6.
Substructures
1
6. Bridge Substructures
Substructures
• Abutments and Retaining Structures,
• Piers and Columns
• Bearings, access and drainage to
bearings
2
Piers and Columns
Piers provide vertical supports for spans
at intermediate points and perform two
main functions:
transferring superstructure vertical
loads to the foundations
resisting horizontal forces acting on the
bridge
3
Piers and Columns
Generally piers are subjected to the following
loads:
Dead loads
Live loads and impact from the superstructure
Wind loads on the structure and the live loads
Centrifugal force from the superstructure
Longitudinal force from live loads (vehicular
braking force)
4
Piers and Columns
Drag forces due to the friction at bearings
Earth pressure
Stream flow pressure
Ice pressure
Earthquake forces
Thermal and shrinkage forces
Ship impact forces
Force due to prestressing of the superstructure
Forces due to settlement of foundations
5
Pier Types
Solid Wall Pier: A solid wall pier consists of a solid
wall which extends up from a foundation consisting
of a footing or piles.
6
Pier Types
Hammerhead Pier: A hammerhead pier utilizes one
or more columns with a pier cap in the shape of a
hammer.
7
Pier Types
Column Bent Pier: A column bent pier consists of a
cap beam and supporting columns in a frame-type
structure.
8
Piers and Columns
Pile Bent Pier: The pile bent pier is a variation on
the column bent pier with the supporting columns
and footing replaced with individual supporting
piles.
9
Piers and Columns
Finally selection of pier is made based on the
following considerations.
Aesthetics
Economy
Flow of water and traffic under the bridge
Superstructure
10
Piers and Columns
Design Criteria: In general, the design of a
highway bridge pier should address:
❏ Safety against overturning
❏ Safety against sliding
❏ Safety against bearing failure of the soil
❏ Safety against excessive or differential
settlement
11
Abutment is component of a bridge
• provides the vertical support to the
bridge superstructure at the bridge
ends
• connects the bridge with the
approach roadway
• retains the roadway base materials
12
Abutments and Retaining Structures
As a component of a bridge, the abutment provides
the vertical support to the bridge superstructure at
the bridge ends, connects the bridge with the
approach roadway, and retains the roadway base
materials from the bridge spans.
Unlike the bridge abutment, the earth-retaining
structures are mainly designed for sustaining lateral
earth pressures. Those structures have been widely
used in highway construction.
13
Abutments and Retaining Structures
14
Abutments and Retaining Structures
Types of Abutments
Abutments can be classified based on the load
resisting mechanism as:
1. Gravity abutments: resist the load acting with its
dead weight and dead weight of retained soil or
backfill on its inclined back face.
2. Cantilever abutments: load resistance derived
from cantilever action and usually constructed from
reinforced concrete.
15
Abutments and Retaining Structures
Types of Abutments …..
3. Counterfort abutments: are similar to cantilever
ones but ties called counterforts are provided to tie
the stem to the footing.
4. Reinforced earth abutments: The essential
concept is the use of multiple-layer strips or fibers to
reinforce the fill material in the lateral direction so
that the integrated fill material will act as a gravity
retaining structure
16
Abutments and Retaining Structures
Types of Abutments …..
17
Abutments and Retaining Structures
Abutment Type Selection
The selection of an abutment type needs to
consider all available information and bridge design
requirements. Those may include bridge geometry,
roadway and riverbank requirements, geotechnical
and right-of-way restrictions, aesthetic
requirements, economic considerations, etc.
Knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages for
the different types of abutments is important in
choosing the right type of abutment for the bridge
structure.
18
Abutments and Retaining Structures
General Design Considerations
Abutment design loads usually include vertical and
horizontal loads from the bridge superstructure,
vertical and lateral soil pressures, abutment gravity
load, and the live-load surcharge on the abutment
backfill materials.
Any possible combinations of those forces, which
Produce the most severe condition of loading,
should be investigated in abutment design.
19
Abutments and Retaining Structures
An abutment should be designed so as to withstand
damage from:
the Earth pressure,
the gravity loads of the bridge superstructure and
abutment,
live load on the superstructure or the approach fill,
wind loads, and
the transitional loads transferred through the
connections between the superstructure and the
abutment.
20
Abutments and Retaining Structures
Abutment Wingwall
Abutment wingwalls act as a retaining structure to
prevent the abutment backfill soil and the roadway
soil from sliding transversely.
A wingwall design similar to the retaining wall
design. However, live-load surcharge needs to be
considered in wingwall design.
21
Abutments and Retaining Structures
Abutment Drainage
A drainage system is usually provided for the
abutment construction. The drainage system
embedded in the abutment backfill soil is designed
to reduce the possible buildup of hydrostatic
pressure, to control erosion of the roadway
embankment, and to reduce the possibility of soil
liquefaction during an earthquake.
For a concrete-paved abutment slope, a drainage
system also needs to be provided under the
pavement.
22
Abutments and Retaining Structures
Abutment Slope Protection
Flow water scoring may severely damage bridge
structures by washing out the bridge abutment
support soil. To reduce water scoring damage to the
bridge abutment, pile support, rock slope
protection, concrete slope paving may be used.
23
Scour
Scour is the washing away of streambed
material by water channel flow. Typically,
scour occurs when the water channel becomes
narrowed or constricted.
The removal of material from under a pier’s
foundation, often associated with scour, is
known as undermining or undercutting.
24
25
Scour
Scour generally takes place because one or a
combination of the following conditions occurs:
❏ Natural conditions in the channel
❏ A constriction in the channel
❏ The bridge itself being a constriction
When scour occurs at a specific localized
point in the channel, such as a pier,
abutment, drainage structure, or some other
obstruction, it is known as local scour.
26
Scour
If scour takes place over a large area of the channel
it is known as general scour.
Scour Protection:
Scour protection is required when some
restriction is made to the flow of the flood.
Riprap
Gabion and Reno mattresses
Filter Blankets
Vegetation
27
