CNG K THUT GIAO THNG 4.

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Question 1: Please present some characteristics of balanced cantilever construction
method for PC Bridge construction.
Balanced cantilever construction method is the construction process of cantilever
segments from a pier following to the cantilever diagram until span structure is
completed. This method can be applied appropriately to the construction of continuous
span for PC bridges, frame bridges. For PC bridges, span length is from 70 - 240m.

Construction sequence
Stage 1: Bridge pier construction
- Installation of scaffolding and formwork
- Installation of principal, and tie reinforcements
- Concrete work for bridge pier
Stage 2: Construction of pier head (K0 block)
- Preparation of materials and equipment for construction
- Installation of false-work, load test of false-work, and installation of temporary bearing
by reinforced concrete, installation of formwork, pier bracket for pier head.
- Installation of reinforcement, and duct (Cable duct)
- Pouring concrete of pier head (K0 block)
- When concrete of pier head attains sufficient strength, we conduct to stretch tendons
and grout mortar into cable duct.
- Installation of temporary anchor bars (these bars are high strength bars or high strength
cables) to anchor pier head (K0 block) to the pier.
- Preparation of traveller for K1 block
Stage 3: Construction of the cantilever segments
- Installation of formwork, normal reinforcement, cable duct, threading prestressing
cables, concreting cantilever segments following to balanced cantilever method.
- After these segments gains sufficient strength, we conduct to stretch tendons and grout
mortar into cable duct.
- Movement of the traveller to construction of the next segments.
Stage 4: Construction of main box girder section on scaffolding

- Piling reinforced concrete piles for the construction of scaffolding

- Installation of scaffolding and formwork, reinforcement layout, cable duct (installation
the temporary pier if necessary).
- Pouring concrete.
Stage 5: Construction of the closing segments at the side span
- Adjusting the elevation of closing segment, and eccentricity of end girder following to
horizontal direction
- Installation of stiffness connecting bars and stretching the tendons for closing segment
- Installation of formwork, reinforcement layout for concrete work
- When concrete attains the sufficient strength, we adjust the stress in the tendons and
start to stretch the tendons at the bottom flange of box girder.
- Completing the closing segment and removing the formwork
Stage 6:
- Removal of scaffolding and temporary pier, rejection of restraint link at piers
Stage 7: Construction of the closing segment at the main span
- Adjusting the elevation of closing segment, and eccentricity of end girder following to
horizontal direction
- Installation of stiffness connecting bars and stretching the tendons for closing segment
- Installation of formwork, reinforcement layout for concrete work
- When concrete attains the sufficient strength, we adjust the stress in the tendons and
start to stretch the tendons at the bottom flange of box girder.
- completing the closing segment and removing the formwork
Stage 8:
- Construction of wearing surface, railings, wheel guard, others. . .
- Finishing the continuous span of box girder.

Question 2: Please present some characteristics of a moveable scaffolding system

(MSS) for PC Bridge construction.
Moveable scaffolding system is a technology developed from methods scaffolding
traditional fixed and used for reinforced concrete beams simple and continuous.

Moveable scaffolding technology (technology MSS) method of pouring concrete in

place on moveable scaffolding. The main steps of construction:
1. Installation of scaffolding formwork, reinforcement installation, cable tubes and
concrete structural span section on moveable scaffolding system.
2. The concrete reach requirement strength, cable passing and dragging connect a
new segment structure spans with segment before.
3. Pumping grout cable tubes
4. Remove formwork, scaffolding move to the next span.
The main parts of system:
- Main Girders: there are 2 kinds of main girders: shaped- steel and truss
systems.
- Suspension gallows: include structural steel and high strength bars. It is used
for every spans except for the first one and the one having expansion joints.
Suspension gallows, in general, helps to transfer construction dead load to
hardened concrete spans to save materials for main span and to give force
diagram during construction the same as that in service time.
- Pier supports:
- Platform
- Supporting brackets: this is to transfer forces from main girders to piers
foundations. This is installed at both sides of piers.
- Launching wagon: this is a main part of MSS system, which helps to support
the system. Launching wagon can be put on supporting piers or on cantilever
supporting beams.
- Transverse beam.
- Formwork.
- Front and rear noses: noses roles are to guide the MSS system. They are
connected to girders by high strength bolts at construction sites. Noses
dimension is the same as that of main girders. They are designed as a truss
structure in H- shape or triangle with diagonal bars.
The basic features of the technology:
- Can use the system equipment from this work to other works of the same size.
- Applied to structural diagrams span and different kinds of cross (a, T beams,
box,..)
- Apply to the type of beam span length from 18-80 meters, reasonable length
of 35-60 m.
- Bridge length from 500 to several km can be constructed by placing multiple
nose more MSS system.
- 1 construction cycle typically spans from 9-11 days
- Their ability to apply for the bridge is located on the curve with the smallest
radius Rmin = 250m.
- The slope of the bridge along biggest: iMAX = 5%
- The largest horizontal slope iMAX = +- 5%
- Maximum deflection of the MSS system: 1/400
Advantages and disadvantages:
- Advantages:

+ The number of beats is not limited.

+ Not affected by topography, geology bridge construction area.
+ Ensure under-clearance to traffic
+ Reduced construction costs and construction time.
- Disadvantages: The auxiliary works quite bulky: temporary support, Front and
rear noses
Field of application:
- Girder bridges have simple and continuous spans the height change.
- Long-span bridge structures, geological conditions, complex terrain
- Reasonable span length from 35- 60 m.
Question 3: Please present some characteristics of bridge foundation construction.
The foundations of a bridge are particularly critical because they must support the
entire weight of the bridge and the traffic loads that it will carry. There are 3 main types
of bridge foundation including:
Spread Footing, Piling (Bored pile, Driven pile..) and Drilled Shafts
But bored piles are commonly used in bridge foundation in view of its low noise,
low vibration, and flexibility of sizes to suit different loading conditions and subsoil
conditions. Such attributes are especially favoured in urban areas where strict restrictions
with regards to noise and vibration are imposed by relevant authorities which restriced
the use of other conventional piling system, e.g. driven pile
Hence, I will present more detail for Bored pile foundation construction
Bored Pile Construction Sequence
1. Preparation work
Preparation works are including:
+Shop drawing of bored piles is approved by the Consultant .
+Bored pile construction sequence, operation area of drilling machine team, equipment
movement chart conforms to construction schedule of each bored pile
+Preparation of manpower and equipments for construction work
+Preparation of materials (mixed concrete, rebar, bentonite, and other materials)
+Preparation of test instrument : slump, bentonite liquid, depth of boring hole,diameter of
bored pile.
2. Setting out bored pile

Center pointof every bored pile is set outexactly by total station base on coodinatioof the
designed location. After set up the center point, the offset point will make to keep enough
distance from boring pile.
3. Preliminary drilling
4. Installing of temporary casing
5. Boring
6. Preliminary cleaning of boring hole
7. Bentonite slurry control
Contractor will use and control the bentonite slurry for protection the collapse in t
he bore hole during the boring work.
8. Installation of rebar cage
9. Install the tremie pipe
10. Air lifting cleaning of bored hole:
11. Concreting work
12. Pull up of casing
After concreting it will cut the hanging rebar of rebar cage. Temporary will be pull
up by using adequate equipment.
13. Temporary backfilling above pile casting level
After concreting, the bored pile will be curing at least 4 hours for temporary
backill. After backfilling, it will cover the steel plate at the bored pile.
Question 4: Please present some characteristics of a temporary structural system
for bridge construction.
-

In bridge construction, temporary structural system is necessary and important.

Temporary structural system ca be made of steel or wood. However, to reduce the
cost of the construction, we try to limit the temporary system to a maximum.
- In fact, bridge construction in our country usually uses the steel multi-function
-

temporary system fabricated by the foreign countries. They are mainly:

Multi-function scaffolding: including bars and convenient accessories to assemble
into space cylinder and frame. In addition, the structural beams also can be used to

assemble the beam network to distribute loads on the temporary works, can be
used to install temporary bridge for crane to move.
The bar components can be assembled into spaced frame system in any diagram.
The bars used in multi-function scaffolding are corner steel (L), they can be
connected together by bolts or plates. The number of corner steel in a cross section
followed by the calculation.
To install the upper or lower bars, it can be used two kinds of corner steel:
L120x120x10 or L125x125x10.
To install the diagonal bars. It can be used two kinds of corner steel: the corner
steel under main force: L90x90x9, corner steel in connection system: L75x75x8
The steel gussets are 10-12 mm in thickness have the holds that are suitable with
the end of bars. There are three types of gussets: M12H, M2N, M26. The smaller
gussets are used to connect the corner steel in steel combination such as M20,
-

M28, M30
Army beams: is a kind of steel beam. It has some advantages such as: light weight,
easy to erection and launching therefore it is widely manufactured used in many
countries in the world. Army beams is used in construction as a truck temporary
bridge, scaffolding or pale temporary pier.
Military bridge has 2 main beams created by connecting the panels. Each panel is
3 meter long, the lower bar of each panel carries two horizontal scaffolding. There
are 5 rows of longitudinal scaffolding on the horizontal scaffoldings. Bridge width

is 3.28m with wood plates.

Multi-function steel float: usually used in bridge construction. The float can be
assembled into a float system to support span structures, transport material, and
carry out construction equipment instead of using normal argues.
The steel floats are connected by bolt system along the edge of floats to transfer
shear force and by connected plates to transfer moment. Diameter of bolts is
27mm, suitable with diameter of bolt holes are 30mm
The float can be laid horizontally or vertically with H= 1,8m and H=3.6m
respectively.
The number of floats connected in horizontal or vertical way to create the float
system are chosen follow by the calculation and must be not less than 3 floats to

ensure the over float in water surface.

Temporary bridge: used for transport vehicles, construction machines to travel and
work. Longitudinal slope of temporary bridge is smaller than 5 %, width of one
lane is smaller than 3.8

The carriage width of temporary bridge should be set up the tape roll on the cross
beams. Cross beam is made of wood and each 0.5 to 0.7 we lay out a cross beam.
The horizontal plates are fixed by bold with diameter of 12mm, each 1m
disposition 1 bolt.
Rutting plates thickness is 4 to 5 mm, length is 100mm, and distance between two
rutting plates is bigger than 0.8m.
The temporary used for worker movement, there must be two pedestrian ways
with the width of 0.8m and barrier.
With this kind of bridge, structural span is simple steel girder, foundation is pile
foundation or wood cage.
The structural span can be laid on pier cap that made of wood. It connects with the
pier cap by nails or bolts at the end of spans.
To ensure the stability of the whole girder, if necessary, must use the rigid
connection to against the horizontal movement of compressive bar.

Question 5: Present the activities for the steelwork in steel bridge construction
include planning, ordering, modeling, fabricating, assembling, coating and erecting.
1. Planning.
There are two basic approaches to design and construction:

Traditional approach the Designer makes the structural choices and the
Steelwork Contractor builds to the drawings

Early contractor involvement (ECI) The Designer and Steelwork Contractor

liaise at an early stage to optimize the construction process
This can offer benefits in:

Development of the scheme

Value Engineering

Buildability
2. Rapid installation during a road closure
Each site has a different environment and infrastructure and each will present different
constraints and opportunities for the designer to consider, before defining the structural
form. The site can have a considerable influence on the structural form and how it can be
erected. Particular factors include:

Location of the structure

Constraints of the site
Access
Phasing of the erection
Availability and size of erection plant

Requirements for rapid installation, e.g. during possession

Working over or adjacent to water

Before the structural form is selected, it is important to check each option against the
basic construction issues, and to compare practicable methods of delivering and erecting
the bridge.
3. Ordering
- Materials and components
The most economical way to procure plate and section is from the mills in sizes to suit
the project. Stockholders charge much more per ton and the use of stock sizes will require
additional butt welds and more waste. It is important therefore that the provision of the
information for material ordering is timed to suit the lead times required by the mills. The
information that the steelwork contractor needs to prepare orders is as follows:
Plates in a steelwork contractor stockyard
- Geometry

Plan layout
Levels at bearings
Final profile of top flange
Haunch definition (if any)
Dead load precamber total and breakdown
Camber tolerance (if any)
Web to flange weld sizes (for shrinkage and camber)
Orientation of splices and girder ends

The fabrication allowance is determined by the steelwork contractor and can be in either
direction, upward or downward depending on the details.
4. Modeling the structure
Once the steelwork requirements are fully defined, the information can be used by the
steelwork contractor to create a two-dimensional or three-dimensional model of the
steelwork using software
This software will create the list of components (girder webs and
flanges, stiffeners, bracing members, etc) required for the structure and produce the
programs for each of the machines to be used in the fabrication process.
The model can also be used as a virtual trial erection of the steelwork, allowing the
steelwork contractor to look at the steelwork details from any angle. This is particularly
useful when dealing with complicated details, for example, the ends of tied-arch bridges,

as it enables the steelwork contractor to check the accessibility of the detail as part of
design development prior to the commencement of fabrication the steelwork
5. Fabrication
The principal activities at the fabrication works are:

Pre-assembly butt welding

Cutting and profiling
Drilling and edge preparation
Assembly
Welding
Fitting of stiffeners
Shear connectors
Trial erection (rarely carried out)
Coating application
6. Pre- assembly butt welding

The steelwork contractor usually butt welds the flanges and web plates to full length in
the shop before assembly of the girder. This means that such shop joints can be in
different positions in the two flanges and do not have to line up with any shop joint in the
web. If possible, the full width of plate supplied (from which several components will be
cut) will be butt welded, as this will reduce the number of run-on/run-off plates and
minimise butt weld testing requirements.
7. Protective treatment
Coating application on a finished girder
Protective treatment is usually carried out after all the fabrication activities have been
completed but before any bolted components have been assembled. As well as the
specification of what is to be protected, information must be clearly given about which
surfaces are not to be protected at this stage.
8. Transportation
-To maximize the amount of work carried out within the fabrication works, thus
achieving the highest quality, the steel structure is fabricated in pieces as large as can
reasonably be transported to site. The designer should anticipate how the structure will be
split into separate components for delivery to site, particularly in considering member
sizes and splice positions. The limitations relating to the transportation of fabricated
items by road
-Transport of long girder: The limitations given are subject to change and local
restrictions may apply, therefore the above table should only be used as guidance.
-Bridge erection: Ensuring that this link is recognized will have an effect on the safety
and quality of the construction. Methods of erecting steel bridge structures vary

considerably from site to site and from project to project. The subject of erection aspects
is therefore a wide and varied subject. This section focuses on the aspects that should be
considered during the initial design and detailed design phases.
9. Installation of bearings
The first pieces of steelwork to be erected on site are the bridge bearings. The function of
a bearing is to transfer weight of the superstructure to the substructure.
Erection using cranes is considered the most cost effective erection method for the
majority of structures. However, note that only crawler cranes and some small rough
terrain mobile cranes are able to traverse the site with a load. The site areas adjacent to
the bridge will affect the position and size of crane that can be used and this will affect
capacity of lift and therefore choice of crane and the piece size. The area for preassembly
will also influence lift size.
Influence of erection durations: Erection durations are generally dictated by the clients
programme, the features of the site, and the principal contractors programme. Site
erection durations control the balance between pre-assembly in the fabrication yard or on
site adjacent to the proposed bridge, and the elements of the structure that can be erected
directly off the transport.
Question 6: Present the activities for the concrete work in concrete bridge
construction.
The proper technology for concrete work in bridge construction has a vital role in
deciding the structure quality, cost and construction time. Concrete work consists of some
main works: material preparation, mixture proportion design, concrete transportation,
concrete casting and compaction, maintenance and testing.
1. Material preparation
Cement
- A qualified cement type should be chosen for all items within a project. Cement
suppliers must be approved by supervisors.
- Cement must be well stored in storages at site. The storage must be at high elevation,
clean, dried. Do not overlap cement bags over 8 ones.
Nc
Water is used for mixing, curing... so it must be portable, there has no oil, salt, acid or
any chemical substances affecting to concrete quality.
Fine aggregate.
Fine aggregate in concrete is yellow sand harnessed from natural sources with some
requirements:
-

Clean, the amount of mud, clay, organic substances must be less than permitted
limit( by following TCVN 1770- 86)
Good gradation, which has sieve passing scale is as required

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 Coarse aggregate (CA)

CA is casually graded stone, river gravel. The ideal CA should be clean, cubical, angular,
100% crushed aggregate with a minimum of flat and elongated particles.
Chemical admixtures.
Admixtures are chosen depending on the project requirement. Some frequently used ones
are water reducers, retarders, shrinkage reducers and accelerating admixtures.
2. Tools and equipment in concrete works.
Batching plants and batching equipment
- Plants must be in balanced position. They are capable of mixing all materials into 1
homogenous mixture within designed mixing time.
- At present, there are two types of concrete batching machines including coercive
plants and free plants.
3. Concrete mixing
- Quantity of each batching must not exceed nominal capacity of the plant. Never use
concrete mixed again.
- Mix the mixture within designed time.
- The batching must be released completely before new batching starts.
- Remove mixtures not being casted after 1 hour since mixing or hardened mixtures.
4. Casting concrete and compaction.
- Do not concreting until having prepared all needed equipment to assure the
continuous concreting.
- Concrete must be transported immediately to construction sites right after being
mixed to avoid segregation and concrete hardening.
- Concrete can be casted by using conveyers or pumping machines.
- Concrete must be casted slightly into place, dropping height must not larger than 1 m.
- Concrete must be well compacted by vibration compactors. Compacting carefully and
continuously around reinforcement and at all corners of scaffolding. While
compaction, don not cause movement of reinforcement.
- Pay attention to weather condition while casting concrete, in hot weather, use cool
water for concrete mixing, choose proper construction methods, transportation or
curing methods to be sure that concrete temperature is less than 32 oC when casted.
When the weather is over 35o C, structure must be covered to avoid direct sunshine
and must satisfy supervisors requirement.
5. Finishing work
Finishing process should be completed on time. When the finishing machines have
passed, the hand- finishing process is carried in the range from 1.75 meters to 2.8
meters to finish the work. Hand finish is necessary. Over finished concrete makes
the aggregate to sink downwards and paste to float on the surface.
6. Curing
Water is always the first choice for the curing. Water for curing gives the best
efficiency but it is not easy to merge the whole structures into water. Ponding is an
excellent method, wherever a pond of water can be created by a ridge or dike of

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impervious earth or other material at the edge of the structure. Fog spraying or
sprinkling with nozzles or sprays provides satisfactory curing when immersion is
not feasible. Lawn sprinklers are effective where water runoff is of no concern.
7. Checking
Slump
- Testing method follows TCVN 3106- 1993
- Slump test is conducted with all batches under the supervision of supervisors.
Strength tests
- Strength tests follow TCVN 3118- 1993
- Strength tests are taken to decide the following cases:
+ Strength test to allow for early formwork removal.
+ Strength test is determined before pre-stressing work
- Contractors must propose testing methods to determine strength development
by age.

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