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Materials
Bridge Design
based on a publication by
Introduction
primary considerations:
function,
safety,
durability,
aesthetics and
costs
compromise: pure technical solution - most cost effective solution
least weight = least cost?
other considerations in:
purchasing,
fabricating,
shipping, and
erection and
effective use of material locally
depend largely on fabricators
complexity of details;
quality control requirements;
amount of welding, including grinding, type and amount of
inspection, etc.;
the amount of repetition and reuse of assembly jigs;
size and number of individual pieces to be fabricated;
other demands on shop space, particularly when large box girders
are involved;
the access for erection; and
number of girder field splices.
432_bridge_design_summary.doc 1/19/2006
other factors
premium (about 4%) on plates longer than 18 metres;
plates less than 9mm thick and more than 25 mm thick attract a
premium of from 4% to 8%;
extras to meet mandatory impacts plus Charpy testing (at the mill)
will cost approximately 2% for categories I & 2 and 5% for
Category 3 on a per heat
small orders also incur mill extras and small quantities of any one
plate thickness should be avoided.
Proportioning of Spans:
End spans of a continuous steel = 75% of the length of the main span;
permits balancing of dead and live load moments,
reduces the potential for uplift at the abutments, and
permits the most economical design when proportioning the girder.
Girder Spacing
225 mm concrete deck slab almost universal in Canada
web spacing in the range of 3 to 3.75 metres = full utilization of the
concrete slab and
minimize the number of webs required in the steel design
wider spacing is possible with a nominal increase in slab thickness
very wide web spacing, with large edge cantilevers is possible with
transverse stressing on the slab
Example
1.
2.
page 1 of 5
CIVL 432
3.
3 girders at 4.475 metre centres, tapering the end span web depths
(because of the short spans) from an abutment depth of 1140 mm to a
pier depth of 1 780 mm, and increasing the slab thickness to 280 mm =
the most economical
Economy further enhanced by planning to use the material trimmed in
tapering the webs as web stiffener material.
STIEMER
maximum length of mill material available for the thickness and depth
of web being considered
economical:
avoid grinding or
use only nominal grinding to touch up the profile of full penetration
butt welds in the web
use the submerged arc process.
maintain a constant thickness of web throughout the girder,
varying the spacing of intermediate transverse stiffeners according to
the shear diagram and possibly
eliminating transverse stiffeners in areas of low shear.
Web Stiffeners
trapezoidal box girders with webs sloped up to 1 in 4:
reduces the width of the bottom flange (tension zones)
enhances aesthetics of the bridge
when end spans are much shorter than centre spans, tapering can be
economical
Web Design
trend away from the use of a large number of transverse web stiffeners,
because of cost
in girders 1 500 to 2 000 mm deep, a web stiffener can be considered to
cost about $100
web material at the raw material price of say $800-$850/tonne
economic advantage in using an unstiffened 1 200 mm girder
avoid double sided web stiffeners
Web Splices
changes in web thickness = coincide with either
a field splice or
other advantages:
1. A proper load path is provided for any cross-frame loads, reducing
local bending stresses in the web and eliminating the potential for
fatigue distress in the web at the toe of the stiffener;
2. All stiffeners could be welded consistently - sometimes stiffeners which
should be fitted get welded by mistake, and repair to a fitted condition
is awkward;
3. Stiffeners may have a fitted condition when first installed, only to have
a gap open up during subsequent handling of the girder in the shop and
field, particularly if there are fitted plates only on one side of the web.
If the stiffeners had been welded in the first place this problem and the
repair (by means of heating the web) could be avoided.
432_bridge_design_summary.doc 1/19/2006
page 2 of 5
CIVL 432
bearing stiffeners:
milled or sawn square at the bottom
used to keep the flange true at the bearing and to
transfer forces from the webs through the bottom flange and into the
bearing.
fillet welds to the bottom flange
Flange Transitions
432_bridge_design_summary.doc 1/19/2006
STIEMER
Fatigue Details
flanges with welded shear studs and a web with welded transverse
stiffeners both fall in Category C
grinding is expensive and carried out improperly can be detrimental to
the fatigue life of the structure
when grinding flush there is a tendency to grind into the plate on both
sides of the weld, resulting in a local reduction below specified
thickness. W59 recognizes this fact and gives an allowance of 1 mm for
this under-grinding
radiograph each tension flange butt weld;
radiograph compression flange butt splices randomly (from 10% to
25%);
radiograph butt splices in webs in critical tensile areas only (e.g. 20%
of the web adjacent to a tension flange).
page 3 of 5
CIVL 432
Field splices
Bracing
432_bridge_design_summary.doc 1/19/2006
STIEMER
full camber information with the dead load and vertical curve effects
separated is needed to calculate the shape of the web plates, defined by
points every 1-2 metres around the perimeter of the plate
clearly identify the plates, stiffeners and splice plates which need
Charpy impact testing at the mill, which components, if any, are
fracture critical and which therefore may need special testing,
fabrication and repair requirements.
splices and connections for bridges are usually fully detailed on the
engineering drawings
provide a chart showing the theoretical bearing movement related to
installation temperature, translational capacity of the bearing should
make allowance for normal fabrication tolerances on girder length,
referred to in the previous section
Fabrication Procedures
steps followed in fabricating an open topped box-girder (no need to turn it
for welding):
plate coming into the shop is blast cleaned to get rid of mill- scale and
to prepare a clean surface for subsequent burning and welding
operations;
plates of the required thicknesses for flanges and webs are prepared,
fitted, and butt-welded together using the submerged-arc process. At
this stage top-flanges are normally bought in multiples of the final
width for economy in splicing, as noted earlier
web plates are cut to a profile with offsets calculated from the dead
load camber and vertical curve (if any) making allowance for the
change of shape caused by welding shrinkage
top flanges are fitted to the web plates in a jig, with the web laying flat
and tack welded. Using the submerged-arc process the web to flange
weld is made on one side, the assembly turned over in the jig, and then
the other side welded.
page 4 of 5
CIVL 432
first weld will pull the flange more than the second, therefore flange to
web angle must be preset
web stiffeners are fitted tight to the top flange and (usually) welded to
the web using automatic flux-cored welding
girder bottom flange is dropped in jig which supports it to the required
cambered profile. Then the two web/top-flange assemblies are fitted to
it and tack welded
welding of the webs to bottom flange is done next using submergedarc, welding on the inside fillet and usually flux-cored welding on the
outside fillet
bearing diaphragms are assembled complete with bearing stiffeners,
jacking stiffeners and flanges outside the girder and the whole unit is
milled along the bottom edge to give full bearing on the bottom flange.
Internal cross-frames may also be pre-assembled outside the boxes
diaphragms and internal cross-frames are then fitted inside each girder
and welded
check of the camber of the girder would be made next, with the girder
supported at the two ends. If the girder is outside the prescribed
tolerances it may be possible to correct it during stud-welding which
follows
some shrinkage of the top flange is expected from the input of heat
during the stud welding process
correct the camber, use heat-shrinking procedures
flanges, which are usually fabricated slightly long, are trimmed flush
with the end of the web plate
girders are then be placed end to end, to the same profile as in the
finished bridge, so that the field-splices can be drilled using the predrilled splice plates as templates.
if NC (Numerically Controlled) drilling the splice plates are used,
bushed templates for drilling flanges and webs of individual girder
segments without the matching girder are applied
Fabrication Tolerances
432_bridge_design_summary.doc 1/19/2006
STIEMER
Size Constraints
Launching of Bridges
page 5 of 5