17a1a0b CIS888614800099723
17a1a0b CIS888614800099723
On
May 1996
Contents
Introduction 4
Arch ring 7
Parapets 9
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Brickwork design 10
General 10
Engineering performance 10
Durability 11
Mortars 11
Detailing 11
Movement accommodation 12
Competitiveness 13
Conclusions 13
References 14
Authors
David Cox CEng, MICE, MIHT. Head of Bridges, WS Atkins Consultants Ltd, Cambridge.
David Cox's career in highways and bridges with Cambridgeshire County Council included the
award winning Foxcovcrt Road and Railway Bridges and the cable stayed Cambridge Station
Cycleway Bridge. Reorganisation of the County's Transportation Department saw the formation
of the Engineering Consultancy Division which in 1995 was transferred to WS Atkins
Consultants Ltd where he became Head of Bridges.
There are about one hundred thousand highway carrying be built in the UK since before the second world war.
bridges in the United Kingdom and about forty percent The bridge replaced one of steel and concrete which
of them are brick or stone masonry arch bridges. Most was assessed to have inadequate load capacity and was
of these masonry arches were built in the eighteenth and uneconomic to strengthen. It is located in a conservation
nineteenth centuries during the construction of the canals area and it was felt that the setting warranted an
and railways. Very few have been built since the first attractive bridge which would blend well with the local
world war when steel and concrete took over as the environment. The local residents were strongly in favour
principal bridge construction materials. of a brick arch bridge. The construction cost was little
A major programme of assessing the traffic load capacity more than that of a steel or concrete structure, and
of the UK highway bridge stock is currently underway in because of the low maintenance cost of masonry
preparation for the introduction of heavier commercial arch bridges, its estimated whole life cost was less.
vehicles. This programme has shown that arch bridges The Department of Transport (DoT) supported
require less maintenance than steel and concrete bridges Cambridgeshire County Council and is encouraging
which suffer from corrosion of steel (including steel the construction of new arch bridges. To further this
reinforcement), and wear and tear to bearings and objective, DoT is preparing a Design Standard and
expansion joints. Arch bridges do not contain these Advice Note. The purpose of this BDA Special
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items. Despite being older and often carrying loads Publication is to give practical advice on brick arch
much in excess of those envisaged when they were built, bridge design and is intended to be complementary to
maintenance costs of masonry arch bridges are about the DoT documents. They will be referred to in this
two thirds of those for comparable steel and concrete Publication as the Design Standard and Advice Note.
bridges. They also make an attractive contribution to The aim is to encourage the construction of new brick
the environment. arch bridges which retain the longevity and low
These factors, coupled with the need to provide a maintenance costs of traditional arch bridges, but which
120 year design life, have led to a renewed interest in may incorporate modern techniques to help achieve this
building traditional unreinforced masonry arch bridges. and to meet the requirements of modern highway design.
Cambridgeshire County Council led the way in 1992 This Publication draws on other BDA publications,
by building Kimbolton Butts Bridge, illustrated on the BSI Standards and DoT Standards and they should be
covers, which is thought to be the first completely new referred to for more detailed information; they are listed
brick arch highway bridge of traditional construction to in the References, on page 14.
4
Figure 1. Brunel's Maidenhead Railway Bridge.
Selection, form
and suitability
The ready availability of bricks in
a wide variety of types means that Figure 2a. Semi-circular arch. Figure 2b. Segmental arch.
Brick has the advantage over stone Figure 2c. Semi-elliptical arch. Figure 2d. Gothic arch.
for an arch bridge in that stone has
to be cut to shape, and the shapes
required can be complicated,
whereas in a brick arch the shape
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Granular backfill
Rise = 2000
A B Filter drain
Span = 8000
Elevation Longitudinal section on bridge
6
Figure 4. Elevation and longitudinal section of Kimbolton Butts Bridge.
Where mortar pointing is used as the method of joint
finishing, the pointing depth should not be relied upon to
carry dead load stresses. For structural design purposes
it is advisable to reduce the chosen arch ring thickness
by about 25mm and this will take account of mortar
pointing and also the likely need to repoint mortar
joints during the working life of the bridge.
the alternative use of piled foundations will increase the Possible bonds may be as follows:
construction cost of the bridge by about 20%. Figures 4
• A ring 215mm thick can be obtained by laying all the
and 5 show the mass concrete foundation and abutment
bricks as headers (figure 6a). Alternatively an English
design used for Kimbolton Butts Bridge. For continuity
bond could be used so that half the bricks are headers
of appearance, the abutment wall should be of brick.
and half stretchers, to give better transverse bonding
It can be a non-loadbearing skin but it is preferable to
(figure 6b). This ring thickness could be used up to a
make it part of the loadbearing structure, tied in to
maximum span of about 4m.
concrete backing.
Arch ring
Initial sizing of the arch ring may be done using Figure 6a. Extrados
empirical methods: advice will be found in the DoT
Advice Note. For Kimbolton Butts Bridge the MEXE
Intrados
method (DoT et ah BD 21 and BA 16) was used.
The design may then be refined using a variety of
analytical methods which can be categorised as:
• elastic methods.
• plastic (or mechanism) methods.
• numerical methods (eg, finite elements).
Figure 6b. Extrados
All these methods are available as commercial computer
software packages. Most methods permit the fill to
behave structurally, that is, it will disperse wheel loads Intrados
from the road surface onto the arch ring, and it will
resist movement of the arch ring by the development of
7
passive pressures. Figure 6. Arch ring bonds.
• A ring 328mm thick can be achieved as shown in
figure 6c. This ring thickness could be used up to a
maximum span of about 8m.
• A ring 440mm thick can be achieved as shown in
figure 6d. The English bond used at Kimbolton is
illustrated in figure 7. This ring thickness could be used
up to a maximum span of about 15m.
Figure 6c.
Figure 8.
Kimbolton Centring.
Inset: Brick arch
barrel closing.
Extrados
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• A reinforced earth structure designed to relieve Austenitic stainless steel reinforcement and wall ties were
pressures on the spandrel walls. used. The parapet wall was structurally secured to a
reinforced concrete torsion beam which spans between
• Foamed concrete.
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Post-tensioning bar
maintenance duct
Reinforced and
Anchorage pocket
grouted cavity wall
End parapet wall
Reinforced concrete
torsion beam
Brick diaphragm
Mass brickwork
construction
spandrel over arch
post-tensioned
wing walls
4 N° post-tensioning
bars
9
Figure 10. Cross sections of Kimbolton Butts Bridge.
The principal reference for clay brick
specification is BS 3921. For engineering
design BS 5628:Parts 1 and 2 provide
recommendations for the structural design
of brickwork masonry while BS 5400
provides design guidance specific to
bridge structures. BS 5628:Part 3 gives
guidance on components, materials and
workmanship aspects which includes
design of brickwork for durability.
Guidance on design for durability of
brickwork is also given in BDA Design
Note 7.
Figure 11. Reinforced brickwork grouted-cavity parapet wall under construction.
Engineering performance
The principal form of loading in brickwork for bridge
structures will be compressive forces which can be direct
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TABLE 1
This suggests that simpler solutions to the provision of
Classification of clay bricks by compressive
an adequate parapet may be possible. Designers are
strength and water absorption
advised to consider what may be permitted relevant to
the classification of the structure. Class Compressive strength Water absorption
(N/mm2) (% by mass)
Engineering A $ 70 #4.5
Engineering B $50 #7.0
Brickwork design
Damp-proof course 1 $5 #4.5
General Damp-proof course 2 $5 #7.0
Brick and mortar specifications should be selected on the
basis of performance, usually compressive strength and All others $5 No limits
as FL or FN to BS 3921. Where normal soluble salts systems at the bases of walls because structural continuity
content bricks (FN) are used, particularly where wetting and integrity would be reduced. Damp-proof course
and saturation are prevalent, then mortars made with bricks (see table 1) laid as a minimum of two bonded
Sulfate-resisting Portland cement should be considered courses in a designation (i) mortar should be used.
to avoid the risk of mortar sulfation. Recessed mortar joint profiles should be avoided as they
Very exposed brickwork elements such as parapets and increase the risk of water penetration and also reduce the
particularly those with flush detailing such as cappings
will need special design attention. Clay brickwork T A B L E 2
Movement accommodation
Movement in the brickwork of a bridge may be due to
several factors:
• long term irreversible expansion of clay brickwork due
to moisture.
• seasonal moisture movements (usually relatively small).
• seasonal thermal movements.
• creep of highly stressed elements such as prestressed
brickwork.
12 • movement of foundations. Figure 15a. Movement joint under construction.
Conclusions
Brick arch bridges fulfil a functional role and make an
attractive and worthy contribution to the environment,
but they have not been built for most of this century.
The problems associated with the steel and concrete
bridges which succeeded them have recently focused
attention on the advantages of brick masonry arch
bridges. The innovative work of Cambridgeshire County
Council in building Kimbolton Butts Bridge has shown
that brick arch bridges are a viable alternative to steel
or concrete bridges, at least for spans up to about 15m.
200
Steel or
Concrete
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180
160 Brick
Masonry-
Arch
Cost (£,000's)
l40
120 35 years
1ife
1O0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Competitiveness Time : Years after Construction
BSI Standards
• BS 3921:1985 (1995). Clay bricks.
• BS 4729:1990. Dimensions of bricks of special
shapes and sizes.
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