DESIGN OF STEEL BRIDGES

Railway Bridges
Highway Bridges
1. According to types of structural arrangements
I girder bridges
Plate girder bridges
Truss girder bridges
Suspension bridges
Plate girders are used as main load carrying
members in plate girder bridges
Economically used for
◦ Railway bridges of span – 15 to 30 m
◦ High way bridges of span – 20 to 40 m
Min height of plate girder for railway bridge is
1/12th of span
2. According to structural action :-
Simply supported span bridges
Continuous bridges
Cantilever bridges
Arch bridges
According to Floor Location –
Deck type bridges – Floor rest on the top of the supporting
structure ie on top of flange of plate girder
Through type bridges – floor rests on the bottom of the
main load supporting structure ie on bottom of flange of
plate girder
Half through type bridges – floor lies in between top and
bottom flange
According to movement of structural parts of the
bridges-
Fixed bridges
Movable bridges
According to type of connections-
Riveted bridges
Welded bridges
Bolted bridges
Consists of –
1. Rails
2. Ties or sleepers
3. Plate girders
Spacing of plate girder is kept
between 2 to 3m
Sleepers are placed over the top
of the two plate girders
Since the plate girder has very little lateral rigidity bracing are
provided to provide lateral stability and torsional stability. Bracing
consists of-
4. Horizontal bracing (laterals) provided in between top flanges and
bottom flanges
5. Transverse bracings (cross frames) are provided in parallel vertical
planes- transfer lateral loads at top flanges to bottom flanges of plate
girders.
Consists of –
1. Rails
2. Sleeper
3. Stringer (longitudinal girder)-

supports the floor system ,

running parallel to the main girder.
Span vary from 3m to 5m.
4. Floor beams(cross beams) –
• stringers are supported and framed in cross beams

• Span right angle to the plate girder

• Connected near the bottom of the plate girder as possible

(panel points)
Bracing consists of-
5. Horizontal bracing (laterals) provided in loaded flange.
6. Transverse bracings (cross frames) are provided in parallel
vertical planes- transfer lateral loads at top flanges to bottom
flanges of plate girders.
Upper flanges are braced by triangular gusset plates
Gusset plates are connected on internal sides with the
floor beams and main girders
Includes self weight of the bridge girder
Super imposed loads which are permanently
attached to the structure
Weight of floor and self-weight of main
structure
Live load in railway bridges and highway
bridges consists of rolling or wheel loads
It is difficult to arrive at the actual wheel loads
for railway bridges, therefore bridges are
designed for standard design loading
(specified in Bridge rule)
Standard design loadings for BG, MG and NG
are specified separately in Bridge Rule
To simplify the analysis, the actual design
loadings have been expressed in bridge rules
as an Equivalent Uniformly Distributed Live
Loads (EUDLL)
Impact load
Wind load – Horizontal force due to wind
Lateral load – Nosing effect due to lateral
movement of railway coaches
Longitudinal force – Tractive effect, breaking
effect
Centrifugal force
Seismic force etc