Bridge Bearings

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 Bridge Bearings
It is the interface between two major
components of bridge structure i.e.
super structure and sub structure.

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Types of movement in the bridge superstructure

● Thermal expansion and contraction

● Deformation under live load
● Longitudinal forces- tractive / breaking

● Wind loads
● Settlement of supports
● Seismic forces
● Creep and shrinkage of concrete
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 Functions of bearing:
● Load transmission
– Transfers the forces coming from the super-structures
to substructure
● Permit rotary or rocking movement caused by
deflection of super structure.
● Allow horizontal movement of super structure
due to thermal expansion or contraction.
● Bears part of the longitudinal force due to train
load
● Restrict lateral movement of super structure
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 Bridge Bearing
Accommodation of Translational movement of
Superstructure-
It is facilitated by any one or combination of the
following mode of action by bearings-
● By sliding action
● By rolling action

● By shearing strain

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 Bridge Bearings
Accommodation of Rotational movement
of Superstructure-
It is facilitated by any one or combination of the
following mode of action by bearings-
● By rocking/hinge action

● By differential compression (as in

elastomeric pads)

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 SELECTION OF BEARINGS
It isbased on following factors

● 1. Functional requirement
– Vertical Load
– Longitudinal Load
– Maximum Longitudinal movement permitted
– Maximum Rotation Permitted

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 SELECTION OF BEARINGS

● 2. Expected life –
– Life of Bearing shall be the compatible with life of
bridge
● 3. Maintenance efforts-
– Lifecycle maintenance effort on Bearings should be
minimum
● 4. Cost of Bearing-
– For this lifecycle cost of bearing is considered & not
the initial cost of Bearing.

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 SELECTION OF BEARINGS

● 5. Other factors
– Overall height of the bearing assembly
– Performance of bearing under seismic loads.

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TYPES OF BEARINGS ON RLY BRIDGES

● Sliding steel plate plain bearing

● Sliding steel plate articulated bearing
● Centralised Articulated Bearing
● Phosphor Bronze sliding Bearing
● Roller & Rocker bearing

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 TYPES OF BEARINGS ON RLY BRIDGES

● Roller & Rocker oil Bath bearing

● Elastomeric Bearing
● POT-PTFE Bearing
● Spherical Bearing
● Pendulum Bearing
● Shock Transmission Units 15
SLIDING BEARINGS

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Co-eff of Friction for SLIDING BEARINGS
Co-efficient of friction for different sliding
surfaces are-

Material μ
a) Mild steel over mild steel 0.2 to 0.3
b) Mild steel over phosphor 0.15
bronze

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 C&G (cleaning & Greasing) of
sliding Bearing

● All bearings (Except POT-PTFE) shall be

generally cleaned and greased once in three
years.

● In case LWR is continued over the bridge,

C&G frequency shall be reduced to two
years.
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 C&G of sliding Bearing
● In case of sliding bearing, the girder shall be
lifted by not more than 6-8mm. Bearing
surface shall be cleaned with K Oil and a
mixture of black oil.
● Approx 15-20 minutes are required to
complete C&G of one end.
● Grease and Graphite in working proportion
shall be mixed and applied on the bearing
surface and girder lowered. 22
 Equipments for C&G
Equipments required for greasing of sliding
bearings :
● Jacks (appropriate capacity) 2 nos + 1 standby
● Hard wooden packing (below and above jack)
● Grease graphite grade 3 conforming to IS 508
● Kerosene and/or released black oil for cleaning
● 6 mm thick steel scrapers
● Mortar pan
● Cotton waste.
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Lifting of 9.15 m girder for C&G

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Lifting of 12.2/18.3 & 24.4m span girders

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Lifting of Steel girders by Jacking Bracket

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Site Photograph of Jacking Bracket on Plate Girders

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Lifting Arrangement of Open Web Girder

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 Precautions during C&G Work

● To be done after duly informing P-Way,

OHE departments
● P Way staff shall preferably be available
during C&G.
● Proper protection of site as per IRPWM
provisions shall be ensured and sufficient
no. of look out man shall be deputed
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 Precautions during C&G Work
● Girder shall not be lifted excessively
– (not more than 6-8 mm)
● Properly Tested jacks shall be used for
lifting of girder and spare jacks shall also be
kept as standby
● Girder shall be lifted from the permitted
locations as prescribed. C&G of sliding
bearing is carried out under suitable caution
order. 31
Items to be checked during C&G of Bearings

During C&G following items must be checked –

● Any crack/Brekage in Guide strips and Location

strips
● Holding down bolts loose or not fully driven
● Corrosion in Holding down bolts
● shaking of Bed Blocks
● Cracks in Bed Blocks

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Items to be checked during C&G of Bearings

During C&G following items must be checked

● Sinking of bed plates into bed block

● Crack in weld/ flange in girder near the bearing
● Corrosion in bearing/ bed plate
● Ballast/other debris near the bearing area (to be
cleaned during C&G)

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 Lifting of Track on Bridge
● During repetitive tamping, level of track goes up
as compared to level at bridge portion.
● To correct the LL of track, bridge girder has to
be lifted.
● This is done by insertion of steel stool

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Lifting of steel girder with Stool

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 Rectification for sunken Bed Plate
● Thoroughly investigate the reason for sinking
of bed plate and take corrective measures
● Temporary support the girder on wooden
blocks and take out the bottom plate.
● Repair the top of damaged bed block with
epoxy/polymer concrete
● Use a new bed plate of higher plan area so as
to distribute the load to a larger area of bed
block 45
Phosphor Bronze Bearing

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 Phosphor Bronze Bearing

● Phosphor Bronze bearing need not be

greased as they are corrosion resistant and
retain smooth surface.
● However, area around the bearing should be
regularly cleaned for proper functioning of
bearing.

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ROLLER Rocker BEARING

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OIL BATH BEARING

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 C&G of Roller & Rocker Bearing
● Rollers and rockers are lifted from their
position by adequate slinging.
● Roller Bearings are scraped and polished
with zero grade sand paper.
● Grease graphite of sufficient quantity shall
be applied evenly over the bearings, rockers
and rollers to keep their surfaces smooth
and bearing lowered.
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 C&G of Roller & Rocker Bearing
● Knuckle pins of both free and fixed ends
shall also be greased.
● While lifting the fixed end for greasing of
knuckle, space between girders or between
girder & ballast wall shall be jammed with
wedges to prevent longitudinal movement
of the girder.
● Traffic block shall invariably be taken for
greasing of these bearings.
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 C&G of Roller & Rocker Bearing
● Traffic block of approx 40-50 minutes are
required for greasing of roller end and
approx 25-30 minutes is required for
greasing of rocker end.
● C&G of roller and rocker bearing shall
preferably be carried out in presence of
ABE.

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 C&G of Roller & Rocker Bearing
● Roller & Rocker bearing should be free of
corrosion and debris.
● Tooth of roller bearing should be vertical at
mean temperature.
● For deciding the slant of teeth at greasing
temperature, completion drawing should be
referred which indicates the maximum
expansion and temperature range for which
bearing has been designed.
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 C&G of Roller & Rocker Bearing
● In case of oil bath bearing, dust covers shall
be invariably provided to keep the oil free
from dirt.
● Oil of oil bath bearing-
– Level of oil shall be checked every year and recouped
– Oil shall be completely replaced once in five years.

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 Items to be observed during C&G

● Flattening of rollers
● Cracks in rollers

● Corrosion in rollers
– Seizure of rollers
● Problems in holding down bolts and
bed plates
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ELASTOMERIC BEARING

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 ELASTOMERIC BEARINGS
Advantages:-
1. Minimum /Nil maintenance- as no moving parts
2. Installation is easy
3. Permits movement in all directions
4. Occupies small space
5. Serves as a shock absorber due to anti-
vibrations (Damping) properties of elastomer
6. Transfer of longitudinal forces to Bridge
Approaches efficiently
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 c l
c

laminate b

c
SHEAR/ TRANSLATION ACTION

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ROTATION/ BENDING ACTION

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 ACTION UNDER VERTICAL
LOAD

● Vertical load gets converted to shear in the

elastomer/ laminate interface
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Anti slip devices

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 Elastomeric Bearings

Disadvantages-
● Elastomeric bearing can’t be used as a fixed
bearing
● Translation allowed by elastomeric bearing is
restricted by its thickness – 0.5 to 0.6 times of
thickness
● Thick elastomeric pads are rather unstable
● Limit of vertical load which can be placed safely
on elastomeric pads as it may cause excessive
compression & bulging. 72
Types of Defects in Elastomeric Bearing

Following common defects are noticed in

Elastomeric Bearings
– Bulging
– Tearing of cover
– Tilting of bearing
– Disintegration of bearing
– Soft bearings (excess vibrations)

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General Guidelines for Inspection

Following Thumb-Rule shall be applied to

ensure satisfactory behaviour of Elastomeric
Bearing
– Shear deformation more than 50% of height of
Elastomeric Pads
– Rotation leading to off loading of an edge
– Compression more than 5% of height of the
pads
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POT PTFE BEARING

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 POT PTFE Bearing
POT-PTFE Bearing has two Components –

POT- for Rotational action by Elastomeric pad within a

steel pot

PTFE- for Sliding Action by Steel-PTFE pair

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 POT PTFE Bearing
1. Fixed End- Only rotational action is required.
Hence elastomeric pad within the steel pot is
provided.
2. At Free end- Rotational & Translational action is
required. Therefore, elastomeric pad within steel
pot is provided. Over the top of steel pot, PTFE
surface sliding over the stainless steel surface is
provided for sliding action.

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 POT PTFE Bearing
Suitability of PTFE (Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene)
material for Bridge Bearing-
– polymer of very high strength
– Chemically inert
– Low coefficient of friction
– Not oxidized easily
– Remains stable at extreme atmospheric
temperatures
– Resistant to all common solvent.
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 POT BEARINGS
● Pot bearing – It take beneficial properties of
elastomer in fixed bearings & design of large
expansion bearings
● Rotational movement permitted by shear
deformation of an elastomeric pad
● Translational movement restraint by completely
encasing the elastomeric pad in a POT
● No compressive deflection of elastomer as it is
encased
● Sliding component can be added at top.
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 POT BEARINGS

● Friction between PTFE and stainless steel is

highly susceptible to intrusion of dust
● Therefore, to avoid ingress of dust, seals are
also provided around PTFE bearings
● Hence Silicon grease is generally used as
lubricant

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 POT BEARINGS

● POT bearings should be manufactured with

very close tolerances for its satisfactory
behaviour.
● Therefore, it shall be procured with very
reputed firms only which are approved by
RDSO.

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 WEARING STAINLESS
SURFACES STEEL
PLATE
PTFE

PISTON DUST
ELASTOMER SEAL
BRASS
POT
SEAL

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Installation of POT-PTFE Bearing

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Pot Bearings used for the first time for Steel
open web Girders of 120m span on Mandovi
and Zuari Bridges in KRCL 96
 Advantages of POT/PTFE

● Overall height of bearing is very less as compared

to Roller/Rocker bearing.
● Capable of taking Large vertical load.
● Can take Large movements- in rotation as well
as in translation
● More service life
● It is almost maintenance free.

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 Inspection of POT-PTFE Bearing

● Suitable access shall be provided to the

Pier/Abutment for easy inspection and
maintenance of bearing.

● POT-PTFE Bearings are inspected once a year

for first five years of its installation.

● Thereafter, these bearings shall be inspected

every two year. 98
 Inspection of POT-PTFE Bearing

● Bearing shall be inspected during extreme

summer and extreme winter and note the
movement of bearing in each inspection.
● Movement of bearing will indicate whether
bearing is behaving properly.

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Spherical Bearing

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Spherical Bearing

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 Spherical Bearing

Spherical bearing are designed to carry

combinations of vertical loads, horizontal loads,
longitudinal and transversal movements and
rotations and they are used in steel and concrete
road and railway bridges. The bearing is composed
of steel elements coupled with PTFE surface to
allow movement and rotations.

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 Spherical Bearing

One side of the internal median plate is machined

as a spherical surface to allow tilting movement
(rotation) whilst on the other side a flat sliding
surface is obtained to allow displacements.
Depending on whether the bearing is fixed, guided
sliding or a free sliding, Spherical bearings
accommodate vertical loads and corresponding
horizontal forces, as well as movements in
longitudinal or transversal directions.

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 Spherical Bearing

● Spherical bearings are producing with Stainless

steel as per code EN 1337-7.

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 Spherical Bearing

Advantages:-
● It can be designed to cover a wide range of
loads from 50 Tonnes to 100000 Tonnes.
● Can transmit the horizontal loads with
practically no limitation.

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 Spherical Bearing

Advantages:-
● No limitation for horizontal displacement.
● Suitable for all type of structures like steel
and concrete bridges.
● Highly durability and require no
maintenance.

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Spherical Bearing

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Fixing og Spherical Bearing

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 Suitability
of
different types of
bearings
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 Load range & movement in Bearings

Type of bearing Load (T) Movement (mm)

(from mean position)
Steel sliding plates. 20-133 25

Roller bearing 60-266 100

Elastomeric Bearing 30-220 60

Pot bearing 20-1780 No limit

Spherical Bearing 50-10000 No Limit
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 Suitability of Bearing for Steel spans
Type of bearing Bridge & Spans (m) Remarks
Both end steel Plate girders 9.15, Elastomeric on
plates. 12.2, 18.3, 24.4, 30.5 local conditions
phosphor bronze Composite 9.15, 12.2, For U/S O/W - 30.5
18.3, 24.4, 30.5 (With one end fixed)
Rocker & Roller O/W through girders- One end fixed &
30.5, 45.7(2 rollers), other free
61.0, 76.2 (4 rollers)
Rocker & Roller O/W through girders -do-
with oil bath more than 76.2
POT PTFE bearings are being used for longer spans
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Suitability of Bearing for PSC spans
Type of bearing Bridge & Spans Remarks
(m)
Elastomeric I section/ BOX As per Cl. 16.9.13 of Concrete
Bridge Code, Elastomeric
Bearing section girders bearings shall be restricted for
clear spans more than 30.5 m
POT / PTFE All PSC spans ≥
bearing 30.5 M

Earthquake restraint shall be provided for longer

spans

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 Friction Coefficient of different
bearing
Type of bearing Friction
Coefficient
Steel sliding plates. 0.2 to 0.3

Phosphor Bronze Bearing 0.15

Roller & Rocker Bearing 0.08

Pot/PTFE bearing 0.03 to 0.16

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 Friction coefficient of POT-
PTFE Bearing
Contact Stresses Unlubricated Lubricated
PTFE PTFE
50 0.16 0.08

100 0.12 0.06

200 0.08 0.04

300 and above 0.06 0.03

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 Shock Transmission Unit (STU)

● STU’s are used in multi-span bridges to connect

all the spans together to distribute the seismic
loads to more than one pier.

● Alternative to STU shall be continuous span, but

it shall require large size of expansion joint which
is not technically feasible.

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 Shock Transmission Unit (STU)

● STU is a simple device which is connected

between superstructure and substructure, near the
bearing of a bridge to form a rigid link.

● This rigid link acts only under rapidly applied

loads such as braking and seismic forces.

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 Shock Transmission Unit (STU)

● Till date, it has not been used on Bridges of

Indian Railway.
● In India, it has been used for the first time at a
creek Road bridge, in Mumbai.

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 STU attached between PSC
Superstructure & Substructure

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 STU Attached between
Superstructure & Substructure

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Fixing Arrnagement of STU

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STU Diagram

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STU Working

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THANKS