Inspection and Maintenance of Steel Girders

Inspection and Maintenance of Steel Girders

July 2006 INDIAN RAILWAYS INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, PUNE - 411001

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION The book Inspection and Maintenance of Steel Girders was first published in 1998. It was very popular among the field engineers and became out of stock in due course of time. Therefore, the second revised and enlarged edition has been brought out to fulfill the continuous demand for the book. Interalia a new chapter on steel channel sleeper has been added which incorporates details about fixing and inspection of channel sleepers on the steel girder bridges. Although every effort has been made to bring out latest and present the book in error free manner, yet if there is any suggestion or discrepancy, kindly do write to us.

Shiv Kumar Director IRICEN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION The first edition of the book published in December 1998 was very popular among the field engineers as all aspects concerning inspection, maintenance and understanding of steel girder bridges were well documented in the book. In this book one chapter was devoted on Bearing for Steel Girder of Track Bridges. In the meantime, a separate publication exclusively for bridge bearing was available. Its revised and enlarged edition has been published recently. During last 5 years, need has arisen for use of steel channel sleepers on Girder Bridges in place of Bridge Timbers, due to scarcity of wooden sleepers. Different drawings have been issued by RDSO for channel sleepers. Keeping in view above, in this 2nd and revised edition, chapter on bearing has been deleted and in place of this a new chapter on steel channel sleeper has been added. Efforts have been made to make the book more useful for the field engineers. In this effort, the IRICEN faculty and staff have contributed immensely, notably among them are Mrs. Gayatri Nayak and Mr. Sunil Pophale. I am grateful to Shri. N. L. Nadgouda, Retired Associate Professor / IRICEN who has contributed immensely in updating and adding new chapter on Steel Channel Sleepers in this book. I am also grateful to Shri. A. K. Gupta, Professor / Track1 for proof checking and valuable suggestions. Above all, the author is grateful to Shri. Shiv Kumar, Director IRICEN for his encouragement and guidance in bringing out the publication.

R. K. Yadav Professor / Track2 IRICEN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO THE FIRST EDITION

While covering the subject of steel girders for railway bridges during various courses at IRICEN, the absence of a document covering their technical details including those of inspections and maintenance was acutely felt. This IRICEN publication is a result of the desire to fill the gap and produce a documentation which would be useful to the Civil Engineers on Indian Railways as more than 90% of long span track bridges are of steel superstructure. I would be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge the support of Shri K. T. Wazalwar, Retired Dy.CE (Bridges), Central Railway, Shri V. P. Sambrani, Ex-Professor Bridges/IRICEN and Dr. V. Balakrishnan, Ex-Dean/IRICEN. Shri Anil Padmane was of immense help in preparation of drawings. Above all the author is grateful to Shri Vinod Kumar, Director, IRICEN for his encouragement and advice for improving the document.

N.L.Nadgouda Associate Professor IRICEN PUNE

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FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION Steel Girder Bridges are of great importance to the railway engineers who are engaged in their design, construction and maintenance. A majority of these engineers are concerned with their inspection and maintenance. Trainee officers have often expressed the need for a comprehensive documentation covering these aspects and better understanding of the steel girder bridges. It is hoped that this book will fulfil this need and disseminate the knowledge and experience on this subject to the field officials. This book has been prepared by Shri N. L. Nadgouda, Associate Professor of this Institute. If there are any suggestions for improving the book or if any error/ discrepancy is noticed in its contents, kindly write to the undersigned.

Vinod Kumar Director IRICEN-Pune Dec.98

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PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION With such a colossal numbers of railway steel girder bridges on the Indian Railways and that too with so many varieties in all respects, it is imperative to have a detailed and exhaustive technical knowledge about these structures. Such knowledge will enable purposeful inspection and follow up action to ensure maximum possible life of these costly assets. To impart this detailed knowledge about the railway steel girder bridges to the railway engineers, efforts have been made in this book to enable them to know and become fully conversant with various aspects of inspection, maintenance and repairs of these structures. Various directives / instructions issued from time to time as well as the provisions contained in the Indian Railways Bridge Manual, 1998, have been kept in view while compiling this book. It is hoped that this compact literature which will serve to supplement the Lecture Notes for officers attending courses at IRICEN, will also immensely benefit the concerned railway engineers in the field.

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INDEX Page No. Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Types of steel girders 1.2 Classification of steel bridges 1.2.1 According to function 1.2.2 According to form 1.2.3 According to the level of the floor carrying the track 1.2.4 According to structural characteristics 1.2.5 According to type of service 1.2.6 According to type of construction 1.2.7 According to railway gauge 1.2.8 According to standard of loading 2. STEEL GIRDERS OF RAILWAY BRIDGES 2.1 Loads 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 2.1.4 2.1.5 2.1.6 2.1.7 2.1.8 2.1.9 2.1.10 2.1.11 2.1.12 Dead load Live load Impact effect Force due to curvature and eccentricity of track Temperature effect Frictional resistance of expansion bearings Longitudinal force Racking force Wind pressure effect Forces and effects due to earthquake Erection stresses Loads for road over bridges (ROB) 16 1

2.2 Codes and specifications 2.3 Types of standard steel girders for track bridge

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2.3.1 Solid web plate girder - deck type 2.3.1.1 Rivetted plate girder - deck type 2.3.1.2 Welded plate girder - deck type 2.3.1.3 Composite girder of RCC slab and steel girder 2.3.2 Open web steel girders - Truss type with rivetted construction 2.3.2.1 Open web through girder standard span 2.3.2.2 Main components of open web through spans 2.3.2.3 Open web deck type span underslung 2.4 Road OverBridges (ROBs) 2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4.3 2.4.4 Deck type ROB Semi-through type ROB Bearings of ROB Expansion Joint

2.5 Foot OverBridges (FOBs) 2.5.1 Beam type FOB 2.5.2 Portal type FOB 2.5.3 Truss type FOB 2.5.3.1 Pin connected triangulated girders 2.5.3.2 Lattice type truss 2.5.3.3 N-type truss 2.5.4 Quadricon type 2.5.5 Procedure for erection of open web steel girder for track bridge as prestressed (predeformed) girder 3 STEEL CHANNEL SLEEPERS 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Introduction Sleeper Location Specification of steel for sleepers Size and details of sleeper 75

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3.5 Fabrication of Channel Sleepers 3.6 Inspection 3.7 Fixing of steel channel sleeper on steel girders 4. INSPECTION OF STEEL GIRDER 4.1 Objectives of inspection 4.2 Types of inspection of steel girders 4.3 Inspection of steel girders - Rivetted construction 4.3.1 Loss of camber 4.3.2 Distortion 4.3.3 Loose rivets 4.3.3.1 Testing of loose rivets 4.3.4 Corrosion 4.3.5 Fatigue cracks 4.4 Inspection of welded girder 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4 History of welded girder Frequency of inspection Equipment for inspection Method of inspection 92

4.5 Action to be taken when a crack is detected or suspected during inspection 4.5.1 Repair of cracks (Temporary) 4.5.2 Dye penetrant inspection during field inspection ANNEXURE 4/1/1 Inspection Proforma of Steel Girder (Track Bridge) 5. MAINTENANCE OF STEEL GIRDERS 120

5.1 Main items of maintenance of steel superstructures

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