STABILITY OF BRIDGE PIERS

THE STABILITY OF BRIDGE PIERS IS DEPENDENT ON: (1) THE SUPPORTING EARTH BELOW THE FOUNDATION AND (2) THE EARTH SURROUNDING THE PIER SHAFT WHERE SUBSURFACE EXPLORATIONS SHOW THAT THE COHESIVE SOILS UNDER THE PIER ARE DEEP. THE PIER IS CONSIDERED STABLE WHEN THE BASE FALLS WITHIN THE MIDDLE THIRD AND THE MAXIMUM SOIL PRESSURE DOES NOT EXCEED SOME PRESUMPTIVE UNIT VALUE, WHICH IS CONSIDERED TO BE SAFE FOR THE GIVEN SOIL. AN ANALYSIS OF SOIL CONDITIONS SHOULD REVEAL: (1) THE VARIATION OF THE INITIAL STRESS CONDITIONS IN THE SOIL; (2) THE VARIATION OF COMPRESSIBILITY OF THE DIFFERENT SOIL LAYERS IN THE DEPOSIT; (3) THE VARIATION OF THE SHEARING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOIL AS DEFINED BY THE NATURAL SHEAR STRENGTH UNDER THE PRE-CONSOLIDATION LOAD AND BY THE APPARENT ANGLE OF INTERNAL FRICTION; AND (4) THE DETERMINATION OF THE RATE OF SETTLEMENT AS DEFINED BY THE COEFFICIENT OF CONSOLIDATION.

• Record URL:
  https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/18/18Part2-008.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 18, ParT II, PP 98 - 111, 15 FIG, 1 TAB, 18 REF. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Burmister, D M
• Publication Date: 1939

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. November 28-December 2, 1938. Part II: Soil Mechanics and Soil Stabilization
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 18
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge piers; Coefficient of internal friction; Cohesive soils; Earth pressure; Geological surveying; Shear strength; Soils; Stability (Mechanics)
• Identifier Terms: Alaska Department of Highways
• Uncontrolled Terms: Soil conditions
• Old TRIS Terms: Settlement rate; Subsurface explorations
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Geotechnology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00209274
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 29 1971 12:00AM