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Kandahar University
Engineering Faculty
Civil Department

Bridge Engineering
Introduction to Bridge

Prepared By: Samiullah. Qani

Instructor: Asst.prof.Ab.Wahid.Wahidi

Table of Content

1. INTRODUCTION
2. BRIDGE COMPONENTS
3. BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION
4. SELECTION OF BRIDGE TYPES

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Introduction
 Bridge engineering is a field of engineering
(particularly a significant branch of structural
engineering) dealing with the

 surveying,

 plan,

 design,

 analysis,

 construction

 management,

 and maintenance of bridges

Introduction
 This variety of disciplines requires knowledge of the
science and engineering of natural and man-made
materials, composites, metallurgy, structural
mechanics, statics, dynamics, statistics, probability
theory, hydraulics, and soil science

 Bridge engineers need to make innovative and high

efficient use of financial resources, construction
materials, calculation, and construction technologies
to achieve these objectives.

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BRIDGE COMPONENTS
Bridge has 3 main components

 Super Structure

 Bearing

 Sub Structure

Superstructure

 In general, the superstructure represents the portion of a bridge above the

bearings, including deck, girder, truss, etc.

 In suspension and cable-stayed bridges, components such as suspension

cables, hangers, stays, towers, bridge deck

BRIDGE COMPONENTS …
Bearings

 A bridge bearing is a component of a bridge transmitting the loads received

from the deck on to the substructure and to allow controlled movement due to
temperature variation or seismic activity and thereby reduce the stresses
involved.

 A bearing is the boundary between the superstructure and the substructure.

Substructure
 Substructure is the portion of the bridge below the bearing, used for supporting
the bridge superstructure and transmits all those loads to ground.
 substructures include abutments, piers, wing walls, or retaining walls, and
foundation structures like columns and piles,

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BRIDGE COMPONENTS …
 Bridge Length,

 Span Length,

 and Bridge Width

 Bridge Clearance

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION
 Depending on the objective of classification, the bridges can be classifiedin
several ways
1) Materials of construction
2) Span length
3) Position (for movable bridges)
4) Span types
5) Deck location
6) Usage
7) Geometric shape
8) Structural form

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

1) Bridge Classification by Materials of Construction

 Bridges can be identified by the materials from which their superstructures are
built, namely,
 steel,
 concrete,
 timber,
 stone,
 aluminum,
 and advanced composite materials

2) Bridge Classification by Span Length

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

3) Bridge Classification by Position-

Moveable Bridges

 Lift Bridges

 Swing Bridges

 Bascule Bridges

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

4: Bridge Classification by Inters pan Relation

 Simply Supported Bridges

 Continuous Bridges

 Cantilever Bridges

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

Bridge Classification by Deck Location

o Deck bridges,
o through bridges,
o and half-through bridges
o Bridge Classification by Geometric Shape
o Straight Bridges
o Skewed Bridges
o Curved Bridges

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

 Bridge Classification by Usage

 A bridge can be categorized by what it is designed to carry, such as

o road traffic,

o rail traffic,

o pedestrian,

o a pipeline or

o waterway

o Combined

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

Bridge Classification by Structural Form

o beam bridges,
o rigid-frame bridges,
o truss bridges,
o arch bridges,
o cable stayed bridges,
o and suspension bridges

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

beam bridges
 Beam bridges (also referred to as Girder Bridges) are the most common,
inexpensive, and simplest structural forms supported between abutments or piers
 Sometimes, the beam bridges are also classified into slab bridges, beam bridges,
and girder bridges
 only materials that can work well for both tension and compression can be used to
build a beam bridge.

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

Rigid-Frame Bridges
 The use of rigid-frame bridges began in Germany in the early 20th century.
 A Rigid-Frame Bridge (also known as Rahmen Bridge) consists of superstructure
supported on vertical or slanted monolithic legs (columns)
 The connections between superstructure and substructure are rigid connections
which transfer bending moment, axial forces, and shear forces.
 However, as a statically indeterminate structure, the design and analysis is more
complicated

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

Truss Bridges
o Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges
o A bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss is a truss bridge
o For modern truss bridges, gusset plate connections are generally used,
o the bending moments and shear forces of members should be considered for evaluating
the real performance of the truss bridges, which is achieved by the aid of finite element
software
o The maximum single span of the continuous truss bridge is 440 m in Tokyo Gate Bridge in
Japan, as shown in Fig

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

Truss Bridges

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

Arch Bridges
 An arch bridge is a bridge shaped as an upward convex
curved arch to sustain the vertical loads
 simple arch bridge works by transferring its weight and other
loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the strong
abutments at either side
 today. The current world’s largest arch bridge is the
Chaotianmen Bridge over the Yangtze River in Chongqing
(China) with a span length of 552 m, as shown in Fig.

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …
Cable-Stayed Bridges
 A cable-stayed bridge is a structure with several points in each span between the
towers supported upward in a slanting direction with inclined cables and consists of
main towers
 For mechanical point of view, a cable-stayed bridge is a statically indeterminate
continuous girder
 The cable-stayed bridges are also highly efficient in use of materials due to their
structural members mainly works in either tension or compression
 Cable-stayed bridges have the second-longest spanning capacity (after suspension
bridges), and they are practically suitable for spans up to around 1000 m. The top 10
largest cable-

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …
Suspension Bridges
 A typical suspension bridge is a continuous girder suspended by suspension cables,
which pass through the main towers with the aid of a special structure known as a
saddle, and end on big anchorages that hold them.

 The deck, which is usually a truss or a box girder, is connected to the suspension
cables by vertical suspender cables or rods, called hangers,
 The curve shape of the suspension cables is similar to that of arch.
 The use of suspension bridges makes longer main spans achievable than with any
other types of bridges, and they are practical for spans up to around 2 km or even
larger

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BRIDGE CLASSIFICATION …

SELECTION OF BRIDGE TYPES

 The selection of the proper type of bridge is determined based on the results of
topographic survey, geological survey, traffic survey, geotechnical survey, hydro
technical survey, seismic survey, and meteorological survey, etc.
 Selection of the bridge superstructures is closely related to the use of construction
materials.
 The steel bridges are generally built in large spans such as arch bridges, truss bridges,
cable-stayed bridges, and suspensions bridges.
 For large span bridges, as the dead weight governs the load carry capacity of
bridges, the bridge superstructures are built in steel but not concrete
 concrete bridges are also widely used for short-span bridges due to the relative low
cost and less maintenance in service stage.
 The simply supported structure is statically determinate and is simplest to design, and
generally is suitable for short-span bridges

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SELECTION OF BRIDGE TYPES

 For medium-span bridges, the continuous girder bridges, the truss bridges, and the arch
bridges can be considered as an alternative.
 For large span bridges longer than 500 m, the cable-stayed bridge and the suspension
bridges are promising solutions.
 A cable-stayed bridge is the successor to the suspension bridge for spans up to 600 m
 However, for super bridges with span length larger than 1000 m, a suspension bridge is
still the best choice

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Bridge Terminology
 Abutments  Clear and Effective Spa

 Afflux  Expansion Joints

 Backfill  Construction Joint

 Approach Slab

 Bed Block

 Boring Chart

 Culvert

 Box Culvert

 Carriage Width

 Vertical Clearance

Bridge Terminology
 Abutments
 Afflux

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Bridge Terminology
 Backfill

 Approach Slab

Bridge Terminology
 Bed Block

 Boring Chart

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Bridge Terminology
 Culvert

 Box Culvert

Bridge Terminology
 Carriage Width

 Vertical Clearance

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Bridge Terminology
 Clear and Effective Spa

 Expansion Joints

 Construction Joint

Thank You

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