to use Steel Truss and Prestressed
concrete bridges.
Choice of Bridge Type
• The type bridge depends on the company specialization
• HCC-Mumbai-Specialist in Cable Stayed Bridge Construction
• GAMMON India Ltd-Prestressed Segmental Construction Methods
• NCC-Prestressed Segmental Construction Methods
• L&T-Cable Stayed Bridges
• AFCONS Infrastructure- Steel Bridges
• STUP Consultants Private Ltd.- All types of bridges
 Bridge Engineering Associations

• The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) is a

scientific / technical Association comprising members in 100 countries and counting
51 National Groups worldwide. Founded in 1929 it has its seat in Zurich, Switzerland.
The President of IABSE (2016-2019) is Fernando Branco, Portugal.

IABSE deals with all aspects of structural engineering: the science and art of planning,
design, construction, operation, monitoring and inspection, maintenance,
rehabilitation and preservation, demolition and dismantling of structures, taking into
consideration technical, economic, environmental, aesthetic and social aspects. The
term 'Structures' includes bridges, buildings and all types of civil engineering
structures, composed of any structural material.
IABSE-INDIA GROUP
• Under the Control of National Highway Authority of India
• Operating Separate journal on “The Bridge & Structural Engineer”.
This is open Journal.
• Indian Institution of Bridge engineers is now 25 years old. Before IIBE,
the bridge engineers had no exclusive forum to exchange ideas and
knowledge of bridge engineering. We have Institution of engineers
which is conglomerate of all engineering. civil engineering division is
quite important but it caters all branches and rarely technical
programme for bridge engineers are held.
• Training institute set up to address the training needs of Highway and
Bridge Engineers in the country. It was set up as an Institute in the year
1983 with the primary objective to fulfil the need for training of highway
engineers at the entry level and during the service.
IAHE conducts regular training programmes for the Engineers & highway
sector professionals of Central Government organizations, State
Government organizations, Public sector units, private sector, stake holders
of multi-lateral agencies like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, etc.
• On specific demand, customized training programmes for Engineers &
highway sector professionals or Indian organizations as well as Foreign
organizations are also conducted.
 M/s Tandon Conultants
• Tandon Consultants Pvt Ltd (TCPL) was established in 1986 to
undertake specialist consultancy services in the field of structural
engineering. TCPL is a premier consultancy organisation in India which
specialises in the design of large and complex structures and consists
of carefully trained professionals geared to produce high quality work
of international standards.
Delhi office
Tandon Consultants Pvt Ltd
17, Link Road, Jangpura Extension, New Delhi
110014, India
Tele: 91-11-24317684 ; 24319288 ; 24310509 Fax :
91-11-24316057
E-mail: tandon@tcpl.com, tcpl_123@yahoo.com
• The team has an extensive experience in all sectors of infrastructure
development covering Roads, Bridges, Rail, Metro, Environment, Urban
Transport, Geotechnical Investigation, Environment Quality Control Testing,
Inspection Services etc. Over the last 3 decades, CEG has built itself a unique
reputation of being a value adding partner to its clients

• B-11(G), Malviya Industrial Area

Jaipur - 302017
Rajasthan, INDIA
Phone: +91-141-2751801-02-05
Fax: +91-141-2751806
• Mr.Arvind Jain
• Associate Director
• M. Tech. Hons. (Structures),
B. Tech. (Civil Engineering)
• PCI is undertaking consultancy in the field of Highway, Bridges and Flyovers
etc. including Project Management Services, Supervision, Quality Control,
Feasibility, Detailed Engineering and Proof Checking / Review Consultancy.
• Projects Consulting India Pvt. Ltd.
• 6110/2, Sector D-6,
Vasant Kunj,
SHRI R.B.S.GULIANI
New Delhi - 110070
Phone: +91 11 2612 4466
Fax: +91 11 2612 4477
mail us at : info@pcindia.co
IRC specifications
IRC
Specification
IRC Specifications
IRC-5
  Definition:
IRC-5  Bridge: A Structure having a total length above 6m between the
inner faces of the dirt walls for carrying traffic or other moving
loads over a depression, a obstruction such as a channel, road or a
railway.
• Minor Bridges: A bridge having a total length of 60m.
• Major bridges: A bridge having a total length more than 60m.
 Culvert:
A structure having a total length less than 6m between the
inner faces of the dirt walls.
 Foot bridge:
A bridge exclusively used to carry pedestrians, cycles
and animals. width shall not be less than 1500mm.
 High Level Bridge:
A bridge which carries the road way above the
HFL of a channel.
 Submersible bridge:
A submersible bridge or vented causeway is a
bridge designed to be overtopping during floods.
  Width of carriage way:
IRC-5 The minimum clear width measured at right angles to the
longitudinal centre line of the bridge between the inside faces of roadway
kerbs of wheel guards.
 Width of footway:
The minimum clear width any where within a height of
225mm above the surface the footway or safety kerb. Normally 1.5 m
from outer rounding of kerb to inner face of the parapet/railing.
IRC-5- Collection of Data
General Data including Maps, Plans and Topographical features
Alternative Bridge sites and selection of a particular bridge site
Hydraulic Data for particular Bridge site selected
Geological and seismological data for particular bridge site selected
 Subsurface data
Environmental Data
Loading and other data
IRC-5- To find the following parameters at the
Bridge site
• Determination of design discharge
• Determination of linear waterway and effective linear waterway
• Spacing and location of piers and abutments
• Vertical clearance
• Freaboard
• Maximum scour depth
• Road kerbs
• Carriageway width
IRC-5- KERBS
IRC-5- Carriageway width
  Submersible bridges and vented Causeways:
IRC-5 Railing shall be
either collapsible or removable.
 Crash Barriers:
Suitable designed crash barriers provided to
safe guard against errant vehicles. Metal or RCC.
• Multilane bridges and bridges on a urban area
• Flyover and interchanges
• ROBs across railway line
• Open sea, breakwaters, deep valleys
 Types:
• Vehicle crash barriers.
• Combination Railway/Vehicle Pedestrian Crash
Barriers
• High Containment Barriers
Crash Barrier
IRC-5  Approaches to bridge

Minimum straight length of 15m on either side and width

equal to the carriage width.

 Bearings:

 Expansion Joints

 Foundations:
Bridge Aesthetics
IRC-6

• Tracked Vehicle
IRC-6- Class AA Wheeled Vehicle
IRC-6

• Driving Vehicle
IRC-6- Class A Vehicle
 IRC-6

• Driving Unit
IRC-6-Class B
IRC-6- Live Load Combinations
IRC-6- Live Load Combination
IRC-6-Clearance- For Class AA Loading
IRC-6-Clearance-For Class A & B Loading
IRC-6- Ground Contact Area-
For Class A Loading
IRC-6-Ground Contact Area-
For Class B loading
IRC-6- Dispersion of Loads
 IRC-6-IMPACT ALLOWANCE ON BRIDGES
• Impact allowance as a percentage of the applied live loads shall be
allowed for the dynamic action of the live loads as mentioned below:
For Class A or Class B Loading:
• Impact percentage shall be as shown in Fig. 5.3. Impact fraction shall be
calculated from the following formulae for spans 3 m to 45 m:

(a) For reinforced concrete

bridges:
Impact fraction = 4.5/6 + L
(b) For steel bridges:
Impact fraction = 9/13.5 + L
Where L = Length of span in
metres as outlined
IRC-6-IMPACT ALLOWANCE
For Class AA loading and Class 70R loading:
• A. For span less than 9 m:
• i) For tracked vehicles — 25 per cent for spans up-to 5 m linearly
reducing to 10 per cent for spans of 9 m.

10% 25%

9m 5m 0m
• ii) For wheeled vehicles — 25 per cent.
IRC-6-IMPACT ALLOWANCE
• B. For spans of 9 m or more:
• (a) Reinforced concrete bridges:
• (i) Tracked vehicles: 10 per cent up-to a span of 40 m and in
accordance with the curve in Fig. 5.3 for spans in excess of 40 m.
• (ii) Wheeled vehicles: 25 per cent for spans up-to 12 m and in
accordance with the curve in Fig. 5.3 for spans in excess of 12 m.
IRC-6-IMPACT ALLOWANCE
• (b) Steel bridges:
• (i) Tracked vehicles: 10 per cent for all spans.
• (ii) Wheeled vehicles: 25 per cent for spans up-to 23.m and in
accordance with the curve indicated in Fig. 5.3 for spans in excess of
23 m.
• No impact allowance shall be allowed to the footway loading. For
bridge structure having a filling not less than 600 mm including the
road crust, the impact percentage shall be one- half of those specified
as above in Class A or Class B Loading and Class AA loading and Class
70R loading.
IRC-6-IMPACT ALLOWANCE
• The span length, L, to be considered in the calculation of impact
percentages as specified in Class A or Class B Loading and Class AA
loading and Class 70R loading shall be as under:
• (a) For simply supported or continuous spans or for arches, L = the effective
span on which the load is placed.
• (b) For bridges having cantilever arms without suspended spans, L = the
effective overhang of the cantilever reduced by 25 per cent for loads on the
cantilever arm and L = the effective span between supports for loads on
the main span.
• (c) For bridges having cantilever arms with suspended spans, L = the
effective overhang of the cantilever arm plus half the length of the
suspended span for loads on the cantilever arm and L = the effective length
of the suspended span for loads on the suspended span and ‘L = the
effective span between supports for loads on the main span.
IRC-6-WATER CURRENT

• Horizontal Force Due To Water Currents:

• The effect of the horizontal force due to water currents shall have to be
considered in designing any part of the bridge structure submerged in
running water.
• The intensity of water pressure due to water current may be calculated
from the formula:
• Where:
• P = Intensity of pressure in Kg/m2
• V= the velocity of water current at the point under consideration in metre
per second.
• K = A constant having the values for different shapes of piers as shown in
Table 5.4
IRC-6-SHAPE OF BRIDGE PIERS
IRC-6-SHAPE OF BRIDGE PIERS
IRC-6-SHAPE OF BRIDGE PIERS
IRC-6- VALUE OF ‘K’
IRC-6-WATER PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION
IRC-6- INCLINED WATER CURRENT
IRC-6- INCLINED WATER CURRENT
Wave Loads on Bridge Decks-under Research
IRC-6- WATER CURRENT ON TRESTLE COLUMNS
Various Failure Mechanisms in Bridges Due to
Wave Effect
Wave Propagation and Damage in Piers
Testing of Bridge Models- Hydrodynamic
Experiments are conducted to know the Vertical
and Horizontal Forces acting on Bridges
 IRC-6-Seismic Forces on Bridges

• All other bridges supported on piers, pier bents and arches directly or
through bearings are to be designed for horizontal and vertical forces
IRC-6: Seismic Forces
IRC-6- Seismic Investigations
• Special Investigation is necessary if the bridge is located within 10km
of the active faults.
• Special investigations are development of site specific spectra, bridge
component motions, soil structure interactions, selection suitable
methods of structural analysis due to geometric and material
nonlinearity, provision of specific seismic resistant provisions
• Avoiding masonry and plain concrete arch bridges with span more
than 10m in zones IV and V and in active fault region
IRC-6-Seismic Zones
IRC-6-COMPONENTS OF SEISMIC MOTION
• Due to earthquake, ground motion can be resolved in three mutually
perpendicular directions. The two horizontal components intensity is
taken as equal and the third vertical component is taken as two third
of horizontal component.
IRC6-Seismic Force Calculation
IRC-6-Live Load Reduction
IRC-6-Spectral Acceleration
IRC-6- Spectral Acceleration Coefficient
IRC-6-Changes in Spectral Acceleration Coefficient Due
to % of Damping
IRC-6-Impact Factor-I
IRC-6-Response Reduction Factor-R
IRC-6-Design Forces
IRC-6- Minimum Dimensions for Support
IRC-6-WIND LOADS

• Takoma Bridge Collapse due to wind force-

Opened in July 1940- Collapsed Nov.7.1940-
The bridge span is 2400ft-width 39ft
carrying two lane traffic-designed to take a
wind force due to wind speed of 120mph- At
the time of failure the wind velocity is only
42mph which is steady one. Wind was in
tune with the harmonics of the bridge i.e.
what you call it as resonance condition-
creating more amplitudes in bridges.
Aerodynamics subject started from this day.
IRC-6- WIND LOADS
• Geographical Locations
• Terrain of surrounding area
• Local Topography
• The height of bridge above ground
• Horizontal dimensions and cross section of bridge or elements
BASIC WIND SPEED
IS-875-PART-3-2015-DESIGN WIND SPEED-VZ
• The basic wind speed should be modified considering the following
factors to get the design wind speed on the structure at any height.
Probability factor
Terrain Roughness and height factor

• Category1-Open space
• Category2-Open space with
small obstructions
• Category3-Space with closely
spaced obstructions
• Category4-Space with
obstructions closely spaced and
height more than the structure
Topographic Factor-k3
• The effect of topography is to accelerate wind near the summits of
hills or crests of cliffs or ridges and decelerate the wind in valleys or
near the foot of cliffs or ridges.
• If the upwind slope is more than 3° the topographic factor is
significant. This factor varies from 1 to 1.36.
Importance Factor for Cyclonic Region-k4
• The complete east cost of India and Gujarat on the west coast are
vulnerable to the severe cyclones. Basic wind speed given in the map
may exceed sometimes. The importance factor for the above cyclonic
region as follows.
Relationship Between Wind Pressure and
Wind Velocity
• The wind pressure at any height above mean ground level shall be
obtained by the following relationship between wind pressure and
wind speed.
For example
• The design wind speed and wind pressure at different heights above
ground level for the basic wind speed of 33m/s and the return period
of 100years are given below
Design wind force on Superstructure
• The Transverse wind force acting perpendicular to the bridge through
the centroid of the appropriate area shall be estimated from:

• Where Pz Hourly mean wind pressure in MPa

• A is the solid area in sq.m
• G is the gust factor
• CD is the drag coefficient depending on the shape of bridge deck
Wind Force on Deck Structure
Wind force on Truss Structure
• The area of the elevation of the windward truss plus half the area of
elevation above the deck level of all other trusses or girders.
G (Gust factor) & CD (Drag Coefficient)
Longitudinal Wind Force
Upward Wind Force
Wind Force on the Moving Load on the Bridge
Design Wind force on Substructure
Centrifugal Force
Centrifugal Force
Snow Loads
Longitudinal Forces
Location of Force due to Braking Effect
Magnitude of Breaking Force
Simply Supported Spans
Coefficient of Friction For Various Types of Bearings
Breaking Force on Simply Supported Spans
without bearings span<10m
Breaking force on Simply Supported Span
with Elastomeric Bearings
Buoyancy
Buoyancy Reduction
Buoyancy in Submersible and Masonry Bridges
Earth Pressures
Earth Pressures
Temperature Effect
Bridge Temperature
• Collect Highest maximum and Lowest Minimum temperatures of the
region from the Isotherms supplied by the Meteorological
department of India.
Bridge Temperature
Positive and Reverse Temperature Differences
Positive Temperature
Difference-Concrete Decks
Reverse Temperature
Differences-Concrete Decks
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
Deformation Stresses-Steel Bridges
Secondary Stresses
Erection Stresses
Ship/Barge Impact On Bridges
Earth Pressures
Earth Pressures
Weep Holes