Fundamentals of Bridge Design – CENG 5501 Lecture Note

Chapter 4
BRIDGE LOADING
4.1 Introduction
Bridges serve their function under different types of loads. Loads determine the safety and
serviceability of structures. The minimum loads to be taken for design are given in codes
and standards to insure safety and serviceability. These loads may be classified as dead, live,
environmental and other loads. Another way to classify these loads is as permanent or
transient based on the duration of their action. Any of the limit states should not be
exceeded under the most unfavorable combinations of these loads.
First will be treated the different types of loads acting on bridge superstructure and
substructure. Then will be discussed load combinations and the corresponding load factors
to be considered for the different limit states. Construction loads are not specified in here
and the designer should obtain pertinent information from the prospective contractors.

4.2. Type of Loads

The following permanent and transient loads will be considered for bridge design where
applicable. These may also be used for structural evaluation of existing bridges.
Permanent Loads Wind Loads
Dead Loads WL: wind on live load
DC: dead load of structural components and WS: wind load on structure
Nonstructural attachments Earthquake Load, EQ
DW: dead load of wearing Earth pressure due to live load surcharge, LS
Surfaces and Utilities Force effects due to superimposed deformations
EV: vertical pressure from TU: uniform temperature
Dead load of earth Fill TG: temperature gradient
Earth Loads SH: shrinkage
EH: horizontal earth pressure load CR: creep
ES: earth surcharge load SE: settlement
DD: down drag EL: accumulated locked-in effects resulting
Transient Loads From the construction process
Live Loads Friction Forces, FR
LL: Vehicular live load Vessel Collision, CV
PL: pedestrian live load
IM: vehicular dynamic load allowance
CE: vehicular centrifugal force
BR: vehicular braking force
CT: vehicular collision force
Water Loads, WA
Static pressure
Buoyancy
Stream pressure
Wave load
Change in foundation due to scour

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4.3. Different Standards for Bridge Loading

Different countries have got different codes. Some of the most widely used codes are those
of:
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
DIN Standard (in Germany)
BS 5400 Code (British Standard)
IRC (Indian Roads Congress) Bridge Code

AASHTO is the code used in Ethiopia for highway bridge design. Ethiopian Roads
Authority (ERA) has developed Bridge Design Manual, mainly adopting the specifications
of ASHTO 98 to our local condition, which may be used for highway bridge design.

4.4. AASHTO – 2005 Load Specifications

4.4.1 Dead Loads: DC, DW and EV

Dead loads include the weight of all components of the structure, appurtenances and utilities
attached to the bridge, earth cover, wearing surface, future overlays and planned widening.

The design of all bridge structural elements is based on a set of loading conditions which the
component of element must withstand.

In the absence of more precise information, the densities specified in Table 4.1 may be used

Table 4.1 Densities (acceleration of gravity, g=9.8066m/s2 for unit weight computation)
Density Density
Material Material
(Kg/m3) (Kg/m3)
Bituminous wearing surface 2250 Cast iron 7200
Rolled gravel, macadam or ballast 2250 Soft clay 1600
Cinder filling 960 Steel 7850
Compacted sand, silt or clay 1925 Stone masonry 2725
Concrete, normal 2400 Fresh water 1000
Loose sand, silt or gravel 1600 Salt water 1025

4.4.2 Live Loads

a) Vehicular Live Loads
Design vehicular live loads on roadways of bridges consist of the combination of
 Design truck or design tandem and
 Design lane load

Design truck is given in Fig. 4.1. Except in some cases the spacing between the 145kN axles
will be varied between 4.3 and 9m to produce extreme force effects. The design tandem
consists of a pair of 110kN axles spaced 1.2m apart.

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The design lane load consists of a uniform load of 9.3kN/m2, longer than the bridge in the
longitudinal direction, and distributed over 3m width in the transverse direction. This is to
represent vehicle live load on bridges moving slowly during traffic jam. Both the design
truck and the lane load occupy a design lane width of 3m in the transverse direction (number
of design lanes is the integer part of W/3.6 where W is clear roadway width between curbs in
meters).

Fig 4.1 Characteristics of the Design Truck

This live load model consisting of a truck or tandem coincident with a uniformly distributed
lane load was developed as a notional representation of the shear and moment produced by a
group of vehicles routinely permitted on highways.

b) Pedestrian Live Loads

A pedestrian load of 3.6kPa shall be applied to sidewalks wider than 0.6m and considered
simultaneously with the vehicular live load.

c) Multiple Presence of Live Loads

This accounts for the smaller possibility of simultaneous occurrence of maximum live loads
on the bridge. The extreme live load force effects will be determined by considering each
possible combination of number of loaded lanes multiplied by the corresponding factor
specified in Table 4.2. For the purpose of determining the number of lanes for determination
of multiple presence factor, M, when the loading condition includes pedestrian live loads, the
pedestrian live load combined with one or more lanes of vehicular live loads, the pedestrian
walkway may be counted as one loaded lane.

Table 4.2 Multiple presence factor of live loads, M

Number of loaded lanes 1 2 3 >3
Multiple presence factor, M 1.2 1.0 0.85 0.65

d) Dynamic Load Allowance: IM

Due to hammering effect of wheel assembly on riding surface discontinuities such as deck
joints, potholes, cracks and delaminations or due to surface undulations such as that caused
by settlement of fills or due to resonance of vehicle and bridge vibration, a dynamic
allowance should be made. Field test carried out on the majority of bridges in the US show
that the dynamic component of the response does not exceed 25% of the static response to
vehicles. Table 4.3 gives dynamic load allowance, IM. IM shall not be applied to pedestrian
live loads, to design lane load, to centrifugal and braking forces.
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Table 4.3 Dynamic load allowance, IM
Component Deck joints – All limit states All other components for the following limit state
Fatigue & Fracture All other limit state
IM 7.5% 15% 33%

The dynamic load allowance for culverts and other buried structures in % shall be taken as

IM = 33(1.0 – 4.1 *10-4DE)>0%

Where DE is the minimum depth of earth cover above the structure (mm).
Dynamic load allowance need not be applied to
 Retaining walls not subjected to vertical reactions from the superstructure, and
 Foundation components that are entirely below ground level du to damping
effect of the soil mass

a) Centrifugal Force: CE
Centrifugal force is due to inertia force of vehicles on curved bridges at speed. It will be
taken as the product of the axle weights of the design truck or tandem and the factor c givgn
in equation 4.1
2
4v
C= . . . . . (4.1)
3gR

Where: V is highway design speed (m/s)

G gravitational acceleration (m/s2)
R is radius of curvature of traffic lane (m)
Centrifugal forces shall be applied horizontally at a distance of 1.8m above the
roadway surface.

b) Braking Force: BR
Based on energy principles, and assuming uniform deceleration, the braking force
determined as a fraction ‘b’ of vehicle weight is
2
b= 2ga v . . . . . . (4.2)

Where a is the breaking length (distance) of uniform deceleration.

Breaking forces shall be taken as 25% of the axle weights of the design truck or tandem per
lane placed in all design lanes headed in the same direction. This applies to truck or tandem
vehicles headed in the same direction because the reaction time can be the same and they can
brake in phase. This factor does not apply to lane load because the many vehicles during
traffic jam can break out of phase.

The braking force will be applied at 1.8m horizontally in the longitudinal direction. The
multiple presence factors apply here.

c) Vehicular Collision Force: CT

Unless protections are provided a horizontal force of 1800KN applied at a.2m above the
ground should be considered.

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4.4.3 Water Loads: WA

a) Static Pressure
Static pressure of water acts perpendicular to the surfaces retaining the water. It varies with
depth linearly.

b) Buoyancy
Buoyancy is an uplift force acting on submerged part of a structure. It equals volume of
water displaced by the structure multiplied by unit weight of water.

c) Stream Pressure
a) Longitudinal: The pressure of flowing water acting in the longitudinal directionof
substructures will be taken as
-4 2
P=5.14x10 CDV . . . . . . (4.3).

Where: P is pressure of flowing water (MPa)

CD is drag coefficient given in Table 4.4
V is design velocity of design flood (m/s)

The longitudinal drag force will be taken as the product of longitudinal stream pressure and
the projected area of substructure subjected to the force.

ii) Lateral
The lateral uniformly distributed pressure on a substructure due to water flowing at an angle
0 to the longitudinal axis of the pier as shown in Fig. 4.2 is

-4 2
P=5.14x10 CLV . . . . . . (4.4).

Where: P is lateral pressure (MPa)

CL is lateral drag coefficient given in Table 4.4.

Fig 4.2 Longitudinal and transverse water pressure on a pier

Table 4.4 CD and CL

Table for Drag Coefficient, CD Table for Lateral Drag Coefficient, CL
Type CD Angle 0 in Fig. 4.2 CL
Semi-circular nosed pier 0.7 00 0.0
Square ended pier 1.4 50 0.5
0
Debris logged against the pier 1.4 10 0.7
0
Wedge nosed pier, nose angle <900 0.8 20 0.9
>300 1.0

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4.4.4 Wind Loads: WL and WS

a) Wind Pressure on Structures

Wind load on bridges is assumed to be uniformly distributed acting perpendicular to the
projected area of exposed components. The pressure specified here is for a base wind
velocity of 160Km/hr.

The design wind pressure on structures PD in MPa may be determined from

Where: PB is base wind pressure given in table 4.5

VDZ is design wind velocity at design elevation, Z(km/hr)
V10 is wind velocity 10m above low ground or design water level (km/hr)
VB is base wind velocity, 160km/hr
Z is height of structure at which wind load is calculated, >10m
V0 is friction velocity given in Table 4.6
Z0 is friction length of upstream fetch given in Table 4.6
Table 4.6 PB, V0 and Z0
Table for PB, MPa Table for V0 and Z0
Structural Component Windward Leeward Condition Open Suburban City
Pressure Pressure, Country
Trusses, columns, arches 0.0024 0.0012 V0,(km/hr) 13.2 17.6 19.3
Beams 0.0024 NA Z0,(mr) 0.7 1.0 2.5
Large flat surface 0.0019 NA

Equation (4.4) is based on boundary layer theory combined with empirical observations and
represents the most recent approach to define wind speed as used in metrology.

The wind load shall not be taken less than 4.4kN/m on the windward side and 2.2kN/m on
the leeward side for trusses and arch components, and not less than 4.4kN/m on beam or
girder components.

The transverse and longitudinal forces to be applied directly to the substructure shall be
calculated from an assumed base wind pressure of 0.0019Mpa. For skewed wind direction,
this force will be decomposed in to longitudinal and transverse components.

b) Wind Pressure on Vehicles: WL

It is possible for wind to blow when vehicles are on the bridge. Therefore, the design wind
pressure will be applied to both the structure and the vehicles. Win pressure on vehicles
shall be taken as a moving force with the vehicle of 1.46kN/m acting normal to and 1.8m
above the roadway.

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c) Aerodynamic Instability
Aerodynamic force effects shall be taken in to account for bridges and components that are
wind-sensitive. A rough value of span to depth or width ration above which bridges become
wind-sensitive is 30.0.

Fig.4.3 Failure of Tacoma Narrows bridge under a gale of 67km/hr due to aerodynamic
instability

Flexible bridges such as cable-supported or very long spans of any type may require special
studies based on wind tunnel test.

4.4.5 Earthquake Effects: EQ

Earthquake forces are inertia forces due to mass of bridges when a sudden shaking of the
ground occurs. These are taken as horizontal forces obtained as the product of seismic
coefficient Csm and the equivalent weight of the structure. The equivalent weight is the
function of the actual weight and bridge configuration

. . . . . . . (4.7)

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Where: Pe(x) is equivalent static earthquake loading
Csm is dimensionless elastic seismic response coefficient
P0(x) is a uniform load arbitrarily set to 1N/mm
Vs(x) is deformation corresponding to P0 (mm) (Fig.4.3)
W(x) is unfactored dead load of the bridge superstructure and tributary substructure
(N/mm)
Tm is period of vibration of the mth mode
A is acceleration coefficient which is the ratio of horizontal seismic ground
acceleration expected in an area to that of gravity, in EBSC8: 1995.
S is site coefficient given in Table 4.7
The factors have units of mm2, N-mm and N-mm2 respectively

Table 4.7 Sie coefficients

Soil type

Site coefficient I II III IV

S 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.0

Fig 4.3 Bridge deck subjected to assumed transverse and longitudinal loading

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In locations where the soil properties are not known in sufficient detail to determine the soil
type or where the type does not meet any of the four types, the site coefficient for soil type II
shall be used.

Soil Types
Type I - rock or stiff soils where the soil depth is less that 60m, and the soil types overlying
the rock are stable deposits of sand, gravel or stiff clay.
Type II - stiff cohesive or deep cohesionless soil, with soil depth greater that 60m and the
soil type overlying the rock are stable deposits of sand, gravel or stiff clay.
Type III – soft to medium stiff clays and sands
Type IV – soft clays or silts greater that 12m deep

Seismic analysis is not required for single span bridges. Minimum design connection force
between the superstructure and substructure in the restrained direction greater that or equal to
the product of S, A and the tributary permanent load.

Seismic analysis is not required for bridges in areas with A 0.09.

It is uneconomical to design a bridge to resist large earthquakes elastically. Columns are

allowed to deform in elastically in which case smaller sections can be used. The force used
to design members can be obtained dividing force for elastic design by response modification
factor, designated R, given in Table 4.8

Table 4.8 Response modification factors

For Substructures For Connections
Importance cate.
Essentia R for
Critical Other Connection
l All
Substructure
Wall-type pier, 1.5 1.5 2.0 Superstructure to abutment 0.8
larger dimension
Single column 1.5 2.00 3.0 Expansion joints within a span of the 0.8
bents superstructure
Multiple column 1.5 3.5 5.0 Columns, piers to cap beam or 1.0
bents superstructure
Columns of piers to foundations 1.0

The basis of classification include social/survival and security/defense requirements.

Essential bridges are generally those that should, as a minimum, be open to emergency
vehicles and for security/defense purposes immediately after the earthquake, i.e., a 475-year
return period event. However, some bridges must remain open to all traffic after design
earthquake and be usable by emergency vehicles and for security/defense purposes
immediately after a large earthquake, e.g., a 2500 year return period event. These bridges
should be regarded as critical structures.

4.4.6 Earth Pressure: EH, ES, LS and DD

Soil exerts lateral earth pressure on retaining walls. The magnitude of the earth pressure
depends on type and density of retained soil, soil – structure interaction, degree of
compaction, location of GWT, amount of surcharge and earthquake effects. Fig. 4.4 shows
variation of lateral earth pressure with movement of retaining walls. Movement required to
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reach the minimum active or the maximum passive pressures is the function of wall height, H
and soil type. Table 4.9 gives approximate values of relative movement /H to reach the
minimum active or the maximum passive earth pressures.

a) Movement of soil surrounding model b) Effect of wall displacement

Retaining wall in a laboratory on lateral pressure
Fig 4.4

Table 4.9 Approximate values of /H required to activate

extreme active and passive earth pressures
Values of /H
Active Passive
Type of backfill
Dense sand 0.001 0.01
Medium-dense sand 0.002 0.02
Loose sand 0.004 0.04
Compacted silt 0.002 0.02
Compacted lean clay 0.01 0.05
Compacted fat clay 0.01 0.05

There are two earth pressure theories commonly used. These are Rankine and Coulomb earth
pressure theories.
i) Rankine Arth Pressure Theory – this assumes smooth and vertical wall surface. The
second assumption is that there is sufficient wall motion that the soil is in a plastic state of
equilibrium

The second assumption is satisfied if retaining walls move sufficiently to activate the active
and passive states, which is the case for free standing abutments.

The first assumption is not satisfied for masonry and RC abutments, in which case the result
obtained deviate significantly from the actual. Therefore, Coulomb earth pressure is give by
AASHTO.

For horizontal backfill, the magnitude of the resultant force does not differ greatly as
computed by Rankine and Coulomb methods, but the directions differ greatly.

ii) Coulomb Earth Pressure Theory – this is based on the concept of the sliding wedge
theory of a wedge bounded by the face of the wall and a failure plane passing through the

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base of the wall. Wall friction is considered for this case. This does not account for
cohesion, and neglecting that adds to the safety because cohesion contributes favorably.

In literature, the pressure distribution is not given and only the resultant force is given. But
AASHTO gives a triangular distribution as shown in Fig. 4.5.

Fig 4.5

Basic earth pressure is assumed to vary linearly proportional to depth

P=K s gs

Where:

P is basic earth pressure in pascals

Kh is coefficient of lateral earth pressure taken as K0 for at rest condition, Ka for
walls moving sufficiently away from backfill to reach minimum active earth
pressure, and KP for walls moving sufficiently against earth to activate
maximum passive earth pressure.
s is density of soil (kg/m3)
z is depth below the surface of earth (m)
g is gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

a) At Rest Pressure Coefficient K0

For normally consolidated soil, the coefficient of lateral earth pressure may be taken as

K0 = 1 - sin f . . . . . . . (4.12)

f friction angle of drained soil

For over consolidated soil, K0 may be assumed to vary as a function of the over
consolidation ration, OCR

K0 = (1 – sin f ) (OCR) sin f

a) Active Pressure Coefficient, Ka

Values for active earth pressure may be taken as
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( ) ( ) ( )
[ √ ]
( ) ( ) ( )

Where is friction angle between fill and wall taken as specified in table 4.10
is angle of fill with horizontal as shown in Fg. 4.5, in degrees
is angle of back of wall with the horizontal in degrees
’ is effective angle of internal friction in degrees

Table 4.10 Friction angle for dissimilar materials

Interface Materials Friction Angle, (deg)
Mass concrete or masonry on the following foundation materials:
 Clean sound rock 35
 Clean gravel, gravel-sand mixtures, coarse sand 29 to 31
 Clean fine to medium sand, silty medium to coarse sand silty or
clayey gravel 24 to 29
 Clean fine sand, silty or clayey fine to medium sand 19 to 24
 Fine sandy silt, non- plastic silt
 Very stiff and hard residual or pre consolidated clay 22 to 26
17 to 19
 Medium stiff and stiff clay and silty clay
Steel sheet piles against the following soils:
 Clean gravel, gravel-sand mixtures, well-graded
rock fill with spalls 22
 Clean sand, silty sand-gravel mixture, single-size hard rock fill 17
 Silty sand, gravel, or sand mixed with silt or clay 14
 Fine sandy silt, non - plastic silt 11
Formed or precast concrete or concrete sheet piling against the
following soils
 Clean gravel, gravel-sand mixture, well-graded rock fill with spalls 22 to 26
 Clean sand, silty sand-gravel mixture, single-size hard rock fill 17 to 22
 Silty sand, gravel, or sand mixed with silt or clay 17
 Fine sandy silt, non plastic silt 14
Various structural materials:
 Masonry on masonry, igneous, and metamorphic rocks
 dressed soft rock on dressed soft rock 35
 dressed hard rock on dressed soft rock 33
 dressed hard rock on dressed hard rock 29
 Masonry on wood in direction of cross grain 26
 Steel on steel at sheet pile interlocks 17

c) Passive Pressure Coefficient, Kp

For non-cohesive soils, values of the coefficient of passive earth pressure may be taken from
Fig. 4.6 for the case of a sloping or vertical wall with a horizontal backfill or from Fig 4.7 for
the case of a vertical wall and sloping backfill. For conditions that deviate from those
described in Fig. 4.6 and 4.7, the passive pressure may be calculated by a trial procedure
based on wedge theory. When wedge theory is used, the limiting value of the wall friction
angle should not be taken larger than one-half the angle of internal friction, .

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Fig. 4.6 Computational Procedures for Passive Earth Pressures for Sloping Wall with
Horizontal Backfill

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Fig 4.7 Computational procedure of passive earth pressure for sloping backfill

Surcharge Loads: Earth Surcharge (ES) and Live Load Surcharge(LS)

Where a uniform surcharge acts on a backfill retained by a wall, a constant horizontal earth
pressure will be added to the horizontal earth pressure.

P = Ksq s . . . . . (4.14)

Ks is coefficient of earth pressure, Ka for active case, K0 for at rest case and Kp
for passive pressure
qs is uniform surcharge applied to the upper surface of the active earth wedge

Lateral earth pressure due to live load surcharge has the distribution shown.
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Live load surcharge will have to be considered for vehicular loads acting with in a distance of
the wall height behind the back face of the wall. The increase in pressure due to live load
surcharge may be estimated from

p=K sgheq . . . . . . . (4.15)

Where:
s is density of soil (kg./m3)
g is acceleration of gravity (m/s2)
heq Equivalent height of soil for the design truck, which may be taken from Table 4.11

Table 4.11 Equivalent height of soil for vehicular loading

Wall height (m) heq (m)

1.5 1.7
3.0 1.2
6.0 0.76
9.0 0.61

Downdrag
When soil surrounding piles settle, it applies a downward force. In case this occurs, this
force should be considered.

4.4.7. Force Effects due to Superimposed Deformations: TU, TG, SH, CR, SE

a) Uniform Temperature (TU) – when the surrounding temperature of a bridge rises

or falls, bridge materials expand or contract. Temperature deformation can be big
for bridges due to their size and exposure to temperature variations. The
difference between the lowest or the highest temperature and the base construction
temperature assumed in the design shall be used to calculate thermal deformation
effects.
b) Temperature Gradient (TG) – Temperature rise can differ on the top and bottom
surfaces of a bridge because the top surface is subjected to direct solar radiation.
There is not data for Ethiopia but T1 may be taken 30OC and T2 7.8OC for
lowlands, and T1 as 25OC and T2 as 6.7OC for highlands in Fig. 4.8 for concrete
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bridges and steel superstructures with concrete deck. T3 will be taken as 0OC. T1,
T2 and T3 are not absolute temperatures, but relative

A = 0.3m for concrete super structure with depth 0.4m and

A = depth – 0.1m for depth < 0.4m

Fig 4.8

c) Shrinkage (SH) and Creep (CR) – where appropriate, differential shrinkage strains
shall be considered. Creep should also be accounted for and force effects due to
creep depends on time and changes in compressive stress.
d) Settlement (SE) – Differential settlement causes internal forces in continuous
structures. Extreme values of differential settlements should be determined and
used to analyze for internal forces.

4.5. AASHTO – 2005 Load Factors and Load Combinations

In Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) method, load factors are applied to the loads
and resistance factors to the internal resistances or capacities of sections. The value of a load
factor depends on the accuracy with which a load can be determined and the probability of its
simultaneous occurrence with other loads in a combination for a specific limit state.
Components and connections in a bridge shall satisfy Eqn (1.1) reproduced below for
convenience, for the applicable combinations of factored extreme force effects as specified at
each of the following limit states.

Where:
i = load factor, a statistically based multiplier applied to force effects, specified in
Tables 4.12 and 4.13
= resistance factor, a statistically based multiplier applied to nominal resistance
Qi = is force effect, Rn = nominal resistance and Rf – factored resistance = Rn
ηi = load modifier, a factor relating to ductility (ηD), redundancy (ηR), and operational
importance (ηI) as given in Eqns 4.16 and 4.17

For loads for which a maximum value of i is appropriate

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ηi = ηD ηR ηI 0.95 . . . . . . (4.16)

For loads for which a minimum value of is appropriate

STRENGTH I – Basic load combination relating to the normal vehicular use of the bridge
without wind
STRENGTH II - Load combination relating to the use of the bridge by ERA – specified
special design vehicles, permit vehicles, or both without wind
STRENGTH III - Load combination relating to the bridge exposed to wind velocity
exceeding 90 km/h. Vehicles become unstable at higher wind velocities.
Therefore, high winds prevent the presence of significant live load on the
bridge.
STRENGTH IV - Load combination relating to very high dead load to live load force
effect ratios. For bridges with upto 180m spans, this load combination
will govern where the dead load to live load force effect ration exceeds
7.0.
STRENGTH V - Load combination relating to normal vehicular use of the bridge with
wind of 90km/h (25m/s) velocity.
EXTREME EVENT I - Load combination including earthquake
EXTREME EVENT II - Load combination relating to ice load, collision by vessels and
vehicles, and certain hydraulic events with a reduced live load
other than that which is part of the vehicular collision load, CT
SERVICE I - Load combination relating to the normal operational use of the bridge with
a 90km/h wind and all loads taken at their nominal values. Also related to
deflection control in buried metal structures, tunnel liner plate, and
thermoplastic pipe and to control crack width in reinforced concrete
structures. This load combination should also be used for the investigation
of slope stability

Compression in prestressed concrete components is investigated using this

load combination.
SERVICE II - Load combination intended to control yielding of steel structures and slip of
slip critical connections due to vehicular live load.
SERVICE III - Load combination relating only to tension in prestressed concrete structures
with the objective of crack control.
FATIGUE - Fatigue and fracture load combination relating to repetitive gravitational
vehicular live load and dynamic responses under a single design truck
having the axle spacing of 9m between the 145kN axles.

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Table 4.12 Load combinations and load factors
Load Combination DC EV LL PL WA WS WL FR TU TG SE
DD ES IM LS CR
Limit state DW CE EL SH
EH BR
Strength I (unless noted) p 1.75 1.00 - - 1.00 0.50/1.20 TG SE
Strength II p 1.35 1.00 - - 1.00 0.50/1.20 TG SE
Strength III p - 1.00 1.40 - 1.00 0.50/1.20 TG SE
Strength IV - -
EH, EV, ES, DW p - 1.00 - - 1.00 0.50/1.20
DC only 1.50
Strength V p 1.35 1.00 0.40 1.0 1.00 0.50/1.20 TG SE
Extreme Event I p EO 1.00 - - 1.00 - - -
Extreme Event II p 0.50 1.00 - - 1.00 - - -
Service I 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.30 1.0 1.00 1.00/1.20 TG SE
Service II 1.00 0.80 1.00 - - 1.00 1.00/1.20 - -
Service III 1.00 0.80 1.00 - - 1.00 1.00/1.20 TG SE
Fatigue-LL, IM,CE only - 0.75 - - - - - - -

The load factor for temperature gradient, TG, and settlement, SE, should be considered on
a project specific basis. In lieu of project specific information, TG may be taken as 0.0 at
the extreme event limit states, 1.0 at the service limit state when live load is not considered,
and 0.50 at the service limit state when live load is considered.

For segmentally constructed bridges, the following combination shall be investigated at the
service limit state:

DC+DW+EH+EV+ES+WA+CR+SH+TG+EL

Load Factors for Construction Loads

Load factors for the weight of the structure and appurtenances shall not be taken less than
1.25.

Unless otherwise specified by ERA, the load factor for construction loads, for equipment and
for dynamic effects shall not be less than 1.5. The load factor for wind shall not be less than
1.25. All other load factors shall be taken as 1.0.

The load factors presented here should not relieve the contractor of the responsibility for
safety and damage control during construction.

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Fundamentals of Bridge Design – CENG 5501 Lecture Note
Table 4.13 Load factors for permanent loads, p

Load Factor
Type of Load Maximum Minimum
DC: Components and attachment 1.25 0.90
DD: Downdrag 1.80 0.45
DW: Wearing surface and utilities 1.50 0.65
EH: Horizontal earth pressure
 Active 1.50 0.90
 At rest 1.35 0.90
EL: Locked-in erection stresses 1.0 1.0
EV: Vertical earth pressure
 Overall stability 1.35 N/A
 Retaining structure 1.35 1.00
 Rigid buried structure 1.30 0.90
 Rigid Frames 1.35 0.90
 Flexible buried structure other than
metal box culverts 1.95 0.90
 Flexible metal box culverts 1.50 0.90
ES: Earth surcharge 1.50 0.75

For conventional construction, resistance factor shall be taken as

For flexure and tension of RC 0.9 For compression in strut-and-tie model 0.70
For flexure and tension of PSC 1.00 For compression in anchorage zones 0.80
For shear and torsion 0.90 For tension in steel in anchorage zones 1.00
For bearing on concrete 0.70 For resistance during pile driving 1.00

For axial compression with spiral or ties 0.75

For compression members with flexure, the value of may be increased linearly too the
value for flexure as the factored axial load resistance, Pn decreases from 0.10f’ cAg to 0.

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First Semester 2012/13 A. Y.