# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Bridges/Substructure

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Substructure.
15. The substructure of a bridge comprises the piers, abutments and foundations. These portions usually consist of masonry in some form, including under that general head stone masonry, brickwork and concrete. Occasionally metal work or woodwork is used for intermediate piers.
When girders form the superstructure, the resultant pressure on the piers or abutments is vertical, and the dimensions of these are simply regulated by the sufficiency to bear this vertical load.
When arches form the superstructure, the abutment must be so designed as to transmit the resultant thrust to the foundation in a safe direction, and so distributed that no part may be unduly compressed. The intermediate piers should also have considerable stability, so as to counterbalance the thrust arising when one arch is loaded while the other is free from load.
For suspension bridges the abutment forming the anchorage must be so designed as to be thoroughly stable under the greatest pull which the chains can exert. The piers require to be carried above the platform, and their design must be modified according to the type of suspension bridge adopted. When the resultant pressure is not vertical on the piers these must be constructed to meet the inclined pressure. In any stiffened suspension bridge the action of the pier will be analogous to that of a pier between two arches.
Concrete in a shell is a name which might be applied to all the methods of founding a pier which depend on the very valuable property which strong hydraulic concrete possesses of setting into a solid mass under water. The required space is enclosed by a wooden or iron shell; the soil inside the shell is removed by dredging, or some form of mechanical excavator, until the formation is reached which is to support the pier; the concrete is then shot into the enclosed space from a height of about 10 ft., and rammed down in layers about 1 ft. thick; it soon consolidates into a permanent artificial stone.
Piles are used as foundations in compressible or loose soil. The heads of the piles are sawn off, and a platform of timber or concrete rests on them. Cast iron and concrete reinforced piles are now used. Screw piles are cast iron piles which are screwed into the soil instead of being driven in. At their end is fixed a blade of cast iron from two to eight times the diameter of the shaft of the pile; the pitch of the screw varies from one-half to one-fourth of the external diameter of the blade.
Disk piles have been used in sand. These piles have a flat flange at the bottom, and water is pumped in at the top of the pile, which is weighted to prevent it from rising. Sand is thus blown or pumped from below the piles, which are thus easily lowered in ground which baffles all attempts to drive in piles by blows. In ground which is of the nature of quicksand, piles will often slowly rise to their original position after each blow.
* Fig. 35.—Cylinder, Charing Cross Bridge.
Wells.—In some soils foundations may be obtained by the device of building a masonry casing like that of a well and excavating the soil inside; the casing gradually sinks and the masonry is continued at the surface. This method is applicable in running sands. The interior of the well is generally filled up with concrete or brick when the required depth has been reached.
Piers and Abutments.—Piers and abutments are of masonry, brickwork, or cast or wrought iron. In the last case they consist of any number of hollow cylindrical pillars, vertical or raking, turned and planed at the ends and united by a projection or socket and by flanges and bolts. The pillars are strengthened against lateral yielding by horizontal and diagonal bracing. In some cases the piers are cast iron cylinders 10 ft. or more in diameter filled with concrete.
Cylinder Foundations.—Formerly when bridge piers had to be placed where a firm bearing stratum could only be reached at a considerable depth, a timber cofferdam was used in which piles were driven down to the firm stratum. On the piles the masonry piers were built. Many bridges so constructed have stood for centuries. A great change of method arose when iron cylinders and in some cases brick cylinders or wells were adopted for foundations. These can be sunk to almost any depth or brought up to any height, and are filled with Portland cement concrete. They are sometimes excavated by grabs. Sometimes they are closed in and kept free of water by compressed air so that excavation work can be carried on inside them (fig. 35). Sometimes in silty river beds they are sunk 100 ft. or more, for ​security against deep scouring of the river-bed in floods. In the case of the Empress bridge over the Sutlej each pier consisted of three brick wells, 19 ft. in diameter, sunk 110 ft. The piers of the Benares bridge were single iron caissons, 65 ft. by 28 ft., sunk about 100 ft., lined with brick and filled with concrete. At the Forth bridge iron caissons 70 ft. in diameter were sunk about 40 ft. into the bed of the Forth. In this case the compressed air process was used.
16. Erection.—Consideration of the local conditions affecting the erection of bridges is always important, and sometimes becomes a controlling factor in the determination of the design. The methods of erection may be classed as—(1) erection on staging or falsework; (2) floating to the site and raising; (3) rolling out from one abutment; (4) building out member by member, the completed part forming the stage from which additions are handled.
(1) In erection on staging, the materials available determine the character of the staging; stacks of timber, earth banks, or built-up staging of piles and trestles have all been employed, also iron staging, which can be rapidly erected and moved from site to site. The most ordinary type of staging consists of timber piles at nearly equal distances of 20 ft. to 30 ft., carrying a timber platform, on which the bridge is erected. Sometimes a wide space is left for navigation, and the platform at this part is carried by a timber and iron truss. When the headway is great or the river deep, timber-braced piers or clusters of piles at distances of 50 ft. to 100 ft. may be used. These carry temporary trusses of timber or steel. The Kuilenburg bridge in Holland, which has a span of 492 ft., was erected on a timber staging of this kind, containing 81,000 cub. ft. of timber and 5 tons of bolts. The bridge superstructure weighed 2150 tons, so that 38 cub. ft. of timber were used per ton of superstructure.
(2) The Britannia and Conway bridges were built on staging on shore, lifted by pontoons, floated out to their position between the piers, and lastly lifted into place by hydraulic presses. The Moerdyk bridge in Holland, with 14 spans of 328 ft., was erected in a similar way. The convenience of erecting girders on shore is very great, but there is some risk in the floating operations and a good deal of hauling plant is required.
(3) If a bridge consists of girders continuous over two or more spans, it may be put together on the embankment at one end and rolled over the piers. In some cases hauling tackle is used, in others power is applied by levers and ratchets to the rollers on which the girders travel. In such rolling operations the girder is subjected to straining actions different from those which it is intended to resist, and parts intended for tension may be in compression; hence it may need to be stiffened by timber during rolling. The bending action on the bottom boom in passing over the rollers is also severe. Modifications of the system have been adopted for bridges with discontinuous spans. In narrow ravines a bridge of one span may be rolled out, if the projecting end is supported on a temporary suspension cable anchored on each side. The free end is slung to a block running on the cable. If the bridge is erected when the river is nearly dry a travelling stage may be constructed to carry the projecting end of the girder while it is hauled across, the other end resting on one abutment. Sometimes a girder is rolled out about one-third of its length, and then supported on a floating pontoon.
(4) Some types of bridge can be built out from the abutments, the completed part forming an erecting stage on which lifting appliances are fixed. Generally, in addition, wire cables are stretched across the span, from which lifting tackle is suspended. In bridges so erected the straining action during erection must be studied, and material must be added to resist erecting stresses. In the case of the St Louis bridge, half arches were built out on either side of each pier, so that the load balanced. Skeleton towers on the piers supported chains attached to the arched ribs at suitable points. In spite of careful provision, much difficulty was experienced in making the connexion at the crown, from the expansion due to temperature changes. The Douro bridge was similarly erected. The girders of the side spans were rolled out so as to overhang the great span by 105 ft., and formed a platform from which parts of the arch could be suspended. Dwarf towers, built on the arch ring at the fifth panel from either side, helped to support the girder above, in erecting the centre part of the arch (Seyrig, Proc. Inst. C.E. lxiii. p. 177). The great cantilever bridges have been erected in the same way, and they are specially adapted for erection by building out.