Course Details/Schedule

Week 1

• Introduction to Structures
• Bridge Types
• Bridge Terminology
• Quality Concrete
• Concrete Strength
• Vibrating Concrete
• Reinforced Concrete
• Structural Engineering Concepts
• Bar Supports
• Bar Ties
• Clearances
• Splices
• Preconstruction Preparation
• Review Plans
• Review Contract Documents
• Record Keeping
• In The Field
• Staking
• Curve Data
• Check Chord Distance
• Middle Ordinate Check
• Reference Points
• Common Staking Errors

Week 2

• Concrete Placement Preparations
• Placement Methods
• Falsework Construction
• Form Construction
• Access for Inspection
• Weather & Temperature Limits
• Delivery of the Concrete
• Sampling & Testing
• Placing Concrete
• Joints
• Concrete Post-placement Activities
• Curing Concrete
• Deck Curing
• Form & Falsework Removal
• Surface Finishing
• Backfilling

Week 3

• Introduction To Bridge Foundations
• Common Foundation Types
• Spread Footings
• Structure Excavation
• Foundation Reports
• Cofferdams
• Driven Piles
• Pile Driving Equipment
• Hammer Approval Letter
• Construction Documents
• Pile Record Book

Week 4

• Drilled Shafts
• Drilled Shaft Equipment
• Construction Process
• Slurry Construction
• Temporary Casing
• Construction Documents
• Inspection
• Concrete Volumes
• Post Construction Testing
• Substructure
• Periodic Checks
• Construction Tolerances
• Beam Seats
• MSE Walls

Week 5

• Prefabricated Girders
• Common Beam Types
• Beam Camber & Deflection
• Bearing Points
• Slabs & Boxes
• Girder Construction
• Temporary Bracing Details
• Diaphragms
• Steel Plate Girder Construction
• Bolting
• High Strength Structural Bolting
• Field Tests
• Rotational Capacity Test for Long Bolts
• Rotational Capacity Test for Short Bolts
• Verification Tests
• Inspection Torque
• Field Inspection
• Other Types of Bolt Situations
• Welding
• Field Welding
• Welding Processes
• Stud Welding
• Welding Positions

Week 6

• Post-tensioned Box Girders
• PT Box Girder Construction
• Preparations for Tensioning
• Tensioning Operations
• After Post-Tensioning
• Grouting PT Ducts
• Deck Construction
• Pour Sequence
• Construction Material Storage
• Cracking of Bridge Decks
• Camber Diagrams
• Deck Grades
• Joints
• Deck Placement Conference
• Preparations for Concrete
• Pouring Deck
• Bidwell Roller Paver Set-up Instructions

Week 7

• Definition of bridge maintenance
• Objectives of bridge maintenance
• Overview of typical maintenance procedures
• Levels of bridge maintenance
• Common preventive maintenance tasks
• Importance of preventive maintenance
• Development of a bridge asset management program
• Integration of condition assessments into operational planning
• Prioritizing both proactive and reactive maintenance
• Relationship between structure age and maintenance needs
• Strategic planning for bridge emergencies
• Bridge engineering modules

Week 8

• Bridge Deck Loading and Analysis
• Types of load
• Traffic loads
• Application of loads
• Load combinations
• Partial safety factors
• Shrinkage and temperature loads
• The use of influence lines
• Types of bridge deck and their behavior
• Distribution of loads
• Skew deck analysis
• Use of influence surfaces
• Computer methods (grillage, finite element, finite strip)

Week 9

• Bridge Management
• Inspection, assessment and strengthening
• Technical approval procedures
• Maintenance strategies, systems and procedures
• Whole-life costing and asset management
• The assessment of reinforced concrete, pre-stressed concrete, steel and composite bridges
• Load testing of bridges
• Methods of strengthening
• The design of bridges for durability of maintenance
• Long span bridges
• Historical perspective and case studies
• The analysis, design and construction of long span cable-supported bridges
• The design of the main elements – cables, towers, hangers, deck and foundations
• Construction processes
• Aerodynamic considerations

Week 10

• Steel and composite bridge design
• Propped and unpropped construction
• Serviceability and ultimate limit states
• Design for bending, shear and combined bending and shear, continuous construction, plastic analysis
• Reference to current codes of practice
• The design of steel plate girders for shear and bending interaction
• The design of transverse stiffeners
• Fatigue behavior of steel bridges and connections
• Means of improving fatigue performance of steel bridges
• The design of bolted and welded steel bridge connections
• The design of longitudinally and transversely stiffened webs and flanges for box girders
• The design of plate elements, longitudinal stiffeners and cross frames

Week 11

• Pre-stressed concrete bridge design
• Simple design equations
• Kern limits
• Losses
• Cable design
• End block design
• Differential shrinkage
• Continuous beams
• Design concept
• Construction methods
• Cost benefits
• Global analysis
• Pre-stress design
• Distortion effects
• End blocks
• Diaphragms
• Reinforcement

Week 12

• Durability of bridges and structures
• Overview of durability
• The durability of concrete, metals, reinforcement in concrete and polymers
• Testing and monitoring structures
• The assessment of structures, repair methods and materials
• The design and construction of durable structures
• Failures of durability and their consequences