Bridges
Innovation in Bridges
Components and Materials
By Er. Vivek Abhyankar & Dr. N. Subramanian
Engineering innovation in
infra development
The Infrastructure Industry is continuously
evolving; new roads, elevated corridors,
expressways, railways, dedicated
corridors, metros, mono-rails are being
constructed all the time. They also
require constant maintenance and up-
gradation. All of this involves huge capital
investment and a manpower. Authorities
such as NHAI, MSRDC, MCGM, KMDA,
DMRC, Indian Railway, PWD and other
state/central/private organizations are
continuously engaged in the planning,
monitoring and commissioning of the
various infrastructure development
projects as well as developing codes and
standards for state-of-the art construction.
Item-rated contracts have given way
to BOT (build-operate-transfer), DBOT
(design-build-operate-transfer), EPC
142 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018
(engineering-procurement-construction),
and Turnkey contracts. The responsibility
of the contractors has increased manifold,
and to maintain or even to sustain the profit
margin has become a challenge.
Modern infrastructure development
projects not only demand quality, safety,
timely completion, ease of construction,
functionality (efficiency/utility), and
aesthetics from professionals, but also
minimum cost. Such demands can only
be fulfilled by engineered innovations.
Often engineering innovation is confused
with doing something ‘non-standard’ or
‘non-traditional’ or ‘non-routine’, and ‘cost
optimization’ is also considered by a few
as an innovation!
Real engineering innovation could involve
a blend of a few traditional techniques
with some innovative solutions for meeting
the desired requirement / performance.
Engineered innovations for bridges, for
instance, involve suitable forms (shape/
geometry), materials, and construction
techniques/machinery to obtain the desired
results. The engineered innovation is ‘purpose
based’ or a ‘situation based’ treatment as no
single bridge can be the same.
This article is an attempt to explain
engineered innovation through some case
studies of bridges, which we hope will be
of benefit to bridge planners, highway
engineers and structural designers, as well
as R&D professionals.
Innovation in bridge
foundations
The most uncertain and challenging part
of a bridge design and construction is the
‘foundation’. During the design process,
various aspects such as capacity of strata,
its stability, seasonal variations, and
adjoining structures’ foundations, have to
be assessed (Heggade, 2017). But at the
 Bridges
Figure 1: Perales Bridge in Spain - Foundation exposed due to scour (up to 4m depth) on
left and additional forces acting on foundation due to scour (right)
Fig ure 2 and 3: Interlocked concrete blocks used for scour protection
time of tenders, this information may not
be available readily. At such a juncture,
the structural engineer has to depend on
his past experience and judgment and
by conducting a local enquiry. Bridge
foundations experience mainly three
challenging situations:
Deep foundation: When the load bearing
strata is softer or when the loading itself is
heavy (for long span bridges).
Foundation in hard strata: When the
foundation is placed in hard rocky strata
(with N value > 100), then the depth of the
foundation will be less; this requires proper
anchoring of foundation in the hard rock.
Foundation in deep waters: When the
foundation is placed in deep rivers or seas.
When the foundation of a bridge is in major
rivers (type ‘a’ and ‘c’ together), the strata
may be subjected to considerable scouring.
The mean scour depth may be estimated
as per IRC-78 clause 703.2. But the scour
depth estimated could often be very high
as the accuracy of the estimate depends
on the accuracy of the geotechnical data
and hydrological calculations of the flow.
In such cases, use of scour protection
blocks may be considered. Figure 1 shows
a typical bridge foundation damaged /
144 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018
exposed due to scour. Fig.2 shows a
foundation’s protection using ‘concrete
inter-locked blocks’. Fig.3 shows a closer
view of these scour protection blocks.
Interlocked concrete blocks can be used
in small streams and rivers which are not
perennial but have alluvial / weak soft
strata (www.conteches.com). By using
these blocks, the scour can be effectively
controlled, leading to saving in the size of
foundation and hence construction cost
and time. However, in bigger perennial
rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Mahanadi,
and Bramhaputra, the use of such blocks
is difficult, but Indian clients / contractors
should explore this as an effective option.
(Ref. Vivek – 19, 22)
Fig.4 Hammer head type pier (www.civildigital.com) Fig. 5 Cap and column pier
(www.civildigital.com)
Innovation in piers /
pylons (substructure)
Innovative design of the substructure of
bridges is also possible (i.e. pier ad pier-
caps). Selection of a type of pier depends
mainly on the loads from superstructure,
deck width, span length, pier heights,
seismic zone, water / wind loads, and any
underground utilities / roads.
Correct selection of pier type decides the
success of a bridge project. Usually, in
the case of river bridges, a wall type of
pier is found to be very robust and is the
most preferred. Wall piers offer minimal
resistance to water and ice flows. Bridges
in the olden days, constructed in stone
masonry wall piers, are still standing. For
wider bridges and also for the ‘integral-
bridges’ (where the super-structure and the
sub-structure are monolithic, without any
bearings) a ‘pile bent type pier’ configuration
is preferred. In the case of underlying road
junction or some utility, where a regular pier
may not be possible (due to heavy traffic
the road cannot be stopped), a portal type
pier is most appropriate.
Tee type Hammer head piers should be
considered for overpasses at high skews
with tight alignment constraints. This type
of pier provides an open appearance when
supporting structures with long spans (see
Fig. 4). It is more modern than the wall type
and is commonly used when a taller pier
is necessary. It consists of a rectangular
or circular stem capped with a cantilever-
type cap. It is cheaper to construct than
a wall type pier because less concrete is
used, and it is less intrusive to streams. It
must be noted that two column piers are
particularly vulnerable to collision damage
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Figure 6: Portal pier with circular columns Figure 7: Wall type pier

Figure 8: Innovative V-shaped steel pier (www. civildigital.com) Figure 9: Innovative Concrete pier

because if one of the columns is destroyed,
the remaining column will not be able to
support the bridge, which will collapse.
Hence, two column piers should be
protected by a concrete barrier in front and
a concrete grade beam installed between
the columns to provide additional collision
resistance and compensate for the lack of
structural redundancy.
Multicolumn/pile bent or cap and column
pier, as shown in Fig. 5, is commonly
used, especially for highway overpasses.
It consists of three or more round (1m
diameter) reinforced concrete columns

Fig.10 Innovative Shape of Pylon of cable stayed bridge Fig.11 Innovative Shape of Steel Piers at Interchanges

146 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018

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Figure 12 ‘V’ shaped piers in Woodrow Wilson Bridge over Potomac River, Maryland, Virginia
(a seamless, box-girder bascule drawbridge) to reduce the bridge spans

Figure 13: Bridges with navigational clearance with pylon protection

capped with a continuous pier cap (1 to
1.2m thick) forming a rigid frame. Note the
use of concrete grade beam.
Apart from the various regular options
mentioned above (Figs 4 to 7), some
innovative shapes of piers (in steel or
concrete), as shown in Fig. 8 and 9 have
been used. But these are mostly driven by
the aesthetic requirements of piers rather
than the utility or loadings. Other innovative
shapes of pylons for a cable stayed
bridge and at an interchange are shown
respectively in Fig. 10 and 11.
The ‘V’ shaped piers shown in Fig.12 are
useful to reduce the unsupported span
and hence ultimately useful to support
longer spans (C/C length). Often in wider
and deeper waterways the navigational
clearance demands column-free space;
also, the clearance below the bridge soffit
is decided by the height of the maximum
sized vessel used in the connected port.
Normally, the vertical clearance required
below road bridges is 5.5m, and in railway
bridges up to 8m. However, in river
bridges it could be more than 15m; this
leads to taller bridge piers. In such taller
river-bridge piers the vessel collision load
becomes inevitable, and to avoid collision,
a protection is provided all around the pier /
pylon using armor stones / concrete blocks
(tetrapod or acropods) as shown in Figs.
13 and 14 (see also Svensson, 2009).
As mentioned earlier, in river bridges, a wall
type pier is given preference over a column
or portal type pier due to the robustness. In
column type piers located in deep vigorous
rivers in higher seismic zones like western
Maharashtra (Konkan region), Jammu-
Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh, the issue of
ductile detailing of piers become important,
and the identification of the location of
plastic hinges plays a vital role. Apart from
ductility, the natural time period of vibrations
of these piers and the resulting response
reduction factor R varies significantly (see
also Goswami and Murty, 2005).
Apart from the various shapes covered
above, their aesthetics and structural
considerations (loading, geometry etc),
the green initiative deployed by Bangalore
metro is the Vertical Gardening on the
piers (Fig. 15). This was first carried out
in the Mexico City in 2012. The plants
grow around the metal frames, which are
buffered against the piers with fabric to
avoid damaging the highway structure.
Vertical gardens serve as air filters and
regulate heat, reducing temperature by
as much as eight degrees and can reduce
almost 10 decibels of noise pollution.
Hydroponics is a technique of growing
plants by using all required nutrients
through water, and without soil. It requires
minimum investment, maintenance, and
consumes minimum resources.

NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018 147

 Bridges
Figure 14: Bridge with Navigational Clearance with
Pylon Protection
Aesthetics and utility in
super structures
The superstructure for a bridge is chosen
mainly as per the loading and aesthetic
requirements as listed in Table 1.
It may be noted, that in India, bridges over
railway lines (ROB) are permitted only
Figure 16: Foldable bridge spans (right – bascule Woodrow Wilson bridge, USA)
148 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018
Figure 15: Bangalore Metro – Piers installed with ‘Vertical Garden’
with steel girders.
Often, if the navigational clearance is not
planned / provided, then the ‘foldable’
or ‘bascule’ bridge decks (Fig.16) are
planned. The foldable bridge can reduce
the initial investment in the structure but
cannot be used in busy arterial roads. Even
the mechanism of folding / rotating needs
routine maintenance. Some different types
of rotating bridge decks / superstructure
can be seen in Figs. 17 and 18.
Often, if the navigational clearance is not
planned / provided, then the ‘foldable’
or ‘bascule’ bridge decks (Fig.16) are
planned. The foldable bridge can reduce
the initial investment in the structure but
cannot be used in busy arterial roads. Even
the mechanism of folding / rotating needs
routine maintenance. Some different types
of rotating bridge decks / superstructure
can be seen in Figs. 17 and 18.
Toughened glass is used in the deck of
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon footbridges in
Sanguansixiang, Hunan, China, designed
by Israeli architect Haim Dotan. It is
suspended about 260m above the ground
(Fig. 20) and has a span of 430m. The bridge
that opened in 2016 (www.xinhuanet.com),
is made of a steel frame with more than
120 glass panels. Each of these panels is
3-layered, 50 mm thick slab of tempered
transparent glass. The glass deck is 15m
 Bridges

Figure 17: A foot-over bridge deck in closed and open position

Fig.18 Barton Swing Aqueduct, Manchester England (www.friargatebridge.blogspot.com)

Figure 19: The Gateshead Millennium Bridge (a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge on River Tyne, England)

150 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018

 Bridges
Fig.20 Zhangjiajie, foot-bridge with glass deck, China [www.highestbridges.com]
wide at the ends and narrows to
only 6m in the center. This depth to
span ratio of 625:1 is greater than
any other stiffened deck suspension
bridge in the world. The 2,200-ton
steel and glass deck was tested at
Hunan University in Changsha to
support the weight of 800 people at
a time, and withstand wind speeds of
200 km/hour. Fifty glass balls, each
weighing around 500 kg, have been
placed on the surface of the bridge
to resist vibrations. Two large water
reservoirs suspended beneath the
span further dampen any movement.
Figure 21: The EcoLink overpass in Singapore built to
Wildlife-Crossing
Structures
Since wild animals crossing roads could
disrupt traffic, wildlife-crossing structures
have been successfully introduced
throughout Europe and in various locations
in Asia, Australia, and North America.
These structures include both underpasses
(culverts, eco-passages, tunnels) and
overpasses (bridges),in a variety of sizes
and designs and are highly effective (Lister
et al. 2015). The surrounding of Wildlife
Overpasses (WOP) should be so designed
as to not lead a noise pollution as well as a
hostile environment (see Fig. 21).
In India there is a need for more proper
guidelines towards design of a WOP
landscape. While India may soon construct
its first wildlife overpass in a section of the
NH7 passing through Madhya Pradesh,
a similar wildlife overpass over the same
NH7 stretch in Gangaikondan, in Tamil
152 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018
protect animals from traffic
Nadu, where spotted deer are being run
over by speeding vehicles, is yet to get
approval.
Geometric design
(curvature)
Road geometrics are designed as per the
available land and surrounding geological
features. In tall bridges, the approaches
are also long due to the gentle gradient. In
such cases, the land required may not be
available (especially in busy cities), which
calls for innovative solutions like spring /
coil type ramp or even speed restrictions.
A roundabout, also called a traffic circle, is change and melting of polar ice caps and
a circular intersection or junction in which
road traffic flows almost continuously in
one direction and around a central island.
A "modern roundabout" is a type of looping
junction in which road traffic travels in
one direction around a central island and
priority is given to the circulating
flow. Signs usually direct traffic
entering the circle to slow down
and give way to traffic already on
it. The fundamental principle of
modern roundabouts is that entering
drivers give way to traffic within the
roundabout without the use of traffic
signals. Roundabouts have been
found to reduce carbon monoxide
emissions by 15 - 45%, nitrous
oxide emissions by 21- 44%, carbon
dioxide emissions by 23 - 37% and
hydrocarbon emissions by 0 - 42
percent. Fuel consumption was
reduced by an estimated 23 – 34
percent. (More information may be
found in NCHRP Report 672, 2010).
Fig 22 shows elevated roundabouts.
Sustainable and smart
concrete
To alleviate problems of scarcity of natural
materials and to reduce green-house gases,
alternate materials such as Manufactured
Sand (M-sand) and iron, steel and copper
slag aggregates have been suggested and
also included in national codes of practices
(IS 383:2016). The production of cement
leads to emission of 5-7% of greenhouse
gases such as CO2, throughout the world,
and which are responsible for climate
glaziers, which will in turn, accelerate
global warming and submerge large parts
of our continents and islands (8 tiny Pacific
islands belonging to Solomon Islands have
already disappeared due to the effect of
 Bridges

Figure 22: (a) Elevated junction of the West Cross Route and Westway at White City, London and (b) A pedestrian bridge in Shanghai,
China in the form of another raised roundabout

semicircular arches with rise equal to one-

half the clear span, and are in service even
today (Fig.23).

Innovations in Concretes
Several new types of concretes developed
include self-compacting concrete (SCC),
High performance concrete (HPC), Fibre
reinforced concrete (FRC), and Ultra
High-performance concrete (UHPC). This
is a high-strength, high stiffness, self-
consolidating, ductile material, formulated
by combining Portland cement, silica
fume, quartz flour, fine silica sand, high-
rise in sea levels, which average 3mm per in bridges, construction professionals are range water reducer, water, and steel or
year globally and up to 12mm per year in reluctant to use these traditional materials organic fibers]. Each of these materials
the western Pacific, in recent decades). in modern bridges. Great Roman bridges have their own advantages and can
Several attempts have been made to such as the Alcántara Bridge (also known be used judiciously by utilizing their
reduce the environmental effect of concrete, as Puente Trajan at Alcantara) and Pont advantages (FHWA-HRT-13-060, 2013 and
which is used in volumes, second only to du Gard, are stone arch bridges having Subramanian, 2018).
water. Attempts include use of industrial
by-products called supplementary
cementing materials (SCMs), like fly ash,
slag cement [formerly referred to as ground
granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)],
silica fume, rice husk ash, and natural
pozzolans (metakaolin and calcined
shale). These can be used individually with
Portland or blended cement or in different
combinations. Additions of SCMs not only
make concrete mixtures more economical,
but also reduce heat of hydration and
permeability, increase strength, and
influence other concrete properties. SCMs
are compared in Table 1.
Although codes permit use of abundant
Figure 23: Alcántara Bridge at Alcántara, Spain built between 104 and 106 AD by an
natural materials such as stones and bricks
order of the Roman Emperor Trajan (Source wikipedia.org)

154 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018

 Bridges
Figure 24: World’s First UHPC Cable Stayed Bridge-Jobal Grand Bridge, Korea
(www.cor-tuf.com)
To reduce the self-weight of the decks
of long-span cable-stayed bridges, a
60mm deep slab with prestressed ribs of
fibre-reinforced UHPC was developed
at the Korean Institute of Construction
Technology (KICT). The centre-to-centre
spacing of the ribs is 600mm. Using this
technology, a cable-stayed bridge with
three 90-m high pylons and a main span
of 200m was designed in 2011 to link the
town of Jobal with Dunbyung Island on
Korea’s south coast (Fig. 24). This resulted
in reduced cost of construction and
maintenance by 20% and extended the
service life of the main structural elements
up to 200 years. (Also see China bridge in
Fig. 20 above).
Smart materials are engineered to
respond to cracks, excessive stress,
or environmental effects such as
temperature, pressure, and
the presence of oxygen. A new
type of smart concrete called
self-healing concrete contains
dormant bacteria spores and
calcium lactate in self-contained
pods. When these pods come
into contact with water, they
create limestone, filling up the
cracks (see Fig. 25). Self-healing
concrete is estimated to save up Figure 25: Use of self-healing material to block the cracks in
to 50% of concrete’s lifetime cost concrete (various stages seen in photo – before and
156 NBM&CW SEPTEMBER 2018
by eliminating the need for repairs. Smart
concrete is still being tested in laboratories
to determine how long the bacteria
sustains itself, but researchers are hopeful
that it will be introduced in the construction
industry very soon.
Shape Memory alloys
Another smart material is the shape-
memory alloy (SMA), which has two unique
characteristics: a shape-memory effect
and super-elasticity. The shape-memory
effect is the ability of the alloys to revert
to their initial shape upon being heated,
until they enter their phase transformation
temperature. Super-elasticity is the property
of alloys that exhibits comparatively
large recoverable strain. The maximum
recoverable strain these materials can
Active tuning of structural natural frequency
hold without permanent damage is up to
using martensite SMA wires for vibration
after healing of cracks)
8% for NiTi alloys. Compared to this, the
maximum strain that can be sustained by
conventional steels is only 0.5% (Chang,
and Araki, 2016).
The three main types of SMA are copper-
zinc-aluminum, copper-aluminum-nickel
and nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloys. Although
iron-based and copper-based SMAs such
as Fe-Mn-Si, Cu-Zn-Al and Cu-Al-Ni are
commercially available and cheaper than
NiTi, SMAs using NiTi are preferable for
most applications due to their stability,
practicability, and superior thermo-
mechanic performance. NiTi alloys were first
developed in 1962-1963 by the US Naval
Ordnance Laboratory and commercialized
under the trade name Nitinol (an acronym
for Nickel Titanium Naval Ordnance
Laboratories). Their remarkable properties
were discovered accidentally: when a
sample which was bent out of shape many
times, and presented at a meeting, one
of the associate directors, Dr. David S.
Muzzey, applied heat from his pipe lighter
to the sample. To everyone's amazement,
the sample stretched back to its original
shape.
In civil structures, SMAs can perform
as passive, semi-active or active
components to reduce damage caused by
environmental impacts or earthquakes. The
passive structural control may utilize SMA’s
damping property to reduce the response
and consequent plastic deformation of
structures subjected to severe loadings.
SMAs can be effectively used for this
purpose via two mechanisms: ground
isolation system and energy dissipation
system (Song et al.,2006).
suppression is an example of semi-
active control of civil structures.
Structural self-rehabilitation using
stranded martensite SMA wires for
post-tensioning is an example of
active structural control. By monitoring
the electric resistance change of the
shape memory alloy wires, the strain
distribution inside the concrete can
be obtained. When cracks appear
due to explosions or earthquakes,
the SMA wire strands can be
 Bridges
heated electrically, thus contracting
them to reduce cracks. This self-
rehabilitation can handle macro-
sized cracks. The concrete structure
is intelligent since it can sense and
has the ability to self-rehabilitate
(Song et al., 2006). Companies like
Shape Change Technologies LLC
(www.shapechange.com) produce
products of SMAs.
Strutted deck, spine-
wing construction
Anther innovation in deck system
is the ‘strutted deck’ and ‘spine-
wing’ type of construction. This
system is a perfect example of use
of triangulation for a bridge deck,
yet making it lightweight and aesthetically
pleasant. Figure 26 shows a typical spin-
wing deck (on left) and a strutted box deck
(right) in Goa’s cable stayed bridge.
For wider bridge decks, struts are used
from inside, and in some projects, struts
are not allowed to be visible / exposed by
the client. In such cases, inner struts may
be used as shown in Fig.27 (ref. Vivek,
20).
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge that
the images used in this paper have been
extracted from several internet resources.
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Figure: 26 Spin-Wing and Strutted Box type bridge deck
Figure 27: Internally strutted box type bridge deck
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About the Authors
Vivek G. Abhyankar – C.Eng (Ind), DGM (Design),
L&T TIIC, has over 19 years of experience in
planning and design, detailing of various enabling
and permanent works in concrete and steel. He was
visiting faculty for Structural Engineering at VJTI,
SPCE, a certified structural engineer of MCGM, and
life member of various professional bodies. He has
written more than 25 technical papers and 3 chapters
in books and guided more than ten M.Tech, AMIE
projects.
Dr. N. Subramanian, a PhD from IIT Madras, has
worked in Germany as Alexander von Humboldt
Fellow and has served as National Vice-President
of ICI and ACCE (I). He has 40 years of experience,
including teaching, research, and consultancy and
has authored 25 books and over 240 technical
papers. He has won the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Indian Concrete Institute (ICI), the
Tamil Nadu Scientist award and the ACCE(I)-Nagadi best book award for
three of his books.