CHAPTER 5 General Design Considerations 5.1 General A good design for a bridge structure should satisfy the following requirements: (® Function; (ii) Aesthetics; and (iii) Economy. The function of a bridge is to provide a passage to the intended traffic over the particular obstruction with utmost safety and convenience. The bridge codes and specifications'~® prescribe minimum requirements to satisfy the functional requirements. Some of the factors to be considered in the design of the bridge structure and a few design aids are included in Sections 5.2 to 5.5. For more detailed description of the structural design considerations, reference may be made to text- books on structural design. The requirements of traffic to be considered in the design of highway bridges are listed in Section 5.6. The aesthetic requirements of a bridge structure, though very important, are difficult to codify. The author would plead for greater attention to be paid to aesthetics than is devoted at present to our bridge structures, A brief description of aesthetics of bridge design is included in Section 5.7. ‘The need for the consideration of economy in bridge structures cannot be overem- phasised. The criteria for economy vary from place to place and no rigid rules can be specified. The engincer in charge of the design of any particular bridge should use his experience and judgement to evolve an economical design for the particular bridge under consideration. 5.2 Reinforced concrete 5.2.1 CONCRETE Two grades of concrete are permitted, namely, ordinary concrete and controlled concrete. For ordinary concrete, designs of mixes and preliminary trials at site are not required. Instead, the mix proportions of cement, fine aggregates and coarse aggregates are specified, generally by volume, based on past experience. The mix proportions and the properties of ordinary concrete are as in Table 5.1. The proportion of fine aggregate to coarse aggregate may vary between 1: 1.5 to 1:3 by yolume to suit the maximum size and grading of the aggregates. The quantity of water used should be just sufficient to produce a dense concrete of adequate workability. In case of reinforced concrete work, the workability should be such that the concrete would surround and bond properly with all the reinforcement. The maximum water/cement ratio will be 0.64 for 1: 2: 4 concrete and 0.60 for 1: 1:3 concrete, A mix leaner than 1:2: 464 Essentials of Bridge Engineering shall not be used for reinforced concrete work. When high yield stress deformed bars are used, the permissible average bond stress may be taken as 40 per cent more than the value listed in Table 5.1 Table 5.1 Properties of Ordinary Concrete Proportions (by volume ee 72:4 1:12:31 T. 28 days 150 mm Cube Strength a. Preliminary testMPa 100 135 «2S = 273 320 b. Works test, MPa 75 100 + 160-200 240 2. Permissible Stress a. Compressive Stress i, Flexural MPa - S20 gs ee 80 ii, Direct MPa 2027042 SS 64 b. Shear Stress & Flexural bond stress, MPa - 035055 (070 ogo . Average bond stress, MPa = 075 08s 09s 3. Modular ratio e é 18 12 4. Quantity of Aggregates per (50 kg) bag of cement a. Fine. mP 0.140 0.105 0.070 0.083 0.035 b. Coarse 2 21004140 _0:106 0.070 It is desirable to use controlled concrete for bridge works. Here, the design of the mix is arrived at after preliminary test, taking necessary precautions to attain the required works cube strength. The procedure for concrete mix design is indicated briefly in Section 5.3. Controlled concrete mixes having 28 days works 150 mm cube strength f, of 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 MPa are normally available for use in bridge construction. The concrete strength is referred as characteristic strength, which means that value of strength of the concrete below which not more than 5 per cent of the test results are expected to fall. Thus a concrete of grade M-20 will have a characteristic strength of 20 MPa. The permissible stresses in controlled concrete are given in Table 5.2. For deformed bars, the permissible average bond stress may be adopted as 40 per cent more than the values with plain bars. 5.2.2 REINFORCING BARS The reinforcement shall consist of mild steel grade I or medium tensile steel (plain) bars conforming to IS: 432, or hot rolled deformed bars according to IS: 1139, or cold worked deformed bars as per IS: 1786. The bars should be clean and free from loose mill-scale and loose rust. Re-rolled bars are not to be used in bridge work. Plain mild steel bars conforming to IS: 432 have been used in earlier construction’. High yield strength deformed bars, hot rolled and cold twisted varieties according to IS: 1139 and IS: 1786 are currently in use®®. With these bars, the yield strength and hence the permissible stress in steel are higher than the corresponding values for plain mild steel bars. They also give better crack control than plain bars and result in economies due to shorter lap lengths required. Permissible stresses in reinforcement are given inGeneral Design Considerations 65 Table $2 Permissible Stresses in Controlled Concrete Property For fe < 20 MPa For f. > 20 MPa 1. Compressive stress @ in direct ‘compression 0.25 f. 025 fe but Jess than 8.5 MPa Gi in Hexure 0334, 033 fe but Jess than 11.5 MPa 2. Shear stress and 0.033, 0.02 f, + 0.26 MPa tensile stress * but fess-than 0.85 MPa 3. Tensile stress in 0.0264 fe 0.016 fe + 0.21 MPa flexure for members but less than cast with 0.68 MPa construction joints 4. Average bond stress 0.04 f. 0.02 fe + 0.4 MPa (for plain bars) Dut less than 1.1 MPa Table 5.3, Where a group of bars is used, the stress as above may be applied to the centre of gravity of the group, subject to the limitation that the stress in the extreme fibre of any bar should not exceed the permissible stress by more than 10 per cent. The modulus of elasticity of steel may be assumed as 2 x 10° MPa. ‘The maximum size of a plain bar to be used in a bridge superstructure is about 40 mm; but preferably the size should be limited to 36 mm, Beyond this size, bending of bars will be difficult. In slabs, the size of main bars should be limited to 25 mm diameter. The minimum size of a longitudinal bar will be 12 mm, while the minimum size of a distributor or stirrup will be 6 mm, but preferably 10 mm. The bar size is to be decided from the point of view of flexural as well as bond strength. When high yield strength deformed bars are used, the maximum diameter of the bar is limited to 32 mm or d/10, whichever is less, where d is the depth of slab or thickness of the web of a beam. The horizontal distance between two parallel reinforcing bars should be not less than the diameter of the bar (larger bar if unequal bars are used) or 6 mm more than the maximum size of the coarse aggregate used in the concrete. When immersion vibrators are used, sufficient space should be left between groups of bars to enable the vibrator 10 be inserted. The minimum vertical distance between two horizontal main reinforcing bars should be 12 mm or the maximum size of the coarse aggregate or the maximum diameter of the bar, whichever is greater. The pitch of bars of main tensile reinforcement in slabs should not exceed 300 mm or twice the effective depth whichever is smaller. A nomogram developed by the author!® giving the properties of round bars is shown in Fig. 5.1. The nomogram gives the relationship among the area of the reinforcement required, the diameter of the bar, the number of bars required for beams or the spacing of bars required for slabs. This figure will be very handy while making actual detailing of reinforcement, facilitating convenient consideration of alternative arrangements of bar size and spacing. It can’also be used at a construction site for determining the equivalent available bars to be substituted in place of those shown on the drawings but not in stock.66 Essentials of Bridge Engineering Table 5.3 Permissible Stresses in Steel Reinforcement Permissble stress in MPa SL Type of stress in steet No. reinforcement Mild steel Medium =——_‘Hiigh bond according tensile deformed tos: 432 steel steel according according to IS: 432 to IS: 1139 and IS: 1786 1. Tension other than in spiral reinforcement ina column 125 140 190 2 Tension in spiral reinforcement in a column 95 125 150 3. Tension in shear reinforcement 125 140 150 4, Compression in column bars us 140 160 5. Compression in rein- forement in a beam or The calculated compressive stress in slab when the resis- the surrounding concrete multiplied tance of concrete is by the modular ratio. taken into account The dash line on the figure illustrates the use of the monogram for determining the size and number of bars when the required area is known. For example, if the required area of reinforcement per m width in the deck slab for a culvert is 24 cm*, we could select the diameter of the bar to be 25 mm and the spacing of bars needed would be 20 cm. Table E.1 to E.3 in the Appendix give the perimeter and area of groups of round bars in tabular form. The diameter of longitudinal reinforcing bars in columns shall not be less than 12 mm. 5.2.3 COVER TO REINFORCEMENT In order to safeguard the reinforcement against corrosion, it is necessary to ensure adequate cover of concrete. The cover is measured as the thickness from the outer surface of the concrete to the nearest surface of the reinforcement, sometimes referred to as ‘clear cover’. The following minimum cover requirements are usually specified, d denoting the diameter of a round bar or diameter of a circle giving equivalent area: At the end of a bar 25 mm or 2d Longitudinal bars in column or beam 40 mm or d Stirrups, binders, slab rods 25 mm or d Additional cover over the above will be required as shown below: For concrete in direct contact with earth 25 mm For reinforced concrete totally immersed in sea water 40 mm For members subject to sea spray 50 mmGeneral Design Considerations 67 BAR SPACING FOR SLABS, €m 5 ‘ Pe Be 8-10 18 20-30 $0 fr ep ili a 905 1b poe ale 10 a 466 cet Ne. OF BARS FOR BEAMS oc 2c » S = ann s 2 20 26 36 66 $2 60 6s CROSS SECTIONAL AREA, em? Fig. 5.1 Properties of reinforcing bars ‘The above additional thickness of cover may be reduced by hali, if controlled concrete of M-25 or stronger grade is used. 5.2.4 ELASTIC DESIGN CONSTANTS Currently, only elastic design is used in bridge design. This is because the effects of dynamic loads on the performance characteristics of structures proportioned according to ultimate strength design methods are not yet fully understood. In the design of one-way slab or singly reinforced beam, we have to compute the design gonstants m, n, j and R for any given set of values of og, and o,;, Here o.5 and 4 are the permissible stresses in concrete and steel, m is the modular ratio, n is the ratio of the depth from extreme compression fibre to the neutral axis to the effective depth, j is the lever arm factor, and R is the coefficient of resistance. The modular ratio is taken as 280/f,, where f, is the works cube strength in MPa. Figure 5.2 gives a chart developed by the author"? to enable rapid determination of these constants. The scales on the extreme right give the modular ratio and the permissible concrete stress for any given grade of concrete according to IS: 456. Starting at the o, scale and proceeding to left as indicated by the dash lines, we could obtain n and j values. By proceeding to right from o, scale as indicated, the value of R can be obtained easily. The dash lines illustrate the procedure for concrete of M-20 grade and 0; of 190 MPa. 5.2.5 EFFECTIVE FLANGE WIDTH OF T-BEAMS AND L-BEAMS For the purpose of computing the moment of inertia or for computing the flexural stresses, the effective flange width is taken as the least of the following: (1) For T-beam (a) one-fourth of effective span of the beam, (b) the distance between the centres of the ribs of the adjacent beams, (©) the breadth of the rib plus twelve times the thickness of the slabs. In order to avoid stress concentration, the junction of the web with the slab is splayed with the provision of a fillet. The obtuse angle at the junction should be at least 110°.68 Essentials of Bridge Engineering 100-395 2.0 0.45: \ 40 120 $6 a 2% 2. - Node ise \. =z 160. a é ‘Ne = g 20 : ej 43 2.048 2 e “ge 1s cs : & 2 ote i u $ z @ oso ‘ Fas ok oe me 5 ZF oe NS a 180 Z 8 93 Jz gz 2 “sje 10-Z—m ‘a z EB gaendGs = 94 1-E-ma0 6 a n ts Lae 20042 = w 2 YE 8 ie z of 5 osa% 2, M60 3 3 el 16 noiy 3 3 z & 2 & S = @ 260 m 2 « START Fig. 52 Material constants in design of reinforced concrete one-way slab or beam 5.2.6 CURTAILMENT OF BARS When bars are curtailed in the tension zone, certain precautions are necessary. It has been found that if the bars were cut exactly at the theoretical point of cutoff without any offset, premature shear cracks appear and lead to loss of strength of as much as thirty-three per cent!!, Hence, at least one-third of the total bars should be continued to the support. Where bars are curtailed, they should be extended at least 12 diameters beyond the theoretical cutoff point and should preferably be bent up and anchored in the compression zone. 5.2.7 DETAILING OF REINFORCEMENT Detailing of reinforcement should be Performed taking due note of the construction Sequence and construction joints. The aim in detailing is to provide bars where needed with minimum redundant steel and without Testricting the fabrication of the formwork. ‘The arrangement should be simple, limiting the variety of sizes and using straight bars to the extent possible. The detailing should consider the bar bending and fixing tolerances, Splices of reinforcements should be carefully staggered. When using large diameter bars in T-beam ribs, care should be taken to ensure adequate clearance between rods andGeneral Design Considerations 69 below the reinforcement. The ends of main reinforcement bars are either hooked or bent at right angles to the length of the bar to provide adequate anchorage. Standard hook and bend details for use with mild steel plain bars and with deformed bars are shown in Fig. 5.3. The hook allowances, i.e., the lengths to be added to the straight length in bar bending schedule, are 9d and 11 d, respectively, for plain bars and deformed bars, where d is the diameter of the bar. The corresponding bend allowances are 5 d and 5.5 d. The computed values for the hook and bend allowances are rounded to the nearest 10 mm over but should be not less than 100 mm. (b) Deformed bars Fig. 5.3 Standard hooks and bends 5.3 Conerete mix design 5.3.1 PRINCIPLES OF MIX DESIGN Different grades of concrete are used in bridge construction. Mass concrete is used for substructure and foundations. Unreinforced concrete of nominal mix 1 : 1 1/2 : 3 by volume is used for wearing coat. Controlled concretes of grades M-20 to M-40 are used for reinforced and prestressed concrete superstructure. The design of a concrete mix is essentially to determine the proportions in which the materials proposed for use are to be combined in order to yield a plastic mix which can be satisfactorily compacted in a mould or formwork and which when hardened after curing will produce concrete of the desired strength. Many of the desired properties of hardened concrete such as tensile strength, bond strength, durability and impermeability are related to the compressive strength. Hence it is usual to specify concrete by the 28-day70 Essentials of Bridge Engineering characteristic compressive strength determined by testing a few cube specimens of 150 mm. size. The 28-day cube compressive Strength of concrete depends on many factors, such as, water/cement ratio, quality of cement, type of aggregates, workability of the mix, ag- gregate/cement ratio, batching, mixing, placing, compaction and curing. The water/cement ratio is the main controlling factor for concrete strength. If concrete is fully ‘compacted, the compressive strength for a given set of materials at a given age is inversely proportional to the ratio of the weight of water in the concrete to the weight of cement. Empirical curves telating the 28-day compressive strength of concrete to water/cement ratio for different qualities of cement are available!? as shown typically in Fig. 5.4. 60 MPa ? ny So 3S 26- DAY CONCRETE CUBE SIRENGTH hy 0.5 0-6 0.7 0.8 0-9 WATER/ CEMENT RATIO Fig. 54 ‘Typical relationship between water/cement ratio and concrete strength The grading of aggregates influences the workability of concrete. The three gradingsGeneral Design Considerations 1 eferred as zones A, B and C as suggested by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory, J.K. are given in Table 5.4. The available aggregates may be combined suitably to conform © one of the suggested gradings. ble 5.4 Suggested Coarse Aggregate Gradings Maximum size Per cent passing sieve sizes (mm) of Aggregate Zone (am) 40 20 10 475 A 100 100 21-32 0 20 B 100 100 31-40 ° c 100 100 40-52 o A 100 34-40 16-18 ° 40 B 100-4045 18-20 ° G. 0 100 45-53 20-25 _— The design of a concrete mix involves the following steps: . The given data should include the characteristic concrete strength required in the ficld at 28 days (f,,.), the maximum size of the aggregate, grading of available aggregates, the degree of workability required and the degree of control expected to be exercised. 2. The combination of the available aggregates is determined by trying various combi- nations or by a graphical procedure, to correspond to one of the three grading zones indicated in Table 5.4, the zone B being preferable. 3. The concrete mix should be so designed as to attain in the preliminary tests at 28 days a target strength determined as f,, + 1.65 s, where s is the standard deviation. The coefficient 1.65 corresponds to an acceptance level of 5 percent low values. The standard deviation may be assumed as given in IS: 10262 if the same is not determined for the site. Typical values of standard deviation for different grades of concrete and different degrees of control are indicated in Table 5.5. The target strength should not be less than 1.33 times the characteristic strength required. }. The water/cement ratio corresponding to the target strength is obtained from Fig. 5.4. . The water and sand contents per cubic metre of concrete are estimated in the first instance. For a particular water/cement ratio of 0.50, slump of 25 mm and a fineness modulus of 2.60 for sand, the values of water and sand contents for different maximum sizes of aggregate are given in Table 5.6. For each 0.05 increase or decrease in water/cement ratio, the sand content is increased or decreased by 1 per cent. For each 0.1 increase or decrease in Fineness Modulus of sand, the sand content is increased ‘or decreased by 0.5 percent. The water content is increased or decreased by 4 per cent of every 25 mm increase or decrease in slump. 6. The cement content is determined from the water content and water/cement ratio. The cement content should not be less than 250 kg/m for plain concrete or 300 kg/m for reinforced concrete for bridge components. 7. The sand content and the coarse aggregate content per m of concrete may be calcu- lated separately from Equations (5.1) and (5.2) ws 1s Ve o.on [w+ § +3 3 +(S.1) andEssentials of Bridge Engineering Table 5.5 ‘Typical Values of Standard Deviation ‘Standard Deviation, MPa Grade of concrete Very Good. Good Fair Control Control Control M-10 20 23 33 MAS 25 38 45 M20 36 46 56 M25 43 53 63 M30 50 60 70 M35 33 63 13 M-40 56 66 16 MAS 60 70 80 M50 64 14 84 ‘Table $.6 Water and Sand Content Maximum Water content Proportion of —_Entrapped sie of percubic metre _sand in total air aggregate of concrete with _aggregate by saturated surface absolute volume dry aggregates mm kg per cent per cent 80 172.0 23.0 03 40 175.0 335 10 23 1715 38.0 15 20 178.0 40.0 20 Cc 1 A V=0.001 |W+ 5h) =P) s: where V = absolute volume of the wet mix gross volume (1.0 m3) minus volume of entrapped air (from Table 5.6) W = weight of water (= litre) per m? of concrete C = weight of cement per m? of concrete A = weight of total aggregate per m? of concrete P = proportion (in decimal fraction) of sand in total aggregate determined on absolute volume basis. Se Spy Sq = specific gravities of cement, sand and aggregate, respectively. 8. With the above data, the mix proportions can be worked out. The actual mix pro- portions to be adopted in the field will be worked out by allowing for the moisture available in the aggregates. Concrete mix design arrived at as above can only be taken as a guide and not as a final design, because of the many assumptions made in the use of empirical data and the variability of material properties. Hence the design at any major construction site should be checked by field trials before adoption on a large scale.74 Essentials of Bridge Engineering The mix proportions are: Water Cement Sand Coarse Aggregate Total Aggregate W8kg 371 kg 707 kg 1106 kg 1813 kg 0481 191-298 4,89 Aggregate — cement ratio = 4.89 : 1 ‘The designed mix is 0.48 : 1: 1.91: 2.98 (by weight). ‘The actual quantities required in the field per bag of cement are then computed, allowing for free water in the aggretates. ‘Cement = 50 kg Fine aggregate = 50 x 1.91 (1 + 0.02) = 97.4 kg Coarse aggregate = 50 x 2.98 (1 — 0,004) = 148.4 kg Water = 50 x 0.48 — 50 x 1.91 x 0,02 + 50 x 2.98 x 0.004 = 22.7 kg or 22.7 litre. 5.4 Prestressed concrete 5.4.1 GENERAL ‘The application of the concept of prestressing to structural concrete members has opened up a wide spectrum of bridge types and has enlarged the span range possible with concrete. Prestressing may be defined as the application of a predetermined force to a structural member in such a manner that the combined internal stresses in the member resulting from this force and any possible condition of external loading will be counteracted to a desired degree. The prestress is usually imparted to concrete by straining internal reinforcement relative to the concrete, thereby causing compressive suesses in concrete due to tension in the tensioned steel. The aim of the application of prestress is to avoid cracking of concrete due to flexural or principal tensile stresses under service loads. ‘Though the concept of prestressing originated with Jackson in 1886 and Doehring in 1888, the widespread use as in modern practice is mainly due to the pioneering efforts of E. Freyssinet since about 1926. A few basic requirements of prestressed concrete design are indicated in this section and application of prestressed concrete to bridges is discussed in Chapter 8. For a discussion of the basic theory of prestressed concrete and for hardware details of proprietary systems, reference may be made to standard text books. There are three types of members in stressed concrete according to IS: 1343): (a) Type 1—Full prestress; (b) Type 2—Limited prestress; and (c) Type 3—Partial pre- stress. For type 1 members, tensile stress is not permitted in the section under any loading condition during construction or in service. Full prestressing is adopted in structures subjected to dynamic loads and structures exposed to corrosive atmosphere. Limited pre- stressing permits low values of tensile stresses below the cracking stress such that the entire section is effective. This may be adopted for structures which occassionally carry the maximum load. Under partial prestress, the crack width and strain are limited, and stresses under working load are computed using a cracked section neglecting concrete in tension. As a conservative measure, the present design practice in this country permits only full prestress for design of highway bridges.General Design Considerations 1S 5.4.2 SPECIAL FEATURES The special features of prestressed concrete as compared to normal reinforced con- crete are listed below: (a) The internal forces for a reinforced concrete member are functions of the applied load only, whereas such forces in a prestressed concrete member are affected to a large extent by the tension in the prestressing tendon. For an unloaded reinforced Concrete member, the total tension (T) and the total compression (C) at a section are individually equal to zero. With increase in load and hence moment, the values » of C and T increase. The lever arm is constant within elastic range and increases marginally towards the ultimate stage due to nonlinearity of the concrete stress block. On the other hand, the net compression C in a prestressed concrete member is nearly constant and is guided by the initial prestressing force. The lever arm varies with variation in the moment due to change in load. z (b) The elimination of cracking enhances the durability and service life of the structure, (©) The dead load is reduced due to the use of materials of higher strength and due to the full section being effective. For smaller Spans and under certain circumstances, itis possible to arrange the profile of the prestressing tendons in such a manner that a part of the dead load is counteracted. (©) The quantity of reinforcement necessary for a bridge structure is reduced very con- siderably due to the use of high tensile steel. However, the ratio of unit cost of high tensile steel to that of mild steel is so adversely high at the present time that the overall economy resulting from the use of prestressed concrete is often difficult to predict except for long span bridges. (©) The technique of construction Subjects the materials to the severest condition ob- tainable in service during the construction period. Hence the materials, particularly the reinforcement, are automatically proof-tested during construction, ( The shear capacity of concrete is increased due to prestress, enabling the use of thinner webs. The resulting saving in dead weight is particularly significant in long span bridges. (®) The elimination of cracking under service loads also leads to better resistance to fatigue. (h) The structure can be precast as a number of segments of sizes convenient for the available handling facilities. These segments can be combined by prestress to make up the full structure. The precast elements can be made under factory conditions to a high degree of precision and a more efficient turnover of formwork and allied equipment. (@) Itis essential to take into account the procedure of construction even in the design of the bridge, G) The slender dimensions possible with prestressed concrete enhance the appearance Of the finished structure and hence make it specially suitable for urban highway structures, 5.4.3 CONCRETE The concrete used in prestressed concrete bridge work should be controlled concrete designated by indicating the specified characteristic compressive strength (, (fy) of 150 mm cubes at 28 days expressed in MPa. The characteristic compressive strength of concrete16 Essentials of Bridge Engineering is defined as the strength of concrete, below which not more than 5 per cent of the test results are expected to fall. The minimum specified characteristic compressive strength is 35 MPa (grade M-35) for pretensioned work and 40 MPa (grade M-40) for post-tensioned work. The concrete mix shall be designed in accordance with IS: 10262 to have a target mean strength defined as f., + 1.65 s, where s is the standard deviation. The target mean strength of the concrete mixes of grade M-35, M-40, M-45 and M-50 shall not be less than 47 MPa, 52 MPa, 58 MPa and 63 MPa, respectively. ‘The minimum cement content should be 400 kg/m? for severe exposure and 360 kg/m? for normal exposure. Also the quantity of cement in the concrete mix shall not be more than 540 kg/m. The minimum cement content is specified to ensure adequate strength and the maximum value is specified to reduce shrinkage effects. The maximum wa- ter/cement ratio is to be restricted to 0.45 for severe exposure and to 0.50 for normal exposure. The modulus of elasticity of concrete (E,) may be computed from Equation (5.3). E, = 5700./f., Mpa - (5.3) When the value of the modulus of elasticity at any particular age of concrete is desired, the same may be computed by substituting the concrete strength at that age in the above equation. 5.4.4 PRESTRESSING STEEL ‘The high tensile steel (HTS) used for prestressing may be any one of the following: (a) Plain hand drawn wire conforming to IS: 1785; (b) Cold drawn indented wire as per 1S: 6003; (c) High tensile steel bar to IS: 2090; and (d) Uncoated stress relieved strand conforming to IS: 6006. Hard drawn wires used for bridges are generally of 5,7 or 8 mm diameter having an ultimate strength of 1600 to 1400 MPa. The wires may be indented to enhance the bond characteristics. Alloy steel bars used for prestressing are hot rolled bars with sizes 9.5 mm to 32 mm with an ultimate tensile strength of about 1000 MPa. Strands, manufactured from hard drawn wires of small size, are available generally with a strand diameter of 10 mm and 13 mm. = Typical stress-strain diagrams for high tensile steel (HTS) and mild steel (MS) are shown in Fig. 5.5. In case of HTS and deformed bars, the proof stress is taken to be equal to the stress corresponding to a permanent strain of 0.2 per cent. The proof stress of HTS bars is about 0.8 f,, whereas that of wire or strand is about 0.85 f, , where f, is the ultimate tensile strength. The modulus of elasticity of steel for purposes of design may be taken nominally as: 2.1 x10° MPa for wires, 2.0 x 10° MPa for bars and 1.95 x10* MPa for strands. ‘The strain possible in a MS tendon, if it were to be used for prestressing, would be in the order of 0.0006 to 0.0009. Such a level of strain would be lost within a short time due to creep, shrinkage and relaxation of steel, leaving no significant prestress. With HTS, the strain in steel at the time of transfer could be in the range of 0.004 to 0.005, permitting a substantial residual prestress after losses. Hence it is necessary to use HTS as the material for prestressing tendons.General Design Considerations 7 1600 1200 ° a = a 800 w DEFORMED BAR A UNTENSIONED 400 STEEL PLAIN MS BAR 0 5 10 15 20 25 PERCENTAGE ELONGATION Fig. 5.5 Typical stress-strain diagrams for steel 5.4.5 PERMISSIBLE STRESSES IN CONCRETE (a) Temporary stresses Stage prestressing is permissible; but it should be ensured that concrete should have attained a minimum strength of 20 MPa before any prestress is applied. The compressive stress produced due to loading during construction such as transport, handling, launching and erection should not exceed 0.5 f; or 20 MPa, where f.; i8 the concrete strength at that time, subject to a maximum value of f.,. At full transfer, the Cube strength of concrete shall not be less than 0.8 f,,. Temporary compressive stress in the extreme fibre of concrete shall not exceed 0.45 f,; or 20 MPa. The temporary tensile stresses in the extreme fibres of concrete shall not exceed 0.1 of the permissible temporary compressive stress of the concrete, (b) Stress during service ‘The compressive stress in concrete under service loads should not exceed one-third Of the characteristic strength. No tensile stress shall be permitted in the concrete during service. If precast segmental elements are joined by prestressing, the stresses in the ex. treme fibres of concrete during service should always be compressive and the minimum compressive stress in an extreme fibre should not be less than five per cent of the maximum Permanent compressive stress that may be developed in the same section.78 Essentials of Bridge Engineering (c) Bearing stress behind anchorages ‘The maximum allowable bearing stress, immediately behind the anchorage of a pre- stressing tendon in an adequately reinforced end block may be computed from Equa- tion (5.4). fi, = OBS; /Ap/Ay limited to 0.8f,; (5.4) where f, = the permissible compressive contact stress in concrete ‘A; = the bearing area of the anchorage converted in shape to a square of equivalent area Az = the maximum area of the square that can be inscribed within the member with- out overlapping the corresponding area of adjacent anchorages, and concentric with the bearing area A). The above value of f, is permissible only if there is a projection of concrete of atleast 50 mm or one fourth the side of the square relating to the bearing area A,. When an- chorages are embedded in concrete, the bearing stress may be investigated after accounting for the surface friction between the anchorage and the concrete. If adequate hoop rein- forcement is provided at the anchorage, the value of f,, calculated from Eqn. (5.4) may be increased suitably. The pressure operating on the anchorage shall be taken before allow- ing for losses due to creep and shrinkage of concrete, but after allowing for losses due to elastic shortening, relaxation of steel and seating of anchorage. 5.4.6 LOSSES IN PRESTRESS A part of the applied prestress is lost after a brief period due to elastic shortening, creep and shrinkage of concrete, relaxation of steel, friction, and seating of anchorages. The method of computation of these losses is indicated below: (a) Elastic Shortening Ina pretensioned beam, the concrete at the level of the tendon profile will undergo shortening due to the prestressing force and would result in reduction of the tensile strain in the tendons. The loss of prestress would be the product of modular ratio and the stress in concrete at the level of the tendons. In the case of a post-tensioned beam, the elastic shortening would occur prior to anchorage and thus would not affect the prestress if all the prestress is-applied in one operation. Usually, there will be a number of tendons to be stressed one by one, and so any tendon being stressed would cause elastic shortening loss to the tendons stressed and anchored earlier. It is tedious to compute the exact shortening of the fibres at the steel level for each of the tendons. For design purposes, an approximate procedure is adopted. The resultant loss of prestress in tendons tensioned one by one is calculated as the product of the modular ratio and the mean stress in concrete adjacent to the tendons averaged along the length. For example, in the case of a simply supported beam, the mean of the stresses at the end section’ and at midspan may be multiplied by the modular ratio to arrive at the loss due to elastic shortening. (b) Creep of concrete ‘The strain due to creep of concrete is defined as the time dependent deformation of concrete due to a sustained stress. The creep deformation is a complex phenomenon de-General Design Considerations 79 Pending on many factors, such as: (i) stress level; (ii) the duration of stress; (iii) maturity of concrete; and (iv) environmental conditions. For purposes of design, LR.C. code s ifies the values of creep strain as in Table 5.7 for concrete with ordinary portland cement. The stress for the calculation of the loss due to creep shall be taken as the stress in concrete at the centroid of the prestressing steel. Table 5.7 Creep Strain in Concrete Maturity of concrete Creep strain at the time of per 10 MPa stressing as a percentage of fox _ 40 0.90094 50 0.00083 60 0.00072 70 0.00061 B 0.00056 80 0.00051 90 0.00044 100 0.00040 110 0.00036 Se ee i ae (¢) Shrinkage of concrete Concrete undergoes gradual diminution in volume during the early age due to drying and chemical reactions in cement. This change is referred as shrinkage. ‘The extent of shrinkage depends on the water-cement ratio, weather conditions and size of the member. The bridge code specifies that the loss of prestress in steel, due to residual shrinkage of concrete, may be estimated from the values of strain due to residual shrinkage given in Table 5.8 for concrete with ordinary portland cement, The loss of prestress in post- tensioned members is smaller than for pretensioned members in view of the longer time interval between casting of concrete and transfer of prestress in the former. Table 5.8 Shrinkage Strain ‘Age of conereie Strain due to at the time of residual stressing in days shrinkage zs 0.00043 7 0.00035 10 0.00030 14 o.00025 a 0.00020 28 0.00019 90 O.00015 ee (a) Relaxation of Steet When a prestressing tendon is stretched and maintained at constant length, the stress in the tendon decreases with time due to relaxation. The relaxation depends on the level Of prestress. The bridge code specifies that the relaxation losses may be assumed as 0,80 Essentials of Bridge Engineering 35 MPa, 70 MPa and 90 MPa corresponding to initial prestress of 0.5 fy» 0.6 fy» 0.7 Sp and 0.8 f,, respectively, where f, is the ultimate tensile strength of the steel. (e) Seating of Anchorages Depending on the system of prestressing, losses in prestress occur due to slip of wires and draw-in of male cones at the anchorages. When using bars and threaded nuts (as in Dywidag system), slipping at anchorages can be totally eliminated. The anchorage take-up is a property of the system and is independent of the length of the tendon. For systems using wires and wedges, the anchorage take-up is about 2 to 3 mm. The loss is then computed as the product of E, and the strain obtained as slip divided by the total length of the tendon, (f) Frictional Losses Losses in prestress occur along the span due to (@ curvature effect due to friction between the tendon and its supports; and (ii) wobble effect along the length. The steel stress in prestressing tendon g,,, at any distance 2 from the jacking end can be computed from Equation (5.5). =o,, - eth) 2265) where Oyo = the steel stress at the jacking end 3 0... = the steel stress at a point distant x from the the jacking end. er the base of Naperian logarithm = the coefficient of friction @ = the angle change in the direction of the tendon k = the wobble coefficient per metre length of steel + = the distance between the points of operation of o,, and g,, in metres. ‘The values of the coefficients j. and k may be assumed as in Table 5.9 for calculating the friction losses. ‘Table 5.9 Values of Coefficients k and pt. Se ee ee ‘Type of “Type of ‘Values for Design High Tensile Sheath or iors Steel Duct k Wire Cable Bright metal 0.0091 025 Galvanised 0.0046 0.20 Lead Coated 0.0046 0.18 Unlined Duct in concrete 0.0046 0.45 Strand Bright metal 0.0046 0.25 (uncoated stress Galvanised 0.0030 0.20 relieved) Lead Coated 0.0030 0.8 Unlined Duct in concrete 0.0046 0.50 Se ee ee ee er 5.4.7 COVER AND SPACING OF PRESTRESSING STEEL ‘The clear cover measured from the outside of sheathing should be atleast 50 mm for moderate conditions, and 60 mm for severe conditions of exposure. When grouping of cables is not involved, the minimum clear distance between individual cables shouldGeneral Design Considerations 81 be maintained as 50 mm or 10 mm in excess of the largest size of aggregate used or the diameter of the duct, whichever is greater. Grouping of cables should be avoided in case of aggressive environment and to the extent possible in moderate exposure conditions. If unavoidable, cables may be grouped vertically upto two cables only, maintaining a minimum spacing of 50 mm between groups. Individual cables or ducts of grouped cables shall be draped or deflected in the end portions of members, ensuring a minimum clear spacing of 50 mm between cables in the end one metre of the members. 5.5 Notation for detailing concrete bridges ie At the present time, the detailing practice varies from place to place, and no stan- dard notation is available. The aim should be to evolve a notation which would convey the ideas of details and dimensions with a minimum of writing on the drawings. A concise notation, suggested by the author'+ and followed in the illustrations included in this text, is described below: (@) All linear dimensions should be shown in mm. The unit need not be written with every dimension; it will be understood. For example, a slab thickness of 25 em will be noted as ‘250’. (b) No comma is necessary to indicate thousands in number; bat a space will be left in its place. Thus, a span of 25 m will be shown on the drawing as ‘25 000’. (©) The size of reinforcement will be indicated in terms of its nominal diameter in mm and ¢. For instance, a round bar of 25 mm diameter will be denoted by 25 ¢. A square bar of 25 mm size will be shown as 250. (d) Ifa group of bars is to be referred to, the number of bars will be shown ahead of the size with a hyphen. Thus, a group of 12 bars of 28 mm diameter in the tensile zone of a T-beam will be designated as ‘12-28 ¢’. (©) The spacing of bars, as in a slab, can be shown by a number next to the bar size. For example, ‘16 ¢ 150’ would indicate slab bars of 16 mm diameter placed with a centre-to-centre spacing of 150 mm. (O) When it is desired to name the bars, so as to facilitate preparation of bar bending schedule, the designation may be placed ahead of the bar size with a hyphen, For instance, ‘A-16 ¢ 240’ refers to “A-bars’, which are of 16 mm diameter and are spaced at 240 mm centres. (g) In case of stirrups, the number of legs may be included ahead of the size, of the bar. Thus, a four-legged stirrup of 12 mm diameter will be indicated as “4-12 ¢’ on the cross section. However, on the longitudinal section of a beam, the stirrup spacing may be included by adding the spacing dimensions such as ‘4-12 4 200" indicating a spacing of 200 mm for the above stirrups. (h) Prestressing cables may be shown by the number of wires in the cable and size of individual wires, ¢.g., ‘12-54’ would denote a 12-wire cable of 5 mm diameter wires. If a group of cables is to be referred to, an integer denoting the number of cables may be placed ahead of the cable size enclosed in parenthesis, as 2(12-5 ¢) for two cables.82 Essentials of Bridge Engineering 5.6 Steel Construction 5.6.1 MATERIALS Steel used in bridge construction is usually structural steel conforming to IS: 226 (standard quality) or IS: 2062 (fusion welding quality) or IS: 961 (high tensile variety)'>-”, Cast steel is used in bearings only. Cast iron is not currently used in bridge construction. Connections in steel members can be by welding, riveting or bolting. The welding electrodes should comply with the requirements of IS: 814 for welding of mild steel and of 442 for welding of high tensile steel’*!°. The rivets and rivet bars should conform to IS: 1148 and IS: 1149 respectively, for mild steel and high tensile steel members””?!_ Mild steel bolts and nuts should have a minimum tensile strength of 440 MPa and a minimum elongation of 14 per cent on a gauge length of 5.65 /area. High tensile steel bolts are to be manufactured from high tensile steel having a minimum tensile strength of 580 MPa. 5.6.2 PERMISSIBLE STRESSES (a) Basic permissible stresses The basic permissible stresses under dead load, live load with impact and centrifugal forces should be limited to those given in Table 5.10 for mild steel’. When longitudinal forces and wind load are considered, the basic permissible stresses may be increased by 16 per cent. When seismic and erection conditions are also considered, the stresses may be exceeded by 25 per cent. Further increases are permissible when secondary stresses are considered and for loads of short duration like lifting for maintenance. In no case should be permissible stress exceed the yield stress of the material. (6) Parts in axial compression ‘The average working stress for a member in axial compression is to be limited to the value given by Equation(5.6). Typical values for mild steel for different values of L/r are listed in Table 5.11. eee se Se ee (8.6) ac L LF 14 (018+0.0008% ) Sec E |mP,./4E radians) where P,, = allowable working stress on effective cross-section for compression member P = constant depending on yield stress f, for steel, equal to 16.5 for mild steel with yield stress of 236 MPa load factor taken as 1.82 Young’s modulus = 2.11 x10 MPa least radius of gyration of the compression number L = effective length of the compression member, as in Section 5.6.3 (h). (c) Allowable working stresses in bending For all sectional shapes, the bending tensile and compressive stress should not exceed those given in Table 5.10. Further, the bending compressive stress should be limited to the permissible stresses P,, obtained from Table 5.13, wherein the critical stress for the compression element C, is computed as below: (@) Where the flanges have equal moments of inertia about y-y axis. C,=A mGeneral Design Considerations 8 Table 5.10 Basic Permissible Stress in Structural Steel IS: 266 or IS: 2062 with Yield Stress of 236 MPa. SLNo. Description Permissible Stress MPa 1, Parts in axial tensi (@) On effective sectional arca mM (&) On net section of bolts and studs above 38 mm dia 141 28 to 38 mm dia 126 22 to 28 mm dia ‘ no Jess than 22 mm dia 94 2. Parts in axial compression According to Eq. 6.6) 3. Parts in bending, extreme fibre stress, tension or compression (@) For plates, flats, tubes, rounds 157 (b) For rolled sections and plate girders with depth of web to thickness (less than 85 150 Gi) greater than 85 141 4. Parts in shear = (a) For distribution according to elastic theory in flexure 102, () Average shear stress as in plat girder, rolled beams 85 (©) On power driven shop rivets and turned ~ and fitted bolts : 102 (@) On power driven field rivets 94 (©) On hand driven rivets 87 (© On black bolts 0 5, Waris lewiag (a) On flat surfaces 189 (b) On power driven shop rivets and turned and fitted bolts 236 (© on power driven field rivets 20 (@) On hand driven rivets. 189 (©) On black bolts 158 6. Pins (@) In shear 102 (In bearing 22 (©) In bending 212 os =2{[1+0.0s (&-t/r4-B) |} Sis 63) where C, = critical stress in MPa I,,, = moment of inertia of the whole section along the x-x and y-y axes, respectively p= 2677300 ~ CfryP L = effective length of compression flangeGeneral Design Considerations 85 ‘Table S13 Allowable Working Stress Pp- for Different Values of Critical Stress C, for Steel Conforming to IS: 226 ee Bac Cs Poe MPa MPa MPa MPa 30 15 450 19 70 35 500 124 100 46 600 133 150, 64 700 139 200 16 800 144 230 86 900 149 300 96 1000 153 350 105 1250 158 400 112 2150 158 uy, = distance from neutral axis of girder to extreme fibre in tension. (d) Combined stresses ‘Members subjected to both axial and bending stresses should be so proportioned that the quantity (£ + 2) does not exceed unity where f, = calculated axial stress appropriate allowable axial stress calculated bending stress F,, = appropriate allowable bending stress. Under combined bending, bearing and shear stresses, the equivalent stress f, com- puted from Equation (5.10) should be limited to 220 MPa for mild stecl. f= VR+ H+ hip +3. ...(5.10) where f, = bending stress Jp = bearing stress f, = shearing stress 5.6.3 GENERAL DETAILS (a) Effective span: The effective span for main girders will be distance between centres of bearings, and for cross girders the distance between the centres of main girders. (b) Effective depth: The effective depth of plate or truss girder is taken as the distance between the centres of gravity of the upper and lower flanges or chords. (©) Minimum depth: The minimum depth is not to be less than the following: For trusses: 0.1 x effective span. For R.S. joists and plate girders: 0.04 x eflective span. (@ Spacing of main girders: The centre to centre spacing of main girders should not be less than 1/20 of the span. For open web girders, this spacing should be at least one-third of the depth. (©) Minimum sections: The minimum thickness of plates used in bridge construction is 8 mm for main members and 6 mm for floor plates and parapets. If one of the sides is not accessible for painting, the minimum thickness should be increased by 2 mm, The minimum size of angle to be used is ISA 7550. End angles connecting cross girders to main86 Essentials of Bridge Engineering girders should be not less than three-quarters of the thickness of web of cross girders. (® Deflections: The total deflection due to live load and impact should be limited to 1/800 of span for rolled steel beams, plate girders and lattice girders. For cantilever arms, the above deflection should be limited to 1/400 of span. In the calculations for deflections, gross moment of inertia and gross areas will be used. (g) Camber: Beams and plate girder spans up to 35 m need not be cambered. In open web spans, the lengths of members are adjusted such that when the girders are loaded with full dead load and 75 per cent of the live load without impact producing maximum bending moment, they will take up the true geometrical shape assumed in their design. (h) Effective length of struts: For the purpose of calculating the value of L/r ratio, the effective length shall be taken as below: (i) Effectively held in position and restrained in direction at both... 0.7 L ends (i) Effectively held in position at both ends and restrained in... 0.85 L direction at one end (iii) Effectively held in position at both ends but not restrained in... 1.0 L direction (iv) _ Effectively held in position and restrained in direction at one... 1.5L end, and at the other end partially restrained in direction but not held in position (¥) Effectively held in position and restrained in direction at one... 2.0 L end, but not held in position or restrained in direction at the other end where L = the length of strut from centre to centre of intersection with supporting mem- bers or the cantilever length in the case of (v). (i) Effective sectional area: The effective sectional area of a member or flange in tension is the gross sectional area with deduction for rivet and bolt holes. The area to be deducted is the sum of the sectional areas of the maximum number of holes in any cross-section at right angles to the direction of stress in the member. The diameter of the hole for this calculation is taken as the actual diameter of the hole for shop rivets and turned and fitted bolts and 3 mm over the diameter of the bolt or rivet for countersunk bolis or rivets. Gj) Plates in compression: The unsupported width of a plate measured between ad- jacent lines of rivets, bolts or welds connecting the plate to other parts of the sections shall preferably not exceed 45 t, where t is the thickness of single plate or the aggregate thickness of two or mote plates provided these plates are adequately tacked together. The unsupported projection of any plate measured from its edge to the line of rivets, bolts or weld connecting the plate to the other parts should not exceed 16 t. (®) Pitch of rivets and bolts: The minimum distance between centres of rivets or bolts will be 2.5 times the diameter of the rivet or bolt hole. The maximum distance between the centres of any two adjacent rivets or bolts connecting together elements in contact of compression or tension members shall not exceed the smaller of 32 t or 300 mm, where tis the thickness of the thinner outside element. The maximum pitch in the direction of stress shall not exceed 16 t or 200 mm in tension members, and 12 t or 200 mm in compression members. The pitch of rivets or bolts in a line adjacent to and parallel to anGeneral Design Considerations 87 edge of an outside plate should not exceed 100 mm plus 4 t or 200 mm, whichever is the smaller value. (1) Edge distance: The minimum distance from the centre of any rivet or bolt to the edge should be 1.5 times the diameter. (m) Curtailment of flange plates: Each flange plate should be extended beyond its theoretical cut-off point. The extension should be adequate to accommodate rivets, bolts or welds to develop the loads in the plate for the computed moment at the theoretical cut-off point. (n) Web thickness: The minimum thickness of web plate is 10 mm. The ratio of the clear depth between the flange angles to the web thickness should not exceed 200 for mild steel and 180 for high tensile steel for vertically stiffened webs. (0) Web stiffeners: Stiffeners should be provided at the points of support and concen- trated loads, on both sides of the web plate. The outstanding legs of each pair of stiffeners should be proportioned to transmit 75 per cent of the entire reaction without exceeding the permissible bearing stress. 5.7 Traffic aspects of highway bridges (a) Bridge siting From the point of view of traffic, the bridge structure should fit in with the general road alignment. This might entail skew bridges. The present-tendency is to adopt small skew angles for small bridges and to consider square crossings with suitable approaches for long bridges. (b) Minimum widths of roadway ‘The minimum clear widths of roadway to be adopted for various types of traffic are as below: > (®) Vehicular traffic: Single lane bridge 4.25 m Two-lane bridge 7.5 m : Multi-lane bridge 3.5 m for every additional lane over two lanes. (ii) Additional width for cycle traffic: Without overtaking 2.0 m With overtaking = 3.0m. As a guide for computing the required roadway, the following capacities may be adopted: (i) Vehicles: 1000 vehicles per hour per lane width of 3.75 m (ii) Cycles : 3600 cycles per day for two-lane (2 m) (c) Central verge In case of bridges with four or more number of lanes, it would be desirable to have a central verge. For economic reasons, the width of the central verge may be kept low, but should not be less than 1.2 m.88 Essentials of Bridge Engineering (a) Kerbs It is desirable to provide a kerb of 600 x 225 mm on either side of the roadway on the bridge. The roadside edge of the kerb will have a slope of 1 in 8 for 200 mm height and a curved edge with a radius of 25 mm at the top. (¢) Sidewalk Since the majority of road users in our country are pedestrians and since pedestrians form the major single category of victims in accidents, the author would advocate the provision of sidewalk on either side of the bridge on all bridges, in the interest of traffic safety. The width may be a minimum of 1.5 m on bridges in rural areas and may be increased suitably in urban areas. The capacity of the sidewalk may be taken as 108 persons per minute. The width should be increased in steps of 0.6 m for every additional capacity of 54 persons per minute. (f) Parapets and hand rails Parapets are provided for culverts with a minimum height of 450 mm above road surface. Railings should be for a height of 1.1 m less one half of the horizontal width of the top rail. The clear distance from the lower rail to the top of the kerb should not be more than 150 mm and the space between the bottom rail and the top rail should be filled by means of closely spaced horizontal or inclined members. (g) Bridge width Bridges are often constructed with a narrower width than the road on either side from consideration of reducing the initial cost. Studies in USA have shown that the accident rate when the bridge’ width is 0.3 m less than the approach width rises to about eight times that for bridge width of 0.6 m over that of the approaches. Except in the case of very long bridges, it is desirable to provide the full width of roadway over the bridge also. (h) Overpasses and underpasses Incase of a traffic intersection involving two levels, a detailed study should be made to determine which road should be taken over or under the structure. Principal considerations are: economics, a layout to fit the topography, the major traffic movements, the type-and character of highways, and aesthetics. ‘An overpass gives drivers less feeling of restriction and confinement and has less problems of drainage. On the other hand, an underpass may be more advantageous where the major road can be built close to the existing ground. For an underpass clearances as specified in Section 3.4 should be provided. (i) Sunken and elevated roads Sunken and elevated roads will be required when it is desired to increase the traffic capacity along existing roads in built up urban areas. Great care will have to be bestowed in their location and planning to avoid destruction of amenity or diminution of values of historic monuments on the surface. ‘Sunken roads in tunnels can be planned so as not to interfere with surface roads or developments. But their initial and maintenance costs are high. Elevated roads on viaducts are easier to construct and maintain. Their design is similar to that of any normal bridge.General Design Considerations 89 (j) Pedestrian bridges Pedestrian bridges over roads offer opportunities for imaginative architectural design. ‘They should permit a vertical clearance of 5 m for the roadway below. The minimum width ofa footway should be'2.5 m with a minimum vertical clearance of 2.25 m. Where possible, ramped approaches may be provided in preference to steps. The gradient should preferably be about 1 in 30. (k) Sight distance Sight distance is measured between points 1.2 m above the carriageway along the centre lines of both the nearside and offside lanes of the carriageway. The sight distance should not be less than the stopping distance, which varies with the design speeds, e.g, it is 60, 80, 110 and 150 m for design speeds of 50, 65, 80 and 100 km/hr, respectively. Care should be taken to ensure that the sight distance is not reduced below the stopping distance as mentioned above by shrubs in verges, piers, abutments, etc., especially in the case of underpasses. () Bridge lighting ‘The lighting of bridges should be designed tastefully to provide light to the traffic as well as to contribute an aesthetic setting to the environment at night. Sodium vapour lamps are preferable to incandescent bulbs. The light standards should be aligned along the railing and should match with the railing design. Provision of rail level lighting by fluorescent tube lights recessed into the hand rails will not be effective even in the case of urban flyovers. Besides being wasteful in energy and ineffective in lighting the full area of bridge carriageway, these fittings are vulnerable to juvenile vandalism. The provision of high mast area lighting is nowadays adopted for urban bridges and grade separations in the place of fluorescent lamps along the railing. In the case of cantilever bridges and balanced cantilever bridges, the light posts should not be located at articulations or at the central joints. The author came across a major prestressed concrete cantilever bridge, where one row of mercury vapour lamps located at every hinge location (midspan) went completely out of use due to severe vibrations. 5.8 Aesthetics of bridge design Bridges exert a strong influence on the environment. If we take an aerial view of a city, the first and foremost items meeting the eye are the bridges and grade-separated traffic intersections. These become landmarks, if not monuments of contemporary achievement. Special attention should be devoted to the aesthetics of bridge structures besides their functional aspects. It is noteworthy that in advanced countries, designs for highway bridges in urban areas have to be reviewed by an art commission before they can be built. A fine example of successful construction of aesthetically pleasing bridges in urban areas is the group of bridges across the Rhine river in Cologne in West Germany. ‘Aesthetic design should precede the structural design of a bridge. While considera- tions of function, fitness and truth should predominate, other qualities to be sought are symmetry, harmony, proportion, expressiveness, simplicity, style, feeling, repose, grace and conformity to environment. The reader may refer to Reference 22 for a detailed treatment of this subject. Aesthetics is a matter of taste and as such it is difficult to codify the rules for judge-90 Essentials of Bridge Engineering ment. However, a few basic criteria for guidance may be stated as below: (a) The systems, lines and edges employed in the bridge structure should be in good order. It is not good practice to mix systems, such as beams, arches, suspension or frames, in any one structure. Similarly, the use of members and components in all possible directions and sizes would lead to an ugly bridge. Unnecessary projection of diaphragms from the heam face may be avoided to retain clarity of profile lincs. (®) The structure should blend with the landscape. For instance, a deck type arch span will suit a gorge with rocky abutments or an area near a waterfall (e.g, Rainbow bridge near Niagara Falls). (© The essence of an elegant bridge is the simplicity of line, expressing emphatically the structural form ¢.g. Gambhirkhad bridge. Extraneous ornamentations serve to diminish rather than enhance the elegance of the bridge. A classic example in this connection is the comparison between the designs put forward by Brunel and Telford for the Clifton bridge at Bristol in England”. While Brunel's design with simple lines blends well with the surroundings, Telford's proposal with Gothic-style piers clashes disastrously with landscape. (4) The proportions of the various components of a bridge should be in harmony with each other. The depth of decking should have a pleasing relation with the span. The telationship between masses and voids, and between the areas in light and in shade should be in harmony. In a layout of three spans, the centre span should be longer than the outer span. (€) The final shape of the structure should highlight the special qualities of the materials of construction. Thus a spandrel-filled arch would express gracefully the qualities of stone masonry, while the prestressed concrete decking of an elevated roadway should highlight the high-strength material by its slender proportions. (O For bridges within cities, such as elevated highway structures crossing shopping areas or plazas, the supporting piers should be as thin as possible and the decking should be very slender, so that the street life below is least disturbed. A good example in this connection is the Jan Wellam Platz elevated road in Dusseldorf in West Germany. (g) Viaducts in valley and overbridges across expressways should obstruct least the view beyond the bridge. For this purposes, slender columns are preferred for viaducts (cg., Elztal viaduct in Germany). For overbridges, it is preferable to use a long centre span with two land spans with small end abutments and gentle side slopes of earth with possibly dark stone pitching. An overpass bridge with deep beams, thick piers, heavy abutments with long walls creates an impression of narrow openings and disturbs the driver's feeling of openness. (h) The design must consider economy as one of its main aims. Uneconomical shaping does not lead to lasting design value. (@ A bridge should reflect the contemporary state of technical sciences, construction methods, etc. Thus a marked difference is readily discernible from well-designed bridges of 1920 and 1990. () External rendering should be done with taste. The finish of external surfaces of concrete abutments and piers may be enhanced by bush hammering. It is possible to intensify the impression of a beam-and-slab prestressed concrete deck by using near-white colour for the fascia beam and a very dark grey colour for the webs of the main girders,General Design Considerations a1 (&) The hand railing should be light and should permit a view through the railing while driving on the bridge. Solid parapet walls are suitable only for culverts and minor bridges of small single span. (@ A litte effort on securing pleasant landscaping around bridges in urban areas may be in order. Lawns, trees and footpaths may be provided around the bridges. The aesthetic analysis of a bridge should start with the preliminary sketching of the bridge form and should be repeated at the various stages of detailing and proportioning the constituent elements of the bridge.. At every stage, the visual quality of the design should be checked from different angles, Sketches, perspective view of the structure set in the environment and models are to be used for major constructions. 5.9 Relative costs of bridge components ‘The total cost of a bridge is the sum of the costs on foundation, substructure, girders of the superstructure and decking. No general proportions of costs of the various compo- nents can be specified, as they depend on the type of structure and the site conditions. 20 15 10 COST UNITS PER m 20 a5 30 35 40 “5 50 SPAN BETWEEN CENTRES OF PIERS, m Fig. 5.6 Typical cost components for prestressed concrete road bridges (Adapted from Ref. 24) Typical cost components for prestressed concrete road bridges in the span range 20. to 50 m are shown in Fig. 5.6, as adapted from Reference 24. The plots are based on computations of alternative designs with varied spans for a major bridge across Betwa river, adopting a two-girder prestressed concrete-reinforced concrete composite deck of two-lane carriageway, cellular R.C. pier and well foundations. The cost is indicated in relative units, as the absolute values vary also with time. The cost of decking per m is nearly constant in the span range considered. The cost of prestressed concrete girders per m increases with increase in span as can be expected. The cost of superstructure per m,