11/14/2015

PreliminaryBridgeDeckDesign

BridgeDesign&Assessment

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DesignStandardsforPreliminaryDesign
DesignStandardsforPreliminaryDesignEurocodes

EN1990:BasisofStructuralDesign
EN199111:ActionsonStructuresGeneralActions
EN19912:ActionsonStructuresTrafficLoadsonBridges
EN19971:GeotechnicalDesignGeneralRules
EN19972:GeotechnicalDesignGroundInvestigationandTesting
EachdocumentisaccompaniedbyaNationalAnnex

BritishStandards

BS5400:Part1:GeneralStatement
BS5400:Part2:SpecificationforLoads
BS5930:CodeofPracticeforSiteInvestigations

DesignManualforRoadsandBridges

BA41:TheDesignandAppearanceofBridges
BA42:TheDesignofIntegralBridges
BD29:DesignCriteriaforFootbridges
BD37:LoadsforHighwayBridges
BD57andBA57:DesignforDurability
TD27:CrossSectionsandHeadrooms
TD36:SubwaysforPedestriansandPedalCyclists.LayoutandDimensions.

PreliminaryDesign

http://www.bridgedesign.org.uk/parts/prelim.html

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PreliminaryBridgeDeckDesign

Inselectingthecorrectbridgetypeitisnecessarytofindastructurethatwillperformitsrequired
functionandpresentanacceptableappearanceattheleastcost.
Decisionstakenatpreliminarydesignstagewillinfluencetheextenttowhichtheactualstructure
approximatestotheideal,butsowilldecisionstakenatdetaileddesignstage.Considerationofeach
oftheidealcharacteristicsinturnwillgivesomeindicationoftheimportanceofpreliminarybridge
design.
a. Safety.
Theidealstructuremustnotcollapseinuse.Itmustbecapableofcarryingtheloadingrequired
ofitwiththeappropriatefactorofsafety.Thisismoresignificantatdetaileddesignstageas
generallyanysortofpreliminarydesigncanbemadesafe.
b. Serviceability.
Theidealstructuremustnotsufferfromlocaldeterioration/failure,fromexcessivedeflectionor
vibration,anditmustnotinterferewithsightlinesonroadsaboveorbelowit.Detaileddesign
cannotcorrectfaultsinducedbybadpreliminarydesign.
c. Economy.
Thestructuremustmakeminimaldemandsonlabourandcapitalitmustcostaslittleas
possibletobuildandmaintain.Atpreliminarydesignstageitmeanschoosingtherighttypesof
materialforthemajorelementsofthestructure,andarrangingtheseintherightform.
d. Appearance.
Thestructuremustbepleasingtolookat.Decisionsaboutformandmaterialsaremadeat
preliminarydesignstagethesizesofindividualmembersarefinalisedatdetaileddesignstage.
Thepreliminarydesignusuallysettlestheappearanceofthebridge.
Constraints

Theconstructiondepthavailableshouldbeevaluated.Theeconomicimplicationsofraisingor
loweringanyapproachembankmentsshouldthenbeconsidered.Byloweringtheembankmentsthe
costoftheearthworksmaybereduced,buttheresultingreductionintheconstructiondepthmay
HomeAboutBridgeDesign.DesignNotes.Abutments.Bearings.Deck
causethedecktobemoreexpensive.
.Preliminary.Reinf.Conc..Prestressed.Composite.SteelBox
HeadroomrequirementshavetobemaintainedbelowthedecktheminimumstandardsforUK
.SteelTruss.CableStayed.Suspension.Drainage.Foundations
HighwaybridgesaregiveninTD27oftheDesignManualforRoadsandBridges.TheEurocode
.Joints.Parapets.Piers.WingWalls.Calculations.Spreadsheets
Standard(EN199117clause4.3.2(1)quotesclearancesfromroadwaysurfacingtotheundersideof
TutorialsWorkshopResources
thedecktoavoidimpactdamage.
Ifthebridgeistocrossaroadthatisonacurve,thenthewidthoftheopeningmayhavetobe
increasedtoprovideanadequatesitelineforvehiclesonthecurvedroad.
Itisimportanttodeterminetheconditionofthebridgesitebycarryingoutacomprehensivesite
investigation.EN19972:'Groundinvestigationandtesting'coverstherequirementsfortheSoil
Survey.Othertopicswhichneedtobeconsideredare:
i. Existingservices(Gas,Electricity,Water,etc)
ii. Riversandstreams(liabilitytoflood)
iii. Existingpropertyandrightsofway
iv. Accesstositeforconstructiontraffic
SelectionofBridgeType

Thefollowingtableisintendedtobearoughguidetotheusefulspanrangesofvarioustypesofdeck.

Span
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DeckType
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PreliminaryBridgeDeckDesign

Upto20m

Insitureinforcedconcrete.
Insituprestressedposttensionedconcrete.
PrestressedpretensionedinvertedTbeamswithinsitufill.

16mto30m

Insitureinforcedconcretevoidedslab.
Insituprestressedposttensionedconcretevoidedslab.
PrestressedpretensionedYandUbeamswithinsituslab.
Prestressedpretensionedboxbeamswithinsitutopping.
Prestressedposttensionedbeamswithinsituslab.
Steelbeamswithinsituslab.

30mto40m

PrestressedpretensionedSYbeamswithinsituslab.
Prestressedpretensionedboxbeamswithinsitutopping.
Prestressedposttensionedbeamswithinsituslab.
Steelbeamswithinsituslab.

30mto300m

BoxgirderbridgesAsthespanincreasestheconstructiontendstogo
from'allconcrete'to'steelbox/concretedeck'to'allsteel'.
Trussbridgesforspansupto50mtheyaregenerallylesseconomic
thanplategirders.

150mto1000m

Cablestayedbridges.

350mto?

Suspensionbridges.

PreliminaryDesignConsiderations
1. Aspantodepthratioof20willgiveastartingpointforestimatingconstructiondepths.
2. Continuityoversupports
i. Reducesnumberofexpansionjoints.
ii. Reducesmaximumbendingmomentsandhenceconstructiondepthorthematerialused.
iii. Increasessensitivitytodifferentialsettlement.
3. Factorymadeunits
i. Reducestheneedforsoffitshutteringorscaffoldingusefulwhenheadroomisrestricted
oraccessisdifficult.
ii. Reducessiteworkwhichisweatherdependent.
iii. Dependentondeliverydatesbyspecialistmanufactures.
iv. Specialstendtobeexpensive.
v. Specialpermissionneededtotransportunitsofmorethan29mlongonthehighway.
4. Lengthofstructure
i. Theshorteststructureisnotalwaysthecheapest.Byincreasingthelengthofthestructure
theembankment,retainingwallandabutmentcostsmaybereduced,butthedeckcosts
willincrease.
5. Substructure
i. Thestructureshouldbeconsideredasawhole,includingappraisalofpiers,abutments
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andfoundations.Alternativedesignsforpiledfoundationsshouldbeinvestigatedpiling
canincreasethecostofastructurebyupto20%.
CostingandFinalSelection

Thepreliminarydesignprocesswillproduceseveralapparentlyviableschemes.Theprocedurefrom
thispointisto:
i. Estimatethemajorquantities.
ii. Applyunitpriceratestheyneednotbeuptodatebutshouldreflectanydifferentialvariations.
iii. Obtainpricesfortheschemes.
Thefinalselectionwillbebasedoncostandaesthetics.Thismethodofcostingassumesthatthe
schemewiththeminimumvolumewillbethecheapest,andwillbetrueifthestructureisnot
particularlyunusual.

BridgeComponents|ChoiceofDeck

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DavidChildsB.Sc,C.Eng,MICE
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