SUBSTRUCTURES AND ITS CLASSIFICATION

SUBSTRUCTURES
The portion of the bridge structure below the level of the bearing and above the foundation is generally referred to as substructure. We can say that for a river bridge with well foundation the substructure will consist of the piers, the abutments and wing walls, the pier caps and the abutment caps. Its classification is as follows:Piers and abutments These are vertical structures supporting deck/bearing provided for transmitting the load down to the bed/ earth through foundation. Abutments, in addition retain earth behind. There size mainly depends on the type adopted. For example, a masonry structure will be massive since very little tension is permitted in the masonry These are not subjected only to vertical loads but also to horizontal forces caused by tractive or braking forces of the moving loads, water current on piers, wind and seismic forces. In case of abutment, earth pressure will be in addition. Piers
Bridge piers are the intermediate support systems of bridges and viaducts. They may be located in water or on dry land. When located in water, piers may be subjected to scour by current and collision by vessels. Bridge piers support the superstructure and must carry dead loads and live loads, and withstand braking forces and other induced forces peculiar to the location of the pier, such as wind, ice, earthquake, and stream flow. A major consideration in pier design is stability and the ability to support all loads without appreciable settlement. The shape, type, and location of piers are based on many factors; the major ones are horizontal and vertical clearance requirements, subsurface conditions, architectural and esthetic considerations, political and urban planning factors, traffic, and cost. The most common pier shapes are solid shafts, multiple columns and portal, two columns and portal, separate columns, T or hammerhead, and cantilever. There are many variations of these pier shapes, which are constructed using concrete, steel, or wood . A pier should have sufficient horizontal area at its top to receive the superstructure bearings. Architecturally, it should give the appearance of strength; it should not look weak and flimsy, although

calculations may have shown the design to be adequate. The top width of bearing mainly depends

on the size of the bearing plates on which the superstructure rests. It is usually kept at a minimum of 600mm more than the out-to-out dimension of the bearing plates, measured along the longitudinal axis of the superstructure. The length of the pier at top should not be less than 1.2m in excess of the out-to-out dimension of the bearing plate measured perpendicular to the axis of the superstructure. The bottom of the pier is usually larger than the top width so as to restrict the net stresses. Abutments An abutment is generally composed of a footing, a wall with a bridge seat supporting
the superstructure bearings, and a backwall to retain the earth. Abutments may have wingwalls to retain the earth of the approach fill to the bridge. Proper drainage behind abutment walls is essential to avoid increasing the lateral pressure forces. The abutments of a bridge are the substructure elements that support the ends of a bridge. Bridge abutments are generally constructed of concrete or masonry and are designed to be pleasing esthetically as well as architecturally and functionally sound. Major loads to which abutments are subjected are dead loads, live loads, braking forces, ice, wind, earthquake, stream flow, and earth pressure. The last is applied at the rear of the abutment wall.

Wing wall These are provided as extension of the abutments to retain the earth of approach bank which otherwise has a natural angle of repose. The abutment can be either buried or be with the front face left exposed. In the latter case, wing walls have to be provided on either side for retaining the earth slop of the approach bank. If the height of the bank retained is not much, it can be in masonry or mass concrete. Foundation Provided to transmit the load from the piers or abutments and wings or returns to and evenly distribute the load on to the strata. It should be taken to a depth which is safe from scour, and is adequate from considerations of bearing capacity, settlement stability and suitability of strata at the foundation level. Types of foundations- the foundation used in bridge structures may be broadlt classified as: (1) Shallow foundation (2) Deep foundation A shallow foundation is sometimes defined as one whose depth is smaller than its width. It is said to be the one prepared by open excavation and a deep foundation would refer to one which cannot be prepared by open exaction. Footings and raft foundation are examples of shallow foundation. It transfers the load to the ground by bearing at the bottom of the

foundation. In the case of deep foundation the load transfer is partly by point bearing at the bottom of foundation and partly by skin friction with the soil around the foundation along its embankment in the soil. Deep foundation is further classified as pile and caisson foundations. Piers and abutments caps The pier cap or abutment cap (also known as bed block or bridge seat) is the block resting over the top of the pier or the abutment. It provides the immediate bearing surface for the support of the superstructure at the pier or abutment location, and disperses the strip load from the bearing to the superstructure move evenly. The pier cap should cover the entire area of the top of the pier and should project 75mm beyond the pier dimensions. These offsets prevent rain water from dripping down the sides and end of the pier and also improve the appearance of the pier. The top of the pier cap expect at bearing should have suitable slope towards the outside.

MATERIALS FOR PIERS AND ABUTMENTS

Piers and abutments may be constructed with masonry, mass concrete or reinforced concrete. Masonry piers or abutments may use stone masonry (granite) in cement mortar, or composite construction with stone masonry facing and mass concrete hearting. Quarried laterite blocks also have been used for piers and abutments successfully. Stone masonry used for the pier construction should be of course rubble masonry, first sort, in cement mortar 1:4. In early days, good lime mortar had been used and with the quality of the lime and skill in the preparation of the lime mortar fading away, one has to go in for cement mortar only now. Concrete construction will be economical in situations where good stones suitable for masonry and skilled stone masons are not available locally. In the past mass concrete was adopted in some cases, using 1:3:6 mix by volume with 38 mm size aggregate. It was then permissible to add plums ie stones of 100 to 150 mm size, up to a volume of about 20% of the mass concrete in order to save cost. Such stones had to be placed by hand not closer than 300 mm centres. However, in recent practice, concrete of grade M20 with nominal surface reinforcement is being adopted. For reinforcement concrete piers, especially single column piers the concrete grade used may correspond to M25 to M35. Reinforced concrete used in the form of thin piers or frame type of structure are adopted mostly in the case of viaducts, fly-overs and road over bridges. For other river structures of medium height, mostly reinforced concrete in cellular form is used.
Typical values of permissible stress for mass concrete and masonry are given in Table below Sl No Material Maximum compressive stress Mpa mix by 2.7 Maximum Tensile stress in bending Mpa 0.28

Mass concrete 1:3:6 volume

2 3

Plain concrete M 20 Coursed rubble granite in

5 1.5

0.5 0.1

cement mortar 4 5 Sound brick in cement mortar Sound brick in lime mortar 1.0 0.6 0.10 0.12

A, Pier of Manchurian Way box girder

B, Circular pier with

C, Some type of reinforced cement concrete piers.