DESIGN PHILOSOPHIES

OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES
CODES AND SPECIFICATIONS
1. AASHTO Standard Specification for Highway Bridges
2. AASHTO LRFD (LOAD AND RESISTANCE FACTOR DESIGN),2012
3. DPWH Design Guidelines, Criteria, & Standards Volume 5, 2015
LIMIT STATES
The method of treating safety issues in modern specifications is
the establishment of “ limit states” to define groups of events or
circumstances that could cause a structure to be unserviceable
for its original intent.
LIMIT STATES
Four Limit States
1. The Service limit state deals with restrictions on stress, deformation, and crack with
under regular service conditions.
2. The fatigue and fracture limit state deals with restrictions on stress range under regular
service conditions reflecting the number of expected stress range excursions.
3. The strength limit state is intended to ensure that strength and stability, both local and
global, are provided to resist the statistically significant load combinations that a bridge will
experience in its design life.
4. The extreme event limit state is intended to ensure the structural survival of bridge
during a major earthquake, or when collided by a vessel, vehicle , or ice flow, or where the
foundation is subject to the scour that would accompany a flood of extreme recurrence, usually
considered to be 500 years.
PHILOSOPHY OF SAFETY
1. ALLOWABLE STRESS DESIGN (ASD)

ASD is based on the premise that one or more factors of safety

can be established based primarily on experience and judgment
which will assure the safety of a bridge component over its
design life.
PHILOSOPHY OF SAFETY
2. LOAD FACTOR DESIGN (LFD)

In LFD a preliminary effort was made to recognize that the live

load, in particular, was more highly variable than the dead load.
This thought is embodied in the concept of using a different
multiplies on dead and live load.
PHILOSOPHY OF SAFETY
3. LOAD AND RESISTANCE FACTOR DESIGN (LRFD)

In the case of the LRFD Specifications, some loads and

resistances have been modernized as compared with Standard
Specification.
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
I. SAFETY
A. The Equation of Sufficiency
1. In ASD
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
2. In LFD
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
3. In LRFD
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
II. SERVICEABILITY

The LRFD Specifications treats serviceability from the view

points of durability, inspectibility, maintainability, rideability,
deformation control, and future widening.
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
III. CONSTRUCTIBILITY
Several new provisions were included in the LRFD Specifications related to
:
1. The need to design bridges so that they can be fabricated and built
without undue difficulty and with control over locked-in construction
force effects;
2. The need to document one feasible method of construction in the
contract documents, unless the type of construction is self-evident; and
3. A clear indication of the need to provide strengthening and/ or temporary
bracing or support during erection, but not requiring the complete design
 BRIDGE ENGINEERING LEXICON
AASHO - American Association of State Highway Officials. Founded in 1914 and
renamed in 1973 to AASHTO
AASHTO - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Name changed from AASHO in 1973 to include all modes of transportation.
ACI - American Concrete Institute
AISC - American Institute of Steel Construction
Allowable Stress Design - AISC designation for Working Stress Design
Axle Load- The total load on a truck axle. For most design vehicles this is twice
the wheel load
 BRIDGE ENGINEERING LEXICON
BMS - Acronym for Bridge Management System
Box Girder - A superstructure design which utilizes a box-shaped tube as
primary load carrying member
Buckling - Sudden large and irreversible deflection in an axially loaded
member under compression
Built-Up Member - A steel member composed of various standard AISC
shapes in order to enhance section properties (used in many old bridges).
Cast-in-Place - Refers to concrete which is poured and cured in its final location in
the field.
 BRIDGE ENGINEERING LEXICON
Composite Construction - Type of design where the bridge deck works
together with primary members in resisting loads.
Continuous Span - A span with primary members extending across a pier
uninterrupted
Creep - Deformation of concrete under loads over a period of time. This
deformation will stop after a certain amount of time. Also known as plastic
flow.
Dead Load - The aggregate weight of all permanent, non-moving
superstructure elements resting on the substructure.
BRIDGE ENGINEERING LEXICON
Limit States Design - A method of design based on the ability of a structure
to fulfill its function. This ability is defined by limit states defining safety and
serviceability.
Load Factor Design - A form of limit states design used by AASHTO standard
specifications as an alternative to Working Stress Design
Load and Resistance Factor Design - A form of limit states design used by
AASHTO LRFD specifications.
Negative Moment – Bending moment which causes tension in the top fiber
and compression in the bottom fiber of a beam
Positive Moment - A bending moment which induces compression in the top
fiber of a beam and tension in the bottom fiber.
 BRIDGE ENGINEERING LEXICON
Post-tensioned Girder - A prestressed concrete girder where the prestressing
force is applied to the reinforcing tendons after the concrete has cured.
Precast - A concrete element which has been formed and cured prior to
placement in the field.
Prestressed Girder - A concrete girder which utilizes steel tendons that have
a tensile force placed on them, thereby increasing internal compression and
reducing or eliminating stresses due to tension once the beam is loaded.
Pretensioned Girder - A prestressed concrete girder where the prestressing
force is applied to the reinforcing tendons before the concrete has been
poured
 BRIDGE ENGINEERING LEXICON
Profile - A graphical depiction of the vertical alignment of a roadway.
Segmental Concrete Girder - A girder composed of concrete units, which are
generally precast and post-tensioned to form an integrated unit
Seismic - Relating to earthquakes as in seismic forces.
Strength Design - AASHTO and ACI designation for Load Factor Design
Tendon - A steel strand stretching along the length of an element used in
concrete prestressing.
Ultimate Strength Design - Former ACI designation for Load Factor Design
BRIDGE ENGINEERING LEXICON
Wheel Load - The load due to one wheel in a design vehicle. Two wheel loads
typically comprise a single axle load.
Working Stress Design - A method of design based on maximum allowable
stresses which are defined by the yield stress of the material and a factor of
safety
Yield Point - The stress at which a material begins to yield.
DESIGN LOADS
 DESIGN LOADS

The bridge engineer must take into account a wide variety of

loads which vary based on:
❏ Duration (permanent or temporary)
❏ Direction (vertical, longitudinal, etc.)
❏ Deformation (concrete creep, thermal expansion, etc.)
❏ Effect (shear, bending, torsion, etc.)
PERMANENT LOADS
1. Dead Load
The dead load on a superstructure is the aggregate weight of all superstructure elements (i.e.,
those elements above the bearings). This would include, but are not be limited to, the deck,
wearing surface, stay-inplace forms, sidewalks and railings, parapets, primary members,
secondary members (including all bracing, connection plates, etc.), stiffeners, signing, and
utilities.
In AASHTO Standard Specifications, all dead loads are treated as one group. In AASHTO LRFD
Specifications, however, dead load for wearing surfaces and utilities are treated as a separate
dead load group, which have higher load factors due to the fact that this group of dead loads
have larger uncertainty than the other dead loads (See AASHTO LRFD Section 3.5.1).
DEAD LOAD UNIT WEIGHTS
PERMANENT LOADS
2. Superimposed Dead Load
In composite construction, superimposed dead loads are
those loads placed on the superstructure after the deck has
cured and begun to work with the primary members in resisting
loads.
PERMANENT LOADS
3. Pressures

Pressures due to earth or water are also considered

permanent loads. While these loads primarily affect substructure
elements, they have the potential of impacting superstructure
elements as well at points where these two components
interface (e.g., rigid frame or arch structures).
TEMPORAY LOADS
1. Vehicle Live Load
In 1935, what was then called AASHO issued a loading scheme based on a
train of trucks. These are identified as H-20-35 and H-15-35
 Background and History
In general, the principal loading constraint which highway bridges are designed by is truck loading. This need
led to the development, by AASHTO, of standard design trucks to be used by bridge engineers in modeling the
performance and adequacy of their design.
In the early part of the last century, designers utilized a train of trucks as design loading for their bridges
In 1944, a suite of hypothetical truck classes designated as H and HS class trucks were developed by AASHTO.
In 1975, however, the U.S. federal government upgraded the allowable gross weight for trucks from 73,280 lb
(325.9 KN) to 80,000 lb (355.8 KN).
Some states responded by upgrading the standard AASHTO 1944 circa design vehicles from a 72,000 lb (320
KN) weight to a 90,000 lb (400 KN) weight (from HS-20 to HS-25).
In the AASHTO LRFD Specifications, which is gradually replacing the AASHTO Standard Specifications, HL-93
live load is used. The HL-93 is composed of a truck (identical to HS-20) or a tandem, combined with a lane load
of 0.64 kip/ft (9.34 KN/m). HL-93 loading is significantly heavier than the HS-20 loading, especially for medium
and long span bridges.
To meet the demands of heavier trucks, the introduction of five new truck classes
was made in 1944. These classes have the following designations and gross vehicle
weights:

❏ H10-44 (20,000 lb - 89 KN)

❏ H15-44 (30,000 lb - 133 KN)
❏ H20-44 (40,000 lb - 178 KN)
❏ HS15-44 (54,000 lb - 240 KN)
❏ HS20-44 (72,000 lb - 320 KN)
 Vehicle Live Load
Alternative military loading was developed in 1956 by the Federal Highway Administration. This
loading consists of two axles separated by 4 ft (1.22 m) and each weighing 24,000 lb (107 KN).
These H, HS, and military loading are used by AASHTO Standard Specifications. For AASHTO
LRFD Specifications, HL-93 loading is used.
HL-93 consists of a design truck or tandem (whichever produces the greater forces), combined
with a design lane load. The design truck is identical to HS20-44. The design tandem consists of
a pair of 25,000 lb (111 KN) axles spaced 4.0 ft (1.2 m) apart. The transverse spacing of wheels
for both the design truck and the design tandem is 6.0 ft (1.8 m).
In an attempt to deal with extralegal loading conditions, the California Department of
Transportation developed a live loading configuration known as the permit design loads or P
loads. The P load design vehicle consists of a steering axle and between two to six pairs of
tandems.
Vehicular live Load According to DPWH DGCS 2015
TEMPORAY LOADS
2. Earthquake Loading
Earthquake loading is a product of natural forces which are dependent on the
geographic location of the bridge.
Four major natural forces with which the bridge engineer must be
concerned:
❏ Seismic forces
❏ Wind forces
❏ Channel forces
❏ Thermal forces
Earthquake Loading
The seismic analysis of highway bridges has become an involved task over
the years. Beginning with the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the seismic
design code has undergone extensive revision and expansion.
An earthquake force acting on a bridge is a function of the following factors:
❏ Dead weight of the structure
❏ Ground motion (acceleration)
❏ Period of vibration of the structure
❏ Type of soil present
Earthquake Loading
 The AASHTO Standard Specifications provides four
methodologies for calculating this loading. The method used is
dependent on whether the bridge is single span or multispan
and the geometric characteristics of the structure
 For single span structures, the connections between the
bridge span and the abutment with fixed bearings should be
designed to resist the superstructure weight multiplied by the
acceleration coefficient and the site
Earthquake Loading
The analysis of multispan bridges varies depending on the type of geometry
present and the degree of seismic activity at the bridge site. The so-called regular
bridges are those with consistent and similar superstructure cross sections and
intermediate support structures (piers). Bridges with a varying cross section and
different types of supports are considered irregular (AASHTO Division I-A, 4.2).
Bridges with a varying cross section and different types of supports are
considered irregular (AASHTO Division I-A, 4.2). The degree of seismic activity is
based on the acceleration coefficient at the bridge site. Bridges with an
acceleration coefficient greater than 0.19 are considered to be in an area of high
seismic activity.
The two most frequently used methods are:
❏ Single-mode spectral analysis
❏ Multimode spectral analysis
A DISPLACEMENT is initially computed based on a unit
load of 1. The dead weight of the superstructure and those
elements of the substructure integrated with the
superstructure also needs to be calculated. Then, based on
the initial displacement and the dead weight value, three
factors α, β, and γ are computed. These factors are used to
calculate the fundamental period of the bridge and the
resultant equivalent static earthquake loading
Earthquake Loading
The fundamental period of the bridge can be computed with the
following:
Earthquake Loading
AASHTO provides an elastic seismic response coefficient which
quantifies these parameters into a dimensionless value
Earthquake Loading
The intensity of the earthquake loading
TEMPORAY LOADS
3. Wind Loading
Like earthquake loading, wind loading offers a complicated
set of loading conditions which must be idealized in order to
provide a workable design.
TEMPORAY LOADS
4. Channel Forces

◦ Channel forces are those loads imposed on a structure due to

water course–related features
◦ Channel forces, similar to seismic forces, primarily affect
substructure elements
◦ Stream Flow. Structures with supports in water courses are at
risk for having those supports slide or overturn due to stream
flow forces.
 Channel Forces
AASHTO Standard Specifications defines the average stream pressure acting on a bridge pier
due to flowing water as (AASHTO 3.18.1):

• The maximum stream flow pressure Pmax is equal to twice the average stream
pressure Pavg. A triangular distribution in used with Pmax located at the top of
water elevation and a pressure of zero at the flow line.
Channel Forces
In the AASHTO LRFD Specifications, the pressure of flowing
stream water acting in the longitudinal direction of substructure
is (AASHTO LRFD 3.7.3.1):
Channel Forces

When the stream flow and the pier have a skew angle θ , the
lateral water pressure is (AASHTO LRFD 3.7.3.2):
Channel Forces

Ice Load - In cold weather climates highway bridges can suffer

severe damage from ice floes and ice sheets impacting
substructure and from static pressure due to thermal
movements of ice sheets.
Channel Forces
In AASHTO Standard Specifications, the horizontal force
due to moving ice is calculated as (AASHTO 3.18.2.2):
Channel Forces
Buoyancy

Bridges with components (e.g., piers) which are submerged

underwater can sometimes suffer from the effects of buoyancy.
This is generally a problem only for very large hollow structures.
Buoyance may produce an uplifting force on pier footings and
piles.
TEMPORAY LOADS
5. Longitudinal Forces

◦ Longitudinal forces is also called Braking Force in AASHTO

LRFD Specifications
◦ As a truck brakes, the load of the vehicle is transferred from
the truck wheels to the bridge deck.
TEMPORAY LOADS
6. Centrifugal Forces
◦ For structures on horizontal curves, the effect of centrifugal
force must be calculated
◦ The force is applied 6 ft (1.8 m) above the top of deck surface
and is defined as (AASHTO 3.10):
TEMPORAY LOADS
7. Impact (Dynamic Load Allowance)
◦ In order to account for the dynamic effects of a vehicle riding
over a structure, an impact factor is used as a multiplier for
certain structural elements.
◦ AASHTO Standard Specification defines the impact factor as
follows (AASHTO 3.8.2):
TEMPORAY LOADS
8. Construction Loads
It is possible that during the erection of a structure, various
members will come under loading conditions which are induced
by construction equipment or other types of loads.
Deformation and Response Loads
Deformation loads are those loads induced by the internal or
external change in material properties or member geometry.

Response loads are those loads created by the response of the

structure to a given loading condition.
Deformation and Response Loads
1. Creep
Creep is the deformation of concrete caused by loads sustained over a period
of time
If the load is sustained over a period of time (as in a deck resting on concrete
girders), a creep strain, roughly 1.5 to 3 times the magnitude of the
instantaneous strain, will be induced.
The major factor which affects creep is the maturity of the concrete when the
loads are applied
Other factors such as humidity of air and the water/cement ratio of the
concrete also affect the magnitude of the creep.
The ACI Code instructs designers to make a “realistic
assessment” of the effects of creep [Ref. 3.19]. This assessment
is taken into account when computing the ultimate deformation
of a concrete structure.
Deformation and Response Loads
2. Shrinkage
Shrinkage is the natural change in volume of concrete. Natural
implies a change which is not related to loading of a member.
Shrinkage and creep take place at the same time and
independently.
If not properly controlled, shrinkage can lead to cracking in
conventional concrete elements. In prestressed concrete,
shrinkage can normally lead to a loss of prestress force in a
member.
Deformation and Response Loads
3. Settlement
The downward movement of a footing, approach pavement, or structure due to
deformations of the supporting soil or piles is known as settlement.
Settlement can be initiated by a number of factors which include, but are not
limited to:
❏ Overloading the supporting soil or piles
❏ Lowering the water table for spread footings or friction piles
❏ Vibrations from live loads or seismic loads
❏ Loading embankments
❏ Changes in soil properties
Deformation and Response Loads
4. Uplift
For a continuous span structure, different loads can combine in
such a fashion that results in the superstructure being lifted
upward from the substructure supports. Such a phenomenon is
known as uplift.
Deformation and Response Loads
5. Thermal Forces
In general, thermal forces are caused by fluctuations in
temperature (i.e., from hot to cold or cold to hot) and caused by
the structural redundances or bearing failures.
In AASHTO LRFD, the change in
temperature is dependent on the
location of the bridge site, as well as the
superstructure material.
GROUP LOADING COMBINATIONS

1. AASHTO Standard Specifications.

◦ The general equation used to define a group load is given by
GROUP LOADING COMBINATIONS
GROUP LOADING COMBINATIONS
2. AASHTO LRFD Specifications
◦ AASHTO LRFD is a probability based design method.
GROUP LOADING COMBINATIONS
GROUP LOADING COMBINATIONS
Under each load combination, the total factored force effect
should be taken as:
LRFD
Each member and connection of a structure should satisfy the
following limit states:
Strength I. This is a basic load combination relating to the normal
vehicular use of the structure without wind or any extreme event
loads such as earthquake.
Strength II. This load combination is used for owner-specified special
design vehicles or permit vehicles.
Strength III. This load combination relates to the bridge being
exposed to maximum wind velocity. Under such event, no live load is
assumed to be present on the bridge.
LRFD
Strength IV. This load combination is used for structures with
very high dead to live load force effect ratios
Strength V. This load combination relates to normal vehicular
use of the bridge with wind velocity of 55 mph (90 km/h).
Extreme Event I. This is a load combination related to
earthquake.
Extreme Event II. This load combination is used for extreme
events such as ice load, collision by vessels and vehicles.
LRFD
Service I. This load combination is used for normal operational
use of the bridge with a 55 mph (90 km/h) wind. All loads are
taken at their nominal values and extreme loads are excluded.
Service II. This load combination is for preventing yielding of
steel structures due to vehicular live load.
Service III. This load combination relates only to tension in
prestressed concrete superstructure
LRFD
Service IV. This load combination relates only to tension in
prestressed concrete substructure to control cracks. The 0.70
factor on wind represents a wind velocity of 84 mph (135 km/h),
which reflects the probability that the prestressed concrete
substructure will be subjected to a tensile stress once in every 10
years.
Fatigue. Fatigue and fracture load combination relates to
repetitive gravitational vehicular live load and dynamic
responses. The live load factor of 0.75 reflects a load level that
represents the majority of truck population.
 Overview of Design Process for
Concrete Bridges
I. GENERAL CONSIDERATION
A. Design Philosophy (12.1)
B. Limit States (12.2)
C. Design Objectives and Location Features (12.1)
II. Beam and Girder Superstructure Design
A. Develop General Section
1. Roadway Width (Highway-Specified)
2. Span Arrangements (11.3.2) (11.5.4) (11.6)
3. Select Bridge Type