Access Engineering The Superstructure Printed for hernandez_84472@students. pupr. edu 3. The Superstructure Section Overview This section provides a detailed look at the various elements that comprise a highway bridge superstructure. Different types of superstructures are discussed along with many of the design, maintenance, and rehabilitation issues affecting them. Design examples for commonly used superstructure elements are provided to give the reader an understanding of principal superstructure design fundamentals. A superstructure can be thought of as the conduit that carries a roadway over a crossing. Like any other bridge component, the superstructure is comprised of many elements. In the bridge design profession, no other component elicits so much discussion, and even downright controversy, as to the type of elements to be utilized in construction. The structural and geometric complexities of the superstructure component make it one of the most challenging design problems in a bridge engineering project. In this section we will examine the various types of superstructures and the different elements that comprise them. While it would be impossible to cover every permutation of superstructure types that are in use, this section will attempt to provide the reader with fundamentals behind several of the common superstructure configurations presently being used in highway networks around the world. Printed for hernandez_84472@students.pupr. edu3.1. SUPERSTRUCTURE TYPES The type of superstructure chosen for a bridge can be based on a variety of factors ranging from maintenance considerations to personal preference. Specifically, some of the commonly used criteria in selecting the type of superstructure to be used are * Material function and availability + Construction cost + Speed of construction and constructability * Design complexity * Maintenance costs and life expectancy + Environmental concerns + Aesthetics Where there are no steadfast rules governing which of the factors listed above is more important than the other, one certainty is that the use of superstructure types varies geographically. Because of the way highway systems such as the U.S. Interstate developed, bridges tend to come into an area en masse (see Section 1.2). Once a particular type of superstructure gains acceptance in a geographic region, it develops a certain critical mass that is difficult to alter in a different direction. Although no transportation system is homogeneous, there will definitely exist a predominance of one type of superstructure system. WIDE-FLANGE stringers vary from a standard Lbeam cross section in several ways. As shown below, the -beam has a tapered flange where the wide flange is orthogonal to the web, with the top face parallel to the bottom face. As the name would indicate, the flange width on a wide-flange stringer is greater than that of an Lbeam. The beam, however, has a thicker web. The small flange width of the -beam, combined with the inefficiency of material in its web, has made it unattractive to designers. In the AISC specifications, wide-flange stringers are referred to with the W designation and l-beam stringers with an S.FLANGE WITH TAPER FLANGE WITH PARALLEL FACES WIDE FLANGE 1 BEAM ‘W SHAPE S SHAPE The types of superstructures also change with the bridge span lengths. Each type of superstructure has span limitations beyond which it will become uneconomical. Superstructures generally vary by support type (simply supported or continuous), design type (slab-on-stringer, arch, truss, etc.), and material type (steel, concrete, timber, etc.). Obviously there are a variety of combinations of the above. For example, a designer could choose to use a slab-on-stringer superstructure with either steel or concrete girders. This superstructure could be simply supported or continuous, and so on. Discussed below are the major types of superstructures and their principal advantages and disadvantages which affect their design, construction, and maintenance. Printed for hernandez_84472@students,pupr. edu 3.1.1. Steel Superstructures The two principal materials utilized in superstructure construction are steel and concrete. Materials such as timber (discussed later) and aluminum are also utilized to a lesser extent. When compared to concrete, steel has the advantage of lighter weight and more rapid construction. Steel also lends itself well to prefabrication at the factory which reduces the amount of field labor for operations such as bolting, welding, etc. Recent advancements in fabrication methods and materials, especially with the introduction of weathering steel, have made steel much more competitive with concrete.