Summer Internship Project Report

On

Railway Bridge Construction

By
Avishek Baidya
B-Tech ( Civil ) -2011-15
5th Semester
A7615811032
Submitted to
Mr. Hari Gopal
Head
Department of Civil Engineering
At
Amity School of Engineering & Technology
Amity University Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow Campus

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to take this golden opportunity to express my kind
gratitude and sincere thanks to my Head of Institution Prof S.T.H
Abidi, and Brig. U.K. Chopra, Amity School Of Engineering and
Technology and my mentor Mr. Hari Gopal, Head of Department of
Civil Engineering for their kind support and necessary counselling in
the making of this project report. I am also indebted to each and every
person responsible for the making up of this project directly or
indirectly.
I must also acknowledge or deep debt of gratitude each one of my
colleague who led this project comes out in the way it is. Its my hard
work and untiring sincere efforts and mutual cooperation to bring out
the project. Last but not the least I would like to thank my parents for
their sound counselling and cheerful support. They have always
inspired us and kept our spirit up.
Date: 28/10/2013

Avishek Baidya
B.Tech-Civil (2011-15)
5th Semester
Enroll no. A7615811032

Types of Railroad Bridges

Girder Bridge
A girder bridge is perhaps the most common and most
basic bridge. A log across a creek is an example of a
girder bridge in its simplest form. In modern steel girder
bridges, the two most common girders are I-beam
girders and box-girders. If we look at the cross section of
an I-beam girder we can immediately understand why it
is called an Ibeam. The cross section of the girder takes
the shape of the capital letter I. The vertical plate in the
middle is known as the web, and the top and bottom
plates are referred to as flanges. To explain why the I
shape is an efficient shape for a girder is a long and
difficult task so we won't attempt that here. A box girder
is much the same as an I-beam girder except that,
obviously, it takes the shape of a box. The typical box
girder has two webs and two flanges.
However, in some cases there are more than two webs,
creating a multiple chamber box girder.
Other examples of simple girders include pi girders,
named for their likeness to the mathematical symbol for
pi, and T shaped girders. Since the majority of girder
bridges these days are built with box or I-beam girders
we will skip the specifics of these rarer cases.
Now that we know the basic physical differences
between box girders and I-beam girders, let's look at the

advantages and disadvantages of each. An I-beam is very

simple to design and build and works very well in most
cases. However, if the bridge contains any curves, the
beams become subject to twisting forces, also known as
torque. The added second web in a box girder adds
stability and increases resistance to twisting forces. This
makes the box girder the ideal choice for bridges with
any significant curve in them. Box girders, being more
stable are also able to span greater distances and are
often used for longer spans, where I-beams would not be
sufficiently strong or stable. However, the design and
fabrication of box girders is more difficult than that of I
beams. For example, in order to weld the inside seams of
a box girder, a human or welding robot must be able to
operate inside the box girder.

Beam Bridge
This is the simplest kind of bridge - basically a rigid
horizontal structure with supports at each end to rest it
on. Earlier, it was in the form of a log placed across a
river, but now it is more familiar to us in the form of one
or more straight steel or concrete members supported by
two abutments on either side and piers supporting in the
middle. Various types of sections are used to the beams
used to make these bridges.

Fig.1.Beam Bridge

The span that a beam bridge can be built across varies

according to the size of the beams used. A beam which is
higher in dimension has more material to dissipate the
tension caused, and can hence span larger distances. So

for efficient use of material, engineers often use a truss

paired with the beam, which works like a higher beam.
Yet, even if there is a truss paired with the beam bridge,
it is better to use the beam bridge for short distances
since at a certain distance, the continuous trusses will
make the bridge too heavy to support its own weight.

How it Works: The weight of the beams as well as the

live loads on the bridge push down directly on the piers
and abutments. By supporting the live loads on the
bridge, there is both tension and compression forces on
the beam. The surface immediately in contact with the
loads, that is the upper surface endures compression
while the bottom surface endures tension and so there is
a bending action on the beam. The beam should be
strong enough to stay rigid under these forces so that the
bridge does not bend and collapse.

Truss Bridge
Basically a variation to the standard beam bridge, a truss
is used as if it is a bigger beam than in a normal beam
bridge. A variety of trusses were developed by engineers
and these were used to make bridges. The truss bridges
developed mainly vary on the basis of the design and
location of the truss used.

Fig.2. Types of Truss Bridge

Initially, timber was used to make the trusses, which was

later replaced by iron and steel, which can carry the
various tension and compression forces on the truss

members better than wood. A truss is more rigid than a

single beam. A truss bridge also uses material more
economically than a beam bridge does. It is found that in
spite of the spaces between the members, a truss is
generally stronger than a single beam made from the
same amount of material.
How it Works: The forces exerted by the loads on it are
dissipated through the entire truss and each separate
member carries either tension or compression and not
both, which makes the structure strong.

Fig.3. Truss Bridge(isometric view)

Suspension Bridge
The initial form of the suspension bridge was made
from twisted grass made into ropes. Now the suspension
bridge is one where the deck is literally hung from two or
more towers with the help of cables.

Fig.4. Suspension Bridge

The main cables run from one end to another over the
towers. Suspension cables are hung from the main
cables to the deck. There is often a truss along the
underside of the deck to support its weight. Suspension
bridges can span longer distances than a beam, truss or
arch bridge. Much lesser of the main construction
materials is used, since the deck is suspended from the
towers which have strong foundations. But due to the
complex design and the materials needed to make the
strong cables sometimes make the suspension bridge the
costliest option. Being a less rigid bridge, it is probably
able to bear ground vibrations better than other designs.
However, winds portray a big problem to the stability of
a suspension bridge. Enough aerodynamic proofing is
required to be given to prevent the vibration of the deck
under the influence of strong winds.

How it Works: The imposed loads on the bridge deck

produce a force of tension on the suspension cables and
consequently the main cables connected to the towers.
This produces a compression force on the towers, which
bear it successfully.

Cable-Stayed Bridge
A cable-stayed bridge might look similar to a suspension
bridge at the first glance. But unlike a suspension bridge,
it does not require any anchorages, nor does it require
two
towers.

Fig.5. Cable Stayed Bridge

Cable bridges can span longer than a beam or a truss

bridge, but shorter than a long suspension bridge. Cablestayed bridges are faster to build and require less cables.
They are as advantageous as suspension bridges but they
are cheaper to construct than them.
How it Works: Similar to a suspension bridge, the
imposed loads produce a tension force on the cables and
consequently a compression force on the towers which is
channelled into the ground through the foundations.
Hence the tower(s) of acable-stayed bridge carries the
compression forces on the bridge while the cables carry
the tension forces.

Materials used for Railway Bridge

Construction
Wood
Stone
Brick
Iron and Steel
Concrete
Reinforced concrete

Timber (wood used as a building material)

Advantages:
there used to be a plentiful supply in most locations;
easy material to work with;
relatively strong in both tension and compression.
Disadvantages:
timber is no longer a cheap, readily available
material;
height of tree limits length of beam;
timber changes shape and size in different weather
conditions;
not easy to make strong joints in large structures.

Stone
Advantages:
much stronger than bridges built from timber;
very strong in compression.
Disadvantages:
required more time and skill to construct
than timber;

 not strong in tension.

Brick
Advantages:
strong in compression.
Disadvantages:
requires more time and skill to construct
than timber;
not strong in tension.

Iron and steel

Advantages:
very strong in tension;
during the industrial revolution, a relatively cheap
material.
Disadvantages:
weak in compression;
at present, relatively expensive. Maintenance costs
are also expensive. Iron and steel corrode when
exposed to air. The surface of the metal needs to be
painted, or coated with some other protective layer.
The Forth railway bridge has a permanent team of
painters!

 the use of a new material brought with it completely

new designs, which would have been difficult, if not
impossible, to build using traditional materials.
Telford combined stone and metal to construct
his suspension bridge at Conwy in 1826.
the demands of the railway age increased the pace
of change, and the use of iron and steel in bridge
construction.

modern designs which use steel

are suspension and cable stay bridges.
Constructing lattice bridges would now be too
expensive. Steel is still used extensively, along
with concrete in most bridge construction.

Concrete
Advantages:
very strong in compression;
currently the cheapest building material;
can be made with different characteristics for
different purposes, by using different aggregates
(the sand and/or stone which is used in the
mixture).
Disadvantages:
weak in tension.

Reinforced concrete
Advantages:
combines the best qualities of its component
materials, being strong in both tension and
compression.
Disadvantages:
sometimes criticised for ugly appearance - but this
is more a criticism of the structure, rather than the
material from which it is built.

Cement
This is a grey powder which is produced by burning
limestone or chalk (both natural forms of calcium
carbonate, CaCO3) with clay.
It readily mixes with water to form a hard, stonelike material.
Cement is mixed with sand and water to make
bricklaying mortar.
Mixed with sand and small pieces of stone, along
with water, it forms concrete.
Until the 1880s cement was made in kilns which
were loaded, fired, left to cool, and then emptied.
This was a time consuming process.
Towards the end of the 19th century rotary kilns
were developed. In these, cement could be
manufactured continuously. This brought the price

of cement down considerably, and so

made concrete much less expensive.

Fig.6. Process of Cement Making

Concrete used in construction of Railway

Bridges

Strength grades of concrete:

The concrete shall be in grades designated in Table 1,
where the characteristic strength is defined as the
strength of concrete below which not more than 5 per
cent of test results are expected to fall.

Table 1. Characteristic Compressive

Strength
Grade
designation
M40
M45
M50
M55
M60
M65
M70
M75
M80

Specified characteristic compressive

strength at 28 days (MPa)
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80

 The Cement content of concrete, inclusive of any

mineral admixtures, shall be not less than 380
kg/m3
The Cement content excluding any mineral
admixtures shall not exceed 450 kg/m3
The water/(cement+ all Cementitious materials)
ratio should generally not exceed 0.33, but in no
case more than 0.40.

Workability:
The concrete mix proportions chosen should be such
that the concrete is of adequate workability for placing
conditions and congestion of reinforcement to ensure
proper placement without segregation or honey
combing, and thorough compaction.
Suggested ranges of workability of concrete measured
in accordance with IS: 1199 are given below:
Degree or
Workability
Low
Medium
High
Very High

Slump (mm)
25 - 50
50 - 100
100 - 150
150 - 200*

CONCLUSION
Learning and Internship experience
My experience was quite exciting. I was given
maximum exposure at the site. Every department head
helped me very enthusiastically. The departments gave
me exposure to every practical & possible aspect
during the intended time. They provided me with
crucial data and their working methodologies. The
response from their side was quite warm.
Coming to the learning part, I got a firm
understanding of the working of company and the
inter-relations between the different departments. In
these 6 weeks of internship, I came to know about the
common issues that are being faced at site and how
those can be solved. The quality of every work is of
very high standard. The staffs of each department are
committed to give their best quality.
Overall the training period was quite fruitful. I hope
that this experience would help me throughout my
career.