Unit 1- Bridge Types and Bridge Terminology
Unit 1- Bridge Types and Bridge Terminology
Prerequisites: CCE 2320 Structural Timber Design, CCE 2421 Theory of structures V, CCE
2411 Structural Steel Design, CCE 2422 Reinforced Concrete Design
Course content
Definitions, Bridge design principles, Types of bridges: truss bridges, composite bridge, plate
and Box girder bridges, Arch bridges, cable stayed bridges, suspension bridges, Box culverts,
Planning and Location for bridge construction, Types of Bridge decks; Design of bridges:
Reinforced concrete bridges, Steel bridges and composite bridges (composite construction),
Construction methods, Inspection, Maintenance and repair of bridges; Emphasis shall be laid
on design and detailing exercises; The design shall be based on relevant codes of practice.
Course Assessment
• Continuous assessments tests 50%
• End of Semester exams 50%
Course breakdown
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UNIT 1: BRIDGE TYPES AND BRIDGE TERMINOLOGY
1.0 Introduction
The bridge engineer needs to be conversant with the bridge engineering terminology. Just like
any other profession, the bridge engineering field has its own terminology. In Kenya, bridge
designs have previously been done to the British Standards (BS 5400). The current bridge
design standards are Eurocodes and the relevant terminology has been adopted in this course.
General references which give other definitions have been referred to as indicated.
1.1 The bridge: The New Oxford American Dictionary defines the noun bridge as a
structure carrying a road, path, railroad, or a canal across a river, road, railroad, or
other obstacle; something that makes a physical connection between two other things.
1.2 Terminology related to bridge parts and appurtenances: The bridge parts are
mainly classified into superstructures and substructures. The Digital Engineering
Library @ McGraw-Hill (Highway Bridge Structures) has the following definitions for
the various bridge parts which I find comprehensive:
1.2.1 Superstructure. The bridge structure that receives and supports traffic loads and, in turn,
transfers those loads to the substructure. It includes the bridge deck, structural members,
parapets, handrails, sidewalk, lighting, and drainage features. It simply comprises all the
components of a bridge above the supports. The basic superstructure components consist of
the following:
+ Wearing Surface. The wearing surface (course) is that portion of the deck cross section
which resists traffic wear. In some instances, this is a separate layer made of bituminous
material, while in some other cases it is an integral part of concrete deck (Ref 1). In Kenya the
bituminous wearing course usually 50mm thick. The thickness, however, increases with
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subsequent overlays during maintenance of the road over the life of the bridge.
+ Deck. The deck is the physical extension of the roadway across the obstruction to be bridged.
In Kenya the deck in most cases is constructed with reinforced concrete but there are some
cases when the deck is a stiffened steel plate. The main function of the deck is to distribute
loads transversely along the bridge cross section. The deck either rests on or is integrated with
a frame or other structural system designed to distribute loads longitudinally along the length
of the bridge. A deck includes the deck slab and the deck girders according to Eurocodes.
+ Primary Members. Primary members distribute loads longitudinally and are usually
designed principally to resist flexure and shear. In Kenya these are principally
beams/girders/stringers mostly in reinforced concrete, pre-stressed concrete, plate girders or
rolled steel sections.
+ Secondary Members. Secondary members are bracing between primary members designed
to resist cross-sectional deformation of the superstructure frame and help distribute part of the
vertical load between stringers. They are also used for the stability of the structure during
construction.
1.2.2 Substructure. The bridge structure that supports the superstructure and transfers loads
from it to the ground or bedrock. The main components are abutments, piers, footings, and
pilings. The basic substructure components consist of the following:
+ Abutments. Abutments are earth-retaining structures, which support the superstructure and
roadway at the beginning and end of a bridge. Like a retaining wall, the abutments resist the
longitudinal forces of the earth and vehicle surcharge.
+ Piers. Piers are structures, which support the superstructure at intermediate points between
the end supports (abutments). From an aesthetic standpoint, piers are one of the most visible
components of a highway bridge and can make the difference between a visually pleasing
structure and an unattractive one.
+ Bearings. Bearings are mechanical systems, which transmit the vertical and horizontal loads
of the superstructure to the substructure, and accommodate movements between the
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superstructure and the substructure. Bearings allowing both rotation and longitudinal
translation are called expansion/movable bearings, and those, which allow rotation, only are
called fixed bearings.
+ Pedestals. A pedestal is a short column on an abutment or pier under a bearing, which directly
supports a superstructure primary member. The term bridge seat is also used to refer to the
elevation at the top surface of the pedestal. Normally pedestals are designed with different
heights to obtain the required bearing elevations. In Kenya pedestals have been used
extensively on the bridges of Thika Highway.
+ Backwall. A backwall, sometimes called the stem, is the primary component of the abutment
acting as a retaining structure at each approach. It forms the abutment’s front face to the river
or to an underpass.
+ Footing. As bearings transfer the superstructure loads to the substructure, so in turn do the
abutment and pier footings transfer loads from the substructure to the subsoil or piles. A footing
supported by soil without piles is called a spread footing. A footing supported by piles is known
as a pile cap.
+ Piles. When the soil under a footing cannot provide adequate support for the substructure (in
terms of bearing capacity, overall stability, or settlement), support is obtained through the use
of piles, which extend down from the footing to a stronger soil layer or to bedrock.
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Legend
1. Deck slab
2. Deck Girder
3. Bearing
4. Pedestal
5. Footing
6. Piles
+ Cantilever: A structural member that projects beyond a supporting column or wall and is
supported at only one end.
+ Carriageway: The part of the road surface, supported by a single structure (deck, pier etc)
which includes all physical traffic lanes (i.e. as may be marked on the road surface), hard
shoulders, hard strips and marker strips.
+ Construction Load: Live load and superimposed dead load during construction of the bridge
+ Dead load: The static load imposed by the weight of materials that make up the bridge
structure itself. Referred to as permanent action/load in Eurocodes.
+ Design Working Life: Assumed period for which a structure or part of it is to be used for its
intended purpose with anticipated maintenance but without major repair being necessary.
+ Diaphragm: Bracing that spans between the main girders or girders of a bridge and assists
in the distribution of loads.
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+ Execution: All activities carried out for the physical completion of the work including
procurement, the inspection and documentation thereof
+ Live load: Operational or temporary loads such as vehicular traffic, impact, wind, water, or
earthquake. Referred to as variable load/action in Eurocodes.
+ Loaded Length: The base length of the area which when loaded produces and adverse effect.
Where there is more than one adverse area as in the case of continuous construction, the loaded
length is the sum of the base lengths of each adverse area
+ Notional lane: Strip of the carriageway, parallel to an edge of the carriageway which is
deemed to carry a line of cars and/or lorries. Notional lanes are used in application of bridge
variable loads/actions for design purposes.
+ Traffic lane: A traffic lane is the portion of pavement allocated to a single line of vehicles;
it is indicated on the pavement by painted longitudinal lines or embedded markers.
+ Piles. When the soil under a footing cannot provide adequate support for the substructure (in
terms of bearing capacity, overall stability, or settlement), support is obtained through the use
of piles, which extend down from the footing to a stronger soil layer or to bedrock
+ Span: The horizontal space between two supports of a structure. A simply supported span
rests on two supports, one at each end, the stresses on which do not affect the stresses in the
adjoining spans. A continuous span comprises a series of consecutive spans (over three or more
supports) that are continuously or rigidly connected (without joints) so that bending moment
may be transmitted from one span to the adjacent ones.
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+ Specifications: A document that explains material and construction requirements of the
bridge structure.
+ Structural Analysis: Procedure or algorithm for determination of load effects in every point
of the structure.
+ Structural System: Load bearing Members and the way in which these members function
together
+ Structure: Organized combination of connected parts designed to carry loads and provide
adequate rigidity
+ Embankment and Slope Protection. The slope needs slope protection, which should be
both aesthetically pleasing and provide for proper drainage and erosion control.
+ Approach (~ road). The section of a roadway, which leads up to and away from the bridge
abutments is called the approach or approach roadway. In order to compensate for potential
differential settlement at the approaches, a reinforced concrete slab or approach slab is
sometimes used for a given distance back from the abutment. The approach slab helps to evenly
distribute traffic loads on the soil behind the abutment, and minimizes impact to the abutment,
which can result from differential settlement between the abutment and the approach. An
approach slab is typically supported by the abutment at one end, and supported by the soil
along its length.
+ Traffic Barriers. A traffic barrier is a protective device used to shield motorists from
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obstacles or slopes located along either side of roadway. Traffic barriers can range from a
guardrail made of corrugated steel to reinforced concrete parapets. On bridges, they are usually
called bridge railings or crash barriers.
+Structure: organized combination of connected parts designed to carry loads and provide
adequate rigidity
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+Transient design situation: design situation that is relevant during a period much shorter
than the design working life of the structure and which has a high probability of occurrence
+Persistent design situation: design situation that is relevant during a period of the same order
as the design working life of the structure
+Maintenance: set of activities performed during the working life of the structure in order to
enable it to fulfil the requirements for reliability
+Repair: activities performed to preserve or to restore the function of a structure that fall
outside the definition of maintenance
+Nominal value: value fixed on non-statistical bases, for instance on acquired experience or
on physical conditions
+Action (F):
a) Set of forces (loads) applied to the structure (direct action); b) Set of imposed deformations
or accelerations caused for example, by temperature changes, moisture variation, uneven
settlement or earthquakes (indirect action).
+Effect of action (E): effect of actions (or action effect) on structural members, (e.g. internal
force, moment, stress, strain) or on the whole structure (e.g. deflection, rotation)
+Permanent action (G): action that is likely to act throughout a given reference period and
for which the variation in magnitude with time is negligible, or for which the variation is always
in the same direction (monotonic) until the action attains a certain limit value
+Variable action (Q): action for which the variation in magnitude with time is neither
negligible nor monotonic
+Accidental action (A): action, usually of short duration but of significant magnitude, that is
unlikely to occur on a given structure during the design working life
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+Seismic action (AE): action that arises due to earthquake ground motions
+Geotechnical action: action transmitted to the structure by the ground, fill or groundwater
+Fixed action: action that has a fixed distribution and position over the structure or structural
member such that the magnitude and direction of the action are determined unambiguously for
the whole structure or structural member if this magnitude and direction are determined at one
point on the structure or structural member
+Free action: action that may have various spatial distributions over the structure
+Single action: action that can be assumed to be statistically independent in time and space of
any other action acting on the structure
+Static action: action that does not cause significant acceleration of the structure or structural
members
+Dynamic action: action that causes significant acceleration of the structure or structural
members
+Accompanying action: An action in a combination that is not the leading variable action
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+Characteristic value: A value that may be derived statistically with a probability of not being
exceeded during a reference period. The value corresponds to a specified fractile for a particular
property of material or product. The characteristic values are denoted by subscript ‘k’ (e.g. Qk
etc). It is the principal representative value from which other representative values may be
derived.
+Representative value: Value used for verification of a limit state. It may be the characteristic
value, combination value, frequent value or quasi-permanent value.
+Design value: Refers to representative values modified by partial factors. They are denoted
by subscript ‘d’ (e.g. fcd ; Qd).
+Combination of actions: Set of design values used for the verification of the structural
reliability for a limit state under the simultaneous influence of different and statistically
independent actions.
+Limit states: states beyond which the structure no longer fulfils the relevant design criteria
+Ultimate limit states: states associated with collapse or with other similar forms of structural
failure
+Serviceability limit states: states that correspond to conditions beyond which specified
service requirements for a structure or structural member are no longer met
+Hard shoulder: Surfaced strip, usually of one traffic lane width adjacent to the outermost
physical traffic lane, intended for use by vehicles in the event of difficulty or during the
obstruction of the physical traffic lanes
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+Hard strip: Surfaced strip, less or equal to 2m wide located alongside a physical traffic lane,
and between this traffic lane and safety barrier or vehicle parapet
+Remaining area: Difference where relevant, between the total area of the carriageway and
sum of the areas of the notional lanes.
Crash barrier
Carriageway
Pedestrian Pedestrian
Walkway Walkway
Traffic lane Traffic lane
Deck beam
Deck slab
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Fig 2. Bridge elevation and cross section for a 2-way carriageway road, dimensions are in
millimeters.
1.0 Introduction
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3. Over bridges: these include a). Over-the-road bridge- a bridge to secure passage over
an existing road; b). Over-the-railroad bridge- a bridge to secure passage over an
existing railroad
Examples
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Wooden bridge, superstructure. Chania river bridge within Aberdares’ National Park.
Steel superstructure bridge, Galana River bridge, Tsavo East National Park
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Most bridges in Kenya are deck bridges.
3. Through bridge: a bridge whose road surface is positioned on the lower part of the
bridge structure
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4. Double deck bridge: a bridge equipped with two-storied road surfaces
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The figure below gives more details.
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1. Plate girder bridge: a bridge composed of beam structure known as plate girder. The
girder is a built-up section fabricated using steel plates of various thicknesses. The
plate girder acts as the beam for the superstructure
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2. Truss bridge: a bridge composed of truss structure
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Example, Bleu Post bridge, Thika.
5. Cable stayed bridge: a bridge configured with cables stretched aslant between the
tower and the girder
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6. Suspension bridge: a bridge configured with cables stretched in-between towers to
suspend stiffening girders
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2. Movable bridges: movable bridges provided with opening and shutting capability.
They are subdivided into the swing bridge, the lift bridge and bascule bridge based on
mechanisms used.
3. Monorail bridges: bridges used for monorail trains
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TABLE OF THE DESIGN PARTS OF EUROCODES USED IN VARIOUS BRIDGE TYPES