Design of Balanced Cantilever

Bridges (With Diagram)

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After reading this article you will learn about the design of balanced
cantilever bridges.

Introduction to Balanced Cantilever Bridges:

Balanced cantilever bridges are adopted for comparatively longer
spans where simply supported, continuous or rigid frame type
superstructures are found unsuitable. Simply supported decks of any
type having spans more than 20 to 25 m. require comparatively
greater depths and therefore, become uneconomical.

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On the other-hand, continuous or rigid frame type bridges, though

cheaper, must be founded on unyielding foundations since otherwise
unequal settlement of the foundations may induce harmful stresses
and thereby cracks may develop in the members. Balanced cantilever
bridges are combination of the simply supported and continuous
structures.

They have the advantages of simply supported as well as

continuous structures, viz.:
(1) The structures are statically determinate and the moments, shears
etc., may be found out by the basic rules of statics and

(2) The possibility of cracks due to unequal settlement of the

foundations is eliminated.

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(3) This type of structure is also comparable to some extent with

continuous structures since the free positive moment at mid-span is
partly balanced by the negative moment caused by the cantilever and
thereby leads to economy in materials.

(4) Balanced cantilever bridges also require one line of bearings over
the piers similar to continuous bridges.

For bridging smaller channels, usually one central longer span with
two shorter end spans of the types as shown in Fig. 4.4a and 4.4b
are adopted but where the bridge length is more, repetition of the type
of span illustrated in Fig 11.2 is resorted to.
 

Types of Superstructure:
The superstructures may be of solid slab, T-beam and slab, hollow box
girder etc. Photograph 3 shows one hollow-box balanced cantilever
bridge.

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Proportioning of Members:
To get the most economical design, the proportioning of the members
should be such that the sections at mid-span and at support satisfy
both the structural and architectural requirements and at the same
time require minimum quantity of materials.

To achieve this, the cantilever lengths are usually made from 0.20 to
0.30 of the main span. This ratio depends on the length of the main
span and the type of suspended span the cantilever has to support as
well as the number of cantilevers (single or double) available for
balancing the mid-span positive moment etc.

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For structures with only one cantilever, the cantilever lengths should
be made relatively small otherwise there may be possibility of uplift at
the other end.
The Author had studied the economics of solid slab balanced
cantilever bridges in great details and shown that for economical
design of solid slab balanced cantilever bridges with double cantilevers
(i.e., for multi-span bridges), the ratio of cantilever to main span lies
between 0.30 to 0.35 for decks having parabolic soffit with variable
depth and 0.175 for decks with uniform depth.

It has been observed that the moment at support is greater than that at
mid-span and therefore, the depth required at support is more than
the same at mid-span. The additional depth at support is achieved by
providing haunches either straight or segmental near the supports.
Sometimes the full span length is covered by the parabolic soffit
profile as shown in Fig. 11.2.

In such cases, though the depth at mid-span required from design

considerations should be more than at the ends of the suspended span
or near the quarter span, the same parabolic soffit profile is
maintained from architectural considerations. Parabolic soffit profile
is generally preferred to straight or segmental haunches from aesthetic
point of view.

In order to meet the design requirements, the depth at mid-span shall

be between one-twentieth to one-thirtieth of the span length. The
depth at support is normally 2 to 3 times the depth at mid span.

Design Considerations:
The suspended span is a simply supported structure and therefore,
may be designed. The moments and shears for the cantilever arms are
to be determined with loads on the cantilever alone or on the
cantilever and the suspended span.
The influence line diagrams for moment and shear for cantilever
section near support are indicated in Fig. 11.3 from which the loading
position for maximum moment or shear may be found out. In
designing the cantilever sections, both the dead and the live load
moments or the shears are to be added together so as to get the design
moments and shears.

It is interesting to note from the influence line diagrams for cantilever

arm that the load on the main span has no effect either on the moment
or on the shear of the cantilever section. While both the dead and live
load moments and shears are additive in designing the cantilever
sections, the design of the main span sections, however, needs careful
examination in arriving at the design moments and shears.

At some sections of the main span near mid span, the live load
moment may be of opposite nature to the dead load moments.
In such cases it is not enough to design only for the combined dead
and live load moments for the fact that the sections may not be safe to
cater for the extra live load moment that is caused due to any possible
overloading and as such there may not remain any factor of safety at
these sections which is otherwise kept at all other parts of the
structure.

Hence, the rule is that for sections where the dead and live load
moments may be of opposite sign, the dead load moment must be
divided by the factor of safety say 2 before adding it to the live load
moment. This statement is further clarified in the following
paragraph.

Let the dead load and live load moment at mid span section be (+)
1200 KNm and (-) 700 KNm, respectively. The nett design moment is
therefore, (+) 500 KNm which is less than the DLM of (+) 1200 KNm
for which the section is checked and reinforcement provided at the
bottom of the section for + ve moment.

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Now if the live load moment is increased by 100 per cent due to
unusual conditions, the design moment for the abnormal condition
will be (+1200 -1400) = (-) 200 KNm but the section has not been
checked for this moment and moreover no steel at top of section to
cater for the negative moment has been provided making thereby the
section having no reinforcement against possible overloading.
On the other-hand, if the dead load moment is reduced by a factor of
safety 2, the design moment becomes (+) 1200 /2 – 700 = (-) 100
KNm and as such the section is capable of resisting a moment of (-)
200 KNm in case of possible overloading since the allowable stresses
also may be doubled in such case to reach the ultimate strength of the
reinforcement provided for resisting a moment of (-) 100 KNm.

It is needless to mention that the reversal of nature of moments near

the mid span section may occur in continuous structures also and
proper care should be taken against this possibilities. The influence
line diagrams for moment and shear for the mid section of main span
are illustrated in Fig. 11.4.

The maximum + ve and -ve live load moments and shears may be
evaluated by placing the live loads suitably on the influence line
diagrams for getting maximum values.

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In calculating shear forces at different sections, it is necessary to
account for the correction due to haunches. The haunch correction
necessary for this purpose may be given by the following equation:

V’ = V ± M/d tan β    (11.1)

Where V’ = Correlated shear

V = Un-correlate shear

M = Bending moment at section under consideration due to loads

corresponding to shear V

D = Effective depth

β = The angle between the top and bottom edges of the beam at that
section.

The positive sign applies where the bending moment decreases with
the increase in “d” (e.g. the haunches of simply supported beams). The
negative sign applies when the bending moment increases with
increase in “d” (as at haunches near the interior supports of
continuous or balanced cantilever structures).

Design Procedure:
1. Decide span lengths and assume rough sections of the main girders
at important sections such as end support, intermediate support, mid
span etc.
2. Select suitable profile of the soffit of the girders and find the depths
at different sections of the girders.

3. Assume sections of cross girder and thickness of the deck and soffit
slab.

4. Calculate the dead load bending moment at various sections.

5. Draw influence line diagram for moments for various sections.

6. Work out live load moments at different sections.

7. Check the adequacy of the sections in respect of concrete stresses

and calculate the tensile reinforcement from the design moments
which are obtained by combining the dead load moments with the live
load moments, where necessary, in order to get maximum values for
the entire deck.

8. Similar to moments, find the dead load and live load shears at
different sections and check concrete stresses. If necessary, provide
shear reinforcement.

9. Arrange the reinforcement properly so as to get the maximum out-

turn from them.

Example 1:
A hollow box balanced cantilever girder bridge with 7.5 m. roadway
and 1.5 m. footpath on either side having spans as shown in Fig. 11.5 is
to be designed for single lane of IRC Class 70-R or 2 lanes of IRC Class
A loading. Give brief outlines for calculating the bending moments and
shear forces and draw the bending moment and shear force diagrams.

Solution:
The depths of the main girders over abutments and pier are assumed
tentatively as shown in Fig. 11.6. The depths at other sections may be
known if the variation of the top and bottom profiles are known.

Top Profile:
a) Anchor span with cantilever:
Straight line profile with grade of 1 in 70. Equation of the profile is
given by,
y = m x = x/70

i.e. y = 0.0143 x (origin at A) (11.2)

b) Suspended span:
The shape of the top profile is parabolic.

The equation of the parabola may be written in the form:

y = kx2 (11.3)
The origin of the curve is at D and k is a constant the value of
which may be determined in the following manner:
Differentiating equation 11.3, dy/dx = 2kx (11.4)

At C, x = 10.5 m. and slope, dy/dx = 1/70

From equation 11.4, k = 1/(70 x 2 x 10.5) = 0.00068

Hence equation 11.3 comes to y = 0.00068 x2 (Origin at D)

... Fall of C from D = 0.00068 (10.5)2 = 0.075 m.
Fall of B from C = 12.0/70 = 0.17 m.; Fall of A from B = 30.0/70 =
0.43.

Bottom Profile:
a) Anchor span
Equation of the parabola, y = kx2
When x = 30.0 m, y = 1.82 m. ... k = y/x2 = 1.82/(30)2 = 0.002
... The equation of the bottom profile becomes, y = 0.002 x2 … (origin
at E)
b) Cantilever and the suspended span
Equation of the parabola, y = kx2
When x = 22.5 m, y = 2.70 m. ... k = y/x2 = 2.70/(22.5)2 = 0.00533
... The equation becomes, y = 0.00533 x2 … (origin at F)
The depth at various section may be found out from the above
equations, for example, the depth at the mid-section of anchor span
may be given by D = 2.0 + y1 + y2
= 2.0 + 0.0143x + 0.002 x2
= 2.0 + 0.0143 x 15.0 + 0.002 (15.0)2
= 2.0 + 0.2145 + 0.45 = 2.6645 m.

Dead Load Calculation:

The udl due to deck slab, soffit slab, wearing course, wheel guard,
railings and railing posts etc. The weight of the longitudinal beams
may be assumed to act as udl between two sections (say 3m apart) the
udl being calculated with average depth and thickness of the rib
between the sections under consideration. The cross beam or
diaphragm load shall be taken as concentrated load. These loads are
shown in Fig. 11.7.

 
The dead load moments at various sections are computed with the
loads shown in Fig. 11.7 and the values shown in table 11.2.

The moments for the anchor span and the cantilever are
worked out for two conditions viz.:
Case I:
Working condition with the suspended span over the cantilever arm.

Case II:
Condition during construction period without the suspended span.
This case may also occur if due to any reason the suspended span is
dislodged from its place during its service period. Under this condition
no live load will act on the bridge.

Live Load Moments:

The live load moments (both positive and negative) at various sections
may be worked out by placing the live loads on the respective influence
line diagrams. Appropriate impact allowance should also be made in
the evaluation of the live load moments.

To these values, the moments due to footway loading should also be

added. The design moments are obtained by adding both the dead and
live load moments including those due to the footway loading.
The evaluation of live load moment at the centre of anchor span is
shown below as an illustration. The moments for other sections are to
be calculated in the similar way. For maximum positive and negative
moment at mid section of anchor span, the position of single lane of
Class A load will be as shown in Fig. 11.8. Class 70-R load will not
produce worse effect. For distance between loads, refer to Fig. 5.2.
 
 

 
 

In calculating the positive moment at mid section of anchor span due

to footway loading, only the anchor span will be assumed to be loaded
with footway loading. On the other hand, the cantilever and the
suspended span will be loaded for negative moment at the section.

From influence line diag. (Fig. 11.8)

Positive moment = Area of influence line diagram x intensity of load

= ½ x 30.0 x 7.5 x 900 = 1,01,000 Kgm = 101 tm

Negative moment = ½ 12.0 x 6.0 x 1140 + ½ x 21.0 x 6.0 x 1020.

= 41,000 + 64,000 = 1,05,000 Kgm = 105 tm

Total positive live load moment = 620.2 + 101 = 721.2 tm

Total negative live load moment = 566.1 + 105 = 671.1 tm

  

 
Dead Load Shear:
Sign convention:
Upwards to the left and downwards to the right of section = + ve shear
and vice versa.

The dead load shear forces at different sections are calculated with the
loads and reactions shown in Fig. 11.7.

The top and bottom of the girders are provided with curved profiles
and therefore, haunch correction is necessary. The shears obtained
above are uncorrected shears and hence are to be corrected. The
method of shear calculation is illustrated below for Section 2 (left).

Uncorrected shear at Section 2 (left) = 145.25 – 14.5 – (10.7 – 4.03) x

5.0 = 57.1 t

Corrected shear is given by Equation 11.1 which is

V’ = V ± M/d tan β, M = 502.6 tm, d = 2.05 m

tan β1 = 1/70 = 0.0143 ... β = 0° – 49’ – 0”
tan β = dy/dx = 2kx = 2 x 0.002 x 16.67 = 0.0667 ... β2 = 1° – 10’ – 0”
or tan β = tan (β1 – β2 ) = tan (0° − 49’ – 0” + 1° – 10’ – 0”) = tan 1° –
59’ – 0” = 0.0347
... V’ = 57.1 – (502.6)/(2.05) x 0.0347 = 48.59 t
Live Load Shear:
The live load shear at any section can be evaluated by placing
appropriate live loads on the shear influence line diagram. Since
haunch correction in the live load shear values is necessary due to the
presence of the top and bottom curved profiles, it is desirable that the
shear influence line diagram is corrected for the above.

In this process, M of the expression M/d tan β is the live load moment
at the section for the unit load at that location at which the ordinate
for shear influence line diagram is to be drawn.

As before, let us find out the live load corrected shear at Section 2
(left).

Influence line ordinate (uncorrected) Section 2 (left) = 0.8333.

M = ab/L = (5.0 x25.0)/30.0 = 4.17 tm

... Corrected ordinate, V’ = V – M/d tan β = 0.8333 – (4.17/2.05) x

0.0347 = 0.7627
2 lanes of Class A load will produce maximum shear.

Maximum positive live load shear for single lane loading (Fig. 11.10)
 

 
 

The live load shears for other sections also may be obtained in the
above manner. The typical nature of shear force diagram for dead
load, live load etc. is shown in Fig. 11.11.

Design of Articulation:
The articulation of a cantilever bridge is the most vulnerable part in
the structure and therefore, special attention should be paid to both
the design and construction of this important component.

The articulation is subjected to the following forces:

i) Vertical reaction “R” from the suspended span due to dead and live
load reactions including the changes in the reaction due to braking,
wind or seismic forces.

ii) Horizontal force “H” due to braking, seismic, temperature etc.

The combined effect of the above forces makes the plane of maximum
bending stress inclined at an angle θ with the vertical instead of being
parallel to it.

The design of the articulation should cater for the following:

i) Sufficient tensile steel is to be provided to resist both the bending
and the direct tensile stress at the inclined plane (i.e. plane of
maximum stress),

ii) The vertical plane at the neck should also be properly reinforced to
cater for the tensile stress due to both bending and direct stress.

iii) Necessary shear reinforcement at both the vertical plane and the
inclined plane (i.e. the plane of maximum shear) are to be provided.

Assuming “B” as width of the articulation, and referring to Fig. 11.12.

  

 
 

Which gives the inclination of the plane of maximum bending stress.

Putting the above value of θ in equation 11.5 and 11.6, the values of
direct pull and moment on the plane of worst stress may be obtained.
The steel required to cater for both the direct pull and the moment
may be determined from any of the available design charts.

Similarly, the critical plane for shear is determined as

follows:
Let Φ be the angle of the critical plane with the vertical.

 
The necessary shear reinforcement may be provided in the plane of
maximum shear stress which may be worked out from equation 11.10
and 11.11.

Example 2:
The vertical and horizontal loads on an articulation are 850 KN and
100 KN respectively. Design the reinforcement and show the details of
the reinforcement for the articulation when D = 120 cm., a = 40 cm.
and B = 75 cm.

Solution:
Inclined Section:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With direct pull of 501.37 KN and moment of 68,450 KN cm.
in the section, the percentage of steel is found, from chart 68
of “Design Aids to IS:456-1978” as follows:
Assumptions:
i) Rectangular section with reinforcement equally divided on two
sides.

ii) Cover 30 mm.

iii) d’/D = 30/1200 = 0.025

iv) Grade of concrete M20.

v) Grade of steel = S415.

vi) Factored pull = 1.75 x 501.37 = 878 KN

vii) Factored moment = 1.75 x 68,450 = 1,19,800 KN cm.

 
 
 
 
 
Since reinforcement are provided at an angle of 45 degrees,
the area of steel required to give an effective area of 8100
mm2 steel is as below:

 
 
 
Shear in Inclined Plain:

 
 

This exceeds the allowable limit of shear stress without shear

reinforcement (Table 5.12) i.e. 0.34 MPa. Hence shear reinforcement is
required. If 2 nos. 32 Φ bent up bars are provided, shear resistance = 2
x 804 x 200 sin (45° – 3° – 21′) = 2 x 804 x 200 x 0.6646 = 213,700 N
= 213.7 KN
Balance shear = 854.32 – 213.7 = 640.62 KN

Using 12 Φ 6 legged stirrups @ 150 mm spacing, shear resisted by

stirrups = 6x 113x200x 1100/150 = 994,400 N = 994.4 KN

This is more than balance shear of 640.62 KN; hence safe.

 
Moment and Shear in Vertical Plane:
The direct pull and the moment may be obtained in the vertical plane
putting the value of θ equal to zero in equation 11.5 and 11.6. The area
required to be placed at 45° to get the effective steel area sufficient for
resisting the above pull and moment may be found in the same
manner as detailed in case of inclined section. The steel required for
the above is less than that for the inclined plane i.e., plane of
maximum stress.

Beyond the neck, the inclined bars provided for resisting the pull and
the moment will not be effective and therefore, additional bars are
required to be provided. If calculated on the previous basis, the area of
reinforcement required for the purpose comes to 5000 mm2 and for
this 7 nos. 32 Φ bars are necessary.
The shear in the vertical plane will be less than before and the
reinforcement already provided for the plane of maximum stress will
be sufficient.

The details of reinforcement in the articulation are indicated in Fig.

11.13.