Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
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Design of Stringer in Roadway Bridges

Stringers are the direct supporting element of R.C. Slab of the bridge . Thus, stringer is basically
a vertical load supporting element. It transfers vertical loads (dead and live load) from the slab to
the cross girders.
Stringer can be designed as simply supported beam with its span equal to the spacing between
cross girders. The load acting on the stringer is transferred to it from the part of the slab adjacent
to it from the right and the left.

The main steps to design a stringer in a roadway bridge can be summarized as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Calculations of loads transferred to stringer. This include calculating the dead load, and live
loads (concentrated and uniform loads).
Calculations of the internal forces on the stringer: Bending moment and shear force.
Choice of suitable cross section based on the internal forces. The selected section must
satisfy the allowable stresses, and allowable fatigue stress range.
Check of selected cross section in terms of maximum stresses, fatigue, and deflection.

The above four steps are explained in details as follows:

1. Calculations of Loads on Stringer:

In load calculations on stringer, it shall be assumed that the R.C. slab is simply supported on the
stringer. The width supported by the stringer from the slab is the stringer spacing a
a) Dead Loads
Dead loads are calculated
own weight of the stringer.

from the wearing surface, weight of R . C . s l a b and the

Wd = wwearing surface + (t s + t h.av. ) conc a + O.W .

Wwearing surface = 175 kg/m2
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Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

ts = slab thickness = 20 cm
th.av. = average thickness of haunch over the full surface = 1 to 2 cm.
conc = 2500 kg / m 3 = 2.5 t / m3
O.W. = own weight of the stringer and it can be assumed as 100 kg/m = 0.1 t/m
For example if a = 2 m the dead load on stringer shall be
Wd = [0.175 + (0.2 + 0.01) 2.5] 2 + 0.1 = 1.5 t / m
b) Live Loads:
Live load cases on roadway bridges are taken according to the Egyptian code of practice
for loads and forces ECP 201.

Live Loads on Stringer

The maximum live load shall result from a case when the wheel loads of the 60 ton truck
are directly supported by the stringer under consideration. The load on stringer resulting
from the concentrated load can be determined from strip 1 and load resulting from the
uniform load can be determined from strip 2 as follows:

Cross section showing studied stringer

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Strip 1: There are three possible cases for strip 1 depending on the spacing between
stringer a as shown in the below figures.

P1
Case 1: a = 2 m

a < 2 m 1 m (a- 1 m)
P1
Case 2: a < 2 m

(a- 2 m)

2m

1 m (a- 1 m)
P1

Case 3: a > 2 m

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Strip 2: There is one possible case for strip 2 as long as a < 2.5 m which is the common case.

Wuni
Strip 2

Concentrated live load reaction (P1) from strip 1 and uniformly distributed live load reaction
(Wuni) from strip 2 can be found by influence line as shown in the below three examples for
different values of a.
The following equations are used:

P1 = Ri y i tons

Wuni = wi Ai t / m
Where,
Ri is the concentrated wheel load of truck (in tons),
yi is the influence line ordinate under the wheel load,
wi is the uniform load in each traffic lane (in t/m2), and
Ai is the area of influence line under the uniform load.

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Example 1: Live load calculations for a = 1.8 m

Influence ordinate under the 15 tons : y1 = 1
Influence ordinate under the 10 tons : y2 = 0.8/1.8 = 0.444
Influence ordinate under the point between uniform load 0.9 and 0.25 t/m2: y3 = 1.3/1.8 = 0.722
Thus,
P1 = 15 1 + 10 0.444 = 19.44 ton
Wuni = 0.9 (0.5 1.8 1) + 0.9 (1 + 0.722) 0.5 / 2 + 0.25 (0.5 1.3 0.722) = 1.314 t / m

Wuni = 1.314 t/m

Example of live load reaction for a = 1.8 m

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Example 2: Live load calculations for a = 2 m

Influence ordinate under the first 15 tons : y1 = 1
Influence ordinate under the second 15 tons : y2 = 0
Influence ordinate under the 10 tons : y3 = 1/2 = 0.5
Influence ordinate under the point between uniform load 0.9 and 0.25 t/m2: y4 = 1.5/2 = 0.75
Thus,
P1 = 15 1 + 15 0 + 10 0.5 = 20 ton
Wuni = 0.9 (0.5 2 1) + 0.9 (1 + 0.75) 0.5 / 2 + 0.25 (0.5 1.5 0.75) = 1.434 t / m

Wuni = 1.434

t/m

Example of live load reaction for a = 2 m

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Example 3: Live load calculations for a = 2.2 m

Influence ordinate under the first 15 tons : y1 = 1
Influence ordinate under the second 15 tons : y2 = 0.2/2.2=0.09
Influence ordinate under the 10 tons : y3 = 1.2/2.2 = 0.55
Influence ordinate under the point between uniform load 0.9 and 0.25 t/m2: y4 = 1.7/2.2 = 0.77
Thus,
P1 = 15 1 + 15 0.09 + 10 0.55 = 21.85 ton
Wuni = 0.9 (0.5 2.2 1) + 0.9 (1 + 0.77) 0.5 / 2 + 0.25 (0.5 1.7 0.77) = 1.55 t / m

Wuni = 1.55 t/m

Example of live load reaction for a = 2.2

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Calculations of Internal Forces on Stringer:

a) Dead Loads Internal Forces
Span of stringer = Spacing between cross girders = S
For simply supported stringer, the bending moment and shear force is determined as follows:
MD = Wd x S2 / 8 .............mt
QD = Wd x S / 2.................t
b) live Loads Internal Forces
To determine the maximum B.M of the stringer, we place the first concentrated load (P1) at
distance (1.2 m / 4 = 0.3 m) from the beam mid-span, while the uniform load shall be applied
through the full span of the stringer. The maximum B.M shall be under the concentrated load,
as shown in the figure below.

Wuni t/m

y1

S/4

y2

Case of Maximum B.M. Due to Live Load

As the distance between the mid-span and the concentrated load is only 0.3 m, we can
approximately assume that the maximum B.M is located at mid-span and determine it by
influence line of bending moment at mid-span. The bending moment at mid-span due to
concentrated load
MLcon = P1 x y1 + P1 x y2
ML uni = Wuni x A = Wuni x (S/4 x S/2) = Wuni S2 / 8

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

To determine the maximum shear force, one of the concentrated loads shall be placed at the
support and the second load shall be at 1.2 m, while uniformity distributed load shall be placed
over the full span.

Wuni

Case of Maximum Shear Force due to Live Load

Final internal forces:
Mmin = MD
Mmax = MD + MLcon + ML uni
.................used to check maximum stresses on cross section
Mmax,f = MD + 0.7 MLcon + 0.3 ML uni..
Mf = Mmax,f - Mmin = 0.7 MLcon + 0.3 ML uni ....................used to check fatigue stress range
Qmax = QD + QLcon + QL uni ..................................................................used to check shear stresses

3. Choice of Suitable section for stringer:

a) Allowable bending stresses:
The compression flange of stringer is laterally supported by the reinforced concrete slab. Thus
the allowable bending stress shall be:
0.64 2.8 = 1.8 t / cm 2 for steel 44
For compact sections: Fb ,all = 0.64 Fy
2
for steel 52
0.64 3.6 = 2.3 t / cm

0.58 2.8 = 1.62 t / cm 2

For non-compact sections: Fb ,all = 0.58Fy
2
0.58 3.6 = 2.09 t / cm

for steel 44
for steel 52
9

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Usually stringer are designed as rolled sections (IPE or SIB) which are compact sections under
bending. Thus, Fb,all = 0.64 Fy
b) Allowable stress Range:
From Table 3 in Lecture Note 2, the number of cycles for major highway for longitudinal
elements is N = 2000,000
The cross section is rolled section, thus detail fatigue is category A (see Table 5- Group 1 in
Lecture Note 2).
Thus the allowable stress range Fsr = 1.68 t/cm2 (see table 6 in Lecture Note 2).
Thus choice of section shall be based on either of the bending stress or allowable stress range
as follows:

Fsra =

M max, f
Sx

M min 0.7 M Lcon + 0.3M L uni

=
Fsr
Sx
Sx

M max

Fb ,all

S x = bigger of
.......... .cm3
0.7 M Lcon + 0.3M L uni

Fsr

Then choose an IPE or SIB from tables.

4. Check of selected stringer:

a) Check type of section (compact or non-compact):
Calculate C/tf =

(b f t w 2r ) / 2
tf

if C/tf < 16.9/ Fy .........thus flange is compact

Calculate dw/tw =

(h 2t f 2r )
tw

If dw/tw < 127/ Fy .........thus web is compact

b) Check Maximum bending stresses:
0.64 Fy For compact sec tions
fmax = Mmax / Sx,chosen <
0.58Fy For non compact sec tions

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

c) Check Fatigue
Number of cycles = 2000,000, and detail category A, thus Fsr = 1.68 t/cm2
M max, f M min 0.7 M Lcon. + 0.3M L uni
Fsra =

=
Fsr = 1.68 t / cm 2
Sx
Sx
Sx
d) Check shear stresses:
Q
q = max 0.35Fy
ht w
Where h is the full height of rolled section, and tw is the web thickness.
e) Check Deflection:
Deflection under full live load < S /600
Deflection due to uniform load L uni =

5 Wuni S 4
384 EI x

Deflection due concentrated load symmetrically applied around the mid-point con

Lcon =

P1b
(3S 2 4b 2 )
24 EI x

Where,
b = (S-1.2) /2
E = 2100 t/cm2
Ix = moment of inertia for the chosen cross section

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Example:
Design a suitable cross section for stinger shown in the below cross section of roadway bridge.
Spacing between cross girders is 6 m and steel used is steel 52 (Fy = 3.6 t/cm2)

Solution:
Dead Loads
Wd = wwearing surface + (t s + t h.av. ) conc a + O.W .

Wwearing surface = 175 kg/m2

ts = slab thickness = 20 cm
th.av. = average thickness of haunch over the full surface = 1 to 2 cm.
conc = 2500 kg / m 3 = 2.5 t / m3
O.W. = own weight of the stringer and it can be assumed as 100 kg/m = 0.1 t/m
Wd = [0.175 + (0.2 + 0.01) 2.5] 2 + 0.1 = 1.5 t / m
MD = 1.5 x 6x6/8 = 6.75 mt
QD = 1.5 x 6 / 2 = 4.5 t

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Live Load
P1 = 15 1 + 15 0 + 10 0.5 = 20 ton
Wuni = 0.9 (0.5 2 1) + 0.9 (1 + 0.75) 0.5 / 2 + 0.25 (0.5 1.5 0.75) = 1.434 t / m

Wuni = 1.434

t/m

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

MLcon = 20 x 1.35 + 20 x 1.05 = 48 mt

ML uni = 1.434 x (1.5 x 6 /2) = 6.45 mt

20 t

QL = 20 x 1 + 20 x 0.8 + 1.434 x (1 x 6 /2) = 40.3 t

20 t

Final internal forces:

Mmin = 6.75 mt
Mmax = 6.75 + 48 + 6.45 = 61.2 mt
Mmax,f = 6.75+0.7 x 48 + 0.3 x 6.45 = 42.29 mt
Mf = Mmax,f - Mmin = 42.29 - 6.75 = 35.54 mt
Qmax = 4.5 + 40.3 = 44.8 t
Choice of section

61.2 100
= 2660

2
.
3

S x = bigger of
...........cm 3
35.54 100
= 2115.4
1.68

20 t

20 t

Choose IPE 600 (Sx chosen = 3070 cm3 )

Check of the chosen cross section (IPE 600):
a) Check type of cross section:
bf = 220 mm, tf = 19 mm, h = 600 mm, tw =12 mm and r = 24 mm
(220 12 2 24) / 2
16.9
C/tf =
= 4.21 <
= 8.9
19
3.6
Thus flange is compact.
d/tw =

(600 2 19 2 24)
127
= 42.83 <
= 66.93
12
3.6

Thus web is compact.

Since both flange and web are compact, the allowable bending
stress : Fb,all = 0.64 x 3.6 = 2.3 t/cm2

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Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim

Steel Bridges Course For 4th year Public Works and Hydraulic & Irrigation Sections

Second term 2014-2015

Lecture Notes: 3
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

b) Check bending stress:

fmax = 61.2 x 100 / 3070 = 1.99 t/cm2 < 2.3 t/cm2 ...........safe

c) Check Fatigue

Fsra =

M max, f
Sx

M min (42.29 6.75) 100

=
= 1.157 t / cm 2 Fsr = 1.68 t / cm 2
Sx
3070

Check shear stresses:

Qmax
44.8
q=
=
= 0.622 t / cm 2 0.35 3.6 = 1.26 t / cm 2
ht w
60 1.2

f)

g) Check Deflection:
Ix = 92080 cm4 (from steel tables), Wuni = 1.434 t/m,

P1 = 20 t

Deflection due to uniform load

L uni =

5 Wuni S 4 5 1.434 10 2 6004

=
= 0.125 cm
384 EI x
384 2100 92080

Deflection due concentrated load symmetrically applied around the mid-point con
b = (6-1.2) / 2 = 2.4 m = 240 cm

P1b
20 240
(3S 2 4b 2 ) =
(3 600 2 4 2402 ) = 0.878 cm
24 EI x
24 2100 92080
S
L = Luni + Lcon = 0.125 + 0.878 = 1.004 cm
= 1 cm
600

Lcon =

In case the deflection is unsafe, stringer cross section has to be increased.

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Lecture Notes compiled by: Associate Professor Dr. Sherif Mohamed Ibrahim