Introduction - Finite Element Analysis and Design of Steel and Steel-Concrete Composite Bridges - page 10

Figure 1.7 An open-timber floor bridge ( 123rf.com ).
Figure 1.8 A ballasted floor bridge ( hothamvalleyrailway.com ).
may be constructed such that the rails rest on sleepers, which rest on compact
aggregates confined by a RC box transmitting the load straightaway to the
main structural system. In this case, the bridges are called ballasted floor railway
bridges and commonly used in towns as shown in Figure 1.8 . Railway bridges
with no concrete slabs on top of the carrying steel beams are called railway
steel bridges ( Figure 1.2 ). On the other hand, highway bridges constructed
such that the concrete slabs are connected to the steel beams underneath
via shear connectors ensuring that the two components act together in resist-
ing traffic loads are called highway steel-concrete composite bridges as shown in
Figure 1.9 . Figure 1.9 shows a steel-concrete box girder composite bridge
under construction where headed stud shear connectors are used to connect
both the concrete slab and the steel box girder section.
Steel and steel-concrete composite bridges (highway or railway) can be
classified according to the type of the main structural system considered in
the design of the bridges to plate girder bridges , box girder bridges , rigid-frame
bridges , truss bridges , arch bridges , cable-stayed bridges , suspension bridges , and