TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING I 1

INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE ENGINEERING

What you will be learning in this section of
2
Transportation Engineering ?

Outline of Syllabus:
History
What is a bridge? Understanding the basics
Classification and types of Bridges
Planning of Bridges
Bridge site selection
General Bridge components
Culverts and Causeways
General design principles ( hydrotechnical design)
 3

When the history of our time

is written, posterity will know
us not by a cathedral or
temple, but by a bridge.

- Montgomery Schuyler, 1877

writing about the Brooklyn Bridge
 BROOKLYN BRIDGE 4

Brooklyn Bridge:
Started: 1869
Completed: 1883
 History of Bridges
5
Who built the first Bridge ?
.
. Any guesses ?
.
. It was Nature itself in the form of fallen trees, fallen rocks in a river etc.
. Based on this idea humans improvised bridge construction
. Arkadiko Bridge:
- Was built during 13th century BC, (3300 years ago!!) in Greece
- Still in existence
- Was built to accommodate chariots
Arkadiko Bridge
6
7
 History of Bridges
8
The Ancient Romans:
Greatest Bridge builders (8 to 12 century BC)
Built arch bridges and aqueducts
Some of them even stand today!! (E.g. is the Alcntara Bridge)
Built bridges made from pozzolanic materials
Alcantara Bridge, Spain.
9
 History of Bridges
10

Arthashastra of Kautilya also mentions the construction of

bridges and dams during the Mauryan Empire (322 185 BC.)
A Mauryan bridge near Girnar in Gujarat was surveyed by
Sir James Princep
The bridge was destroyed by floods
During the 18th century there were many innovations in the design of
timber bridges by Hans Ulrich, Johannes Grubenmann, and others.
The first book on bridge engineering was written by Hubert Gautier in
1716.
 What is a Bridge ?
11
Bridge is a structure which covers a gap

Generally bridges carry a road or railway across a natural or

artificial obstacle such as, a river, canal or another railway or
another road.

Bridge is a structure corresponding to the highest responsibility

in carrying a free flow of transport.

It is the most significant component or Key Element of a

transportation system in case of communication over
spacing/gap for whatever reason such as aquatic obstacles,
valleys and gorges etc.
It Controls the Capacity of the System: 12

The bridge controls both the volume and weight of the traffic
carried by the transportation system.

If the width of a bridge is insufficient to carry the number of lanes

required to handle the traffic volume, the bridge will be a
constriction to the flow of traffic.

If the strength of a bridge is deficient and unable to carry heavy

trucks, load limits will be posted and truck traffic will be rerouted.
 13
Highest Cost per Mile of the System:

Bridges are expensive.

The typical cost per mile of a bridge is many times that of the
approach roads to the bridge.

Since, bridge is the key element in a transportation system, balance

must be achieved between handling future traffic volume and loads
and the cost of heavier and wider bridge structure.
If the Bridge Fails, the System Fails: 14

The importance of a Bridge can be visualized by considering the

comparison between the two main components of a highway
system i.e. a road and bridge itself.

EXAMPLE: Consider a highway and a bridge: What happens when

there is a deterioration leading to a formation of visible crack on
both road and a bridge ?
Do you travel on the cracked bridge just like how you travel on the
cracked road ?
Classification of Bridge:
15
Activity:

Understanding a few bridge types:

We know that there are many types of bridges such as

Arch Bridge
Beam Bridge
Cantilever Bridges
Truss Bridge
Suspension and Stayed Bridges
Why are there different types of bridges? 16

The major difference between the various types of bridges is the

distance that they can cover in a single span.

Span is the difference between two supports.

Each of the different types of bridges holds weight in different

ways.
We can also classify a bridge based the forces acting 17
on a bridge such as:

Compression
Tension
Compression/Tension (both)
Examples ?
Compression Bridges: 18
Compression is the push force
Compression causes an object to get shorter
Stone and concrete are strong in compression
Classic Example: Arch Bridge
Arch Bridge: 19
An arch bridge is composed of a curved structure with
abutments on each end.
What happens to the bridge when a load is put on 20
the bridge?

The weight of the load is carried outward along the curve of

the arch to the abutments at each end of the arch. The
abutments also keep the end of the bridge from spreading
outward.
What factor(s) should you consider when you build 21
an arch bridge?

The arch bridge is always under compression

The weight of the deck is pushed outward along the curve of

the arch towards the abutments.

The rise in the form of the curved arch causes the vertical load
to have a horizontal thrust.
The arch can be below the road or above the road
Using a thin steel scale or any rectangular flexible material of 22
sufficient length, bend it into a shape of an arch.
Push down as shown in the diagram. What happens?
Now try this: 23
Using the same arch, use two piles of books as abutments.

An abutment is the part of a structure that

bears the weight of an arch,
supports the end of a bridge,
or anchors the cables of a suspension
bridge.
Tension Bridges 24

Tension is a pull force

Tension causes an object to get longer
Wire rope and chains are strong in tension
Example: Suspension Bridge
Tension Bridge - Suspension
25
A suspension bridge features a long cable strung over towers
and anchored on both sides
Smaller cables are hung from the main cables and connect to
the road deck
The cables in tension support the road
Suspension Bridges use steel cables to support weight.
Steel wire is very strong and can support large tensile forces.
A single 0.1 thick wire can support more than half a ton
without breaking!
26
Suspension Bridges
27
Using 2 textbooks of the same size and a piece of string,
tightly tie the tops of each book to its corresponding end of
string, then stand the books far enough apart so the string
in-between hangs loosely.
Press down on the string between the books. What happens?
Suspension Bridges
28
Now try this:
Stand two books about 10 inches apart. This time do not tie the
string to the 2 standing textbooks. Put a stack of heavy books on
each end of string to secure it to the table. Then pass the string over
each book. Again let the string hang loosely between the standing
books.
Now press on the center of the string between the books. What
happens? Notice how the stacks of books help to stabilize the bridge.
 29

Few more activities will be conducted in the next class..

THANK YOU
30
31
32
33