HOWRAH

BRIDGE
ANALYSIS
Assignment
Engineering Mechanics
 INTRODUCTION

• Howrah Bridge, officially known as the Rabindra Setu, is a prominent landmark and a vital
transportation artery in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
• The bridge is not only a symbol of engineering excellence but also holds immense historical and
cultural significance, embodying the spirit of Kolkata's rich heritage and progress.
• Spanning the Hooghly River, it connects the city of Kolkata with its twin city, Howrah,
facilitating the movement of millions of commuters and vehicles daily .

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THE NEED FOR A PERMANENT BRIDGE OVER THE
HOOGHLY RIVER WAS RECOGNIZED IN THE EARLY 20TH
CENTURY TO REPLACE THE FLOATING PONTOON
BRIDGE, WHICH WAS INADEQUATE FOR THE GROWING
NEEDS OF THE REGION.
-CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOWRAH BRIDGE BEGAN IN
1936, FOLLOWING THE DESIGN BY ENGINEERS FROM
RENDEL, PALMER & TRITTON, A BRITISH CONSULTING
ENGINEERING FIRM.
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HISTORY
Despite facing challenges such as the
difficult riverbed conditions and the
onset of World War II, the bridge was
completed in 1942 and opened to traffic
on February 3, 1943.
The bridge was renamed Rabindra Setu
in 1965, in honor of the renowned
Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore,
whose work epitomizes the cultural
heritage of Bengal.
VIDEO HERE
 MATERIALS USED
The steel superstructure consists of riveted
HOWRAH BRIDGE –A CANTILLEVER girders, trusses, and beams, meticulously
BRIDGE assembled to withstand the dynamic loads
imposed by vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

TATA SUPPLED 230,000 TON Approximately 265,000 tons of high-quality steel, primarily
STEEL sourced from Tata Steel, were used in the construction of
Howrah Bridge.

The choice of steel, known for its strength, durability, and flexibility, was instrumental in
HIGH QUALITY ensuring the longevity and structural integrity of the bridge. The construction of Howrah
STEEL Bridge marked a significant milestone in the utilization of steel as a construction material in
India and contributed to the advancement of engineering practices in the country.

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MECHANICAL ANAYSIS

Seismic
Live load
forces

Foundation
Wind load loads

Dead Load Temperature Water

effects currents

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 o The footpath live load has been considered as 488 kg/m 2 (100 lb/ft2).
•The live load has been a wheel load of 104·6 kN (10·5 t), including impact, with a
wheel width of 45 cm (18 in.) along with 488 kg/m 2 (100 lb/ft2) .

LIVE LOAD
•For the two 3 m (10 ft) sections of the roadway next to the kerb, a 500 kN (50 t)
boiler wagon on four axles hauled by a 210 kN (21·2 t) tractor with no other load.
•To cater for the congestion effect, a live load of 488 kg/m 2 (100 lb/ft2) on the
entire carriageway and a 410 kg/m 2 (84 lb/ft2) load on the entire footway have
been considered.
 It is a suspension type balanced cantilever bridge, with a central span
1,500 feet (460 m) between centers of main towers and a suspended
Insert Image span of 564 feet (172 m). The main towers are 280 feet (85 m) high
above the monoliths and 76 feet (23 m) apart at the top. The anchor
arms are 325 feet (99 m) each, while the cantilever arms are 468 feet
(143 m) each. The bridge deck hangs from panel points in the lower

DEAD chord of the main trusses with 39 pairs of hangers.[5] The roadways
beyond the towers are supported from ground, leaving the anchor
LOAD arms free from deck load. The deck system includes cross girders
suspended between the pairs of hangers by a pinned connection. [7]
Six rows of longitudinal stringer girders are arranged between cross
girders. Floor beams are supported transversally on top of the
stringers,[7] while themselves supporting a continuous pressed steel
troughing system surfaced with concrete
 Insert Image

The wind load acting on the Howrah Bridge in

ordinary conditions is 300 kg/linear m, and the
WIND LOAD wind load for bridges carrying tramway
is 450 kg/linear m.
 Changes in temperature cause the bridge materials
to expand or contract, leading to thermal stresses.
Insert Image These stresses can affect the overall structural
integrity of the bridge. Engineers calculate the
thermal expansion coefficients of the materials
TEMPERATURE used and analyse the resulting thermal stresses.
The temperature effect for variation from 5 to
71°C (from 40 to 160°F) rise and fall has been
ANALYSIS considered for steel member design. However, a
variation of 28°C (50°F) has been considered for
temperature between steel and concrete. Variation
in temperature for 17°C (30°F) has been
considered between the flanges and web of the
steel girders.
 Insert Image

•Although Howrah Bridge is not located in a highly seismic

SEISMIC zone, it still needs to be designed to withstand potential

earthquakes. The earthquake effect has been considered as

FORCE 1/15 of the weight of each member or 0·067 g.

•Secondary effects due to the distortion of the truss or floor
system, eccentric connections, unsymmetrical live load and
variation in temperature have been considered.
 Insert Image

The bridge's foundations bear the entire weight of the

FOUNDATION
structure and transmit it to the underlying soil or bedrock.
Engineers analyze soil properties and conduct geotechnical
investigations to determine the foundation loads and ensure
LOAD that they do not exceed the safe bearing capacity of the soil.
The weight of erection crane at the construction stage is
equal to 705 t with a cradle and 610 t without a cradle
 Insert Image

Howrah Bridge spans over the Hooghly River, subjecting

it to water currents. The force exerted by the flowing
WATER water can impact the stability of the bridge. Engineers
study the hydrological conditions of the river, including
CURRENTS flow rates and water levels, to assess the water-induced
forces on the structure.
 Insert Image

A beam is said to be cantilevered when it projects outward, supported

only at one end. A cantilever bridge is generally made with three spans,
of which the outer spans are both anchored down at the shore and

CANTILEVER cantilever out over the channel to be crossed. The central span rests on
the cantilevered arms extending from the outer spans; it carries vertical

BRIDGE loads like a simply supported beam or a truss—that is, by tension forces
in the lower chords and compression in the upper chords. The
cantilevers carry their loads by tension in the upper chords and
compression in the lower ones. Inner towers carry those forces by
compression to the foundation, and outer towers carry the forces by
tension to the far foundations.
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 Insert Image

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A CANTILEVER BRIDGE IS GENERALLY MADE WITH THREE
SPANS, OF WHICH THE OUTER SPANS ARE CANTILEVERED—
ANCHORED AT OPPOSITE ENDS TO THE OPPOSITE BANKS OF
A DECLIVITY TO BE CROSSED, SUCH AS A RIVER VALLEY,
OVER WHICH THE FREE ENDS OF THE SPANS EXTEND
TOWARD EACH OTHER. THE CENTRAL SPAN RESTS ON THE
CANTILEVERED OUTER SPANS.

Insert Image

A cantilever bridge may carry vertical loads like a
simply supported beam bridge. As the beams of
the main span bend under such loads, the span
undergoes horizontal compression on the top and
horizontal tension on the bottom. The main span
carries these forces to the outer spans, which carry
them by compression vertically to the outer spans’
foundations. Alternatively, the main span may
carry vertical loads like a single-span truss bridge
—that is, by tension forces in theInsert
lower chords
Image
(horizontal members) and compression in the
upper chords and either tension or compression
in the truss’s vertical and diagonal members. The
cantilever trusses then carry their loads by tension
in their upper chords and compression in their
lower ones. Each cantilever truss may be
supported by a tower, whose interior carries the
compression to its foundation while its exterior
carries the tension to the outer span’s far
foundations.
Cantilever bridges generally carry heavy loads over water, so
their construction begins with the sinking of caissons and
the erection of towers and anchorages. Caissons—large
boxes or cylinders made of wood, metal, or concrete—are
sunk into the bed of the waterway and filled with concrete to
form the foundations of the bridge. For steel cantilever
bridges, the steel frame is then built out from the towers
atop the caissons toward the centre and the abutments.
When a relatively short central span is required, it is usually
floated out and raised into place. The deck is added last. The
basic design used piles driven into the bed of a waterway and
old boats filled with stones sunk between them to make
cofferdam-like foundations. When the highest of the stone-
filled boats reached above the low-water level, layers of logs
were crisscrossed in such a way that, as they rose, they jutted
farther and farther out toward the adjacent piers. At the top
the Y-shaped cantilevering piers were joined by long tree
trunks. By crisscrossing the logs, the builders allowed water
to pass through the piers, offering less resistance to floods
than with a solid design.
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