I've run across two different methods for designing tension reinforcement in the heel of a reinforced concrete cantilever retaining wall. The methods produce dissimilar designs. Each method considers the heel as a cantilever, with a fixed base at the rear face of the stem. The big difference...
I'm designing a partial through girder bridge that carries four tracks. The interior through girders share the live load from two tracks.
AREMA's limiting live load deflection criteria is L/640. It says to compute the deflection using live loading plus impact. Does anyone have an opinion...
The topic structure is a RR bridge that has been in service for 100+ years. The bridge is best described as a continuous ballasted concrete deck slab (please see attached). Until recently the controlling normal rating for the bridge had been acceptable to the owner. In 2010 a new firm...
Here's a quick one.
I've "designed" temporary bridge abutments (abutments) for a temporary bridge (bridge) - please see attached. The abutment is made of concrete deadmen and timber crane mats.
The bridge will be in service for eight months max, starting this October. It services less than...
We've designed a conventional cast-in-place cantilever retaining wall, and we need to "notch" our heel to accommodate precast drainage basins. (See attached)
I'm befuddled with how to analyze the wall and calculate a maximum toe pressure.
I have two years of job experience with the same employer, one in the field and one in the design office. This is my first full-time job after college.
In the design office I've primarily been a draftsman. The majority of my time has been spent cleaning up CAD files created by ill-trained...
My uncle and I are planning on using sonotube "caissons" for a steel barn. We'll likely be using post hole diggers and want them to be as small as possible.
See attached .PDF of what I've laid out so far.
Is 1.5" of concrete cover enough for the anchor rods/reinforcement? (It isn't cast...
I've been sifting through AREMA and have found no help:
We're using angles as posts, bolted through timber bridge ties, for a walkway railing. I have to evaluate the connection for a 200# transverse load applied at the point of connection for the top rail.
I don't know if the allowable unit...
A soil report we received reads:
...we recommend over excavating 18-inches and using the following Maximum Factored Bearing Resistances:
Service Limit State – 3.0 ksf
Strength Limit State – 6.0 ksf
Are the two limit states derived from a common Ultimate Bearing Capacity? Or is their no...
I'm stepping into the world of Rail Bridge Design and the daunting AREMA manual.
The Cooper E-80 loads that we design the bridges for are irregular. AREMA has done us designers a favor and tabulated the maximum moment that your primary members would see for most simple spans:
HOWEVER, most...
Our firm is doing a feasibility study for a RR bridge over a state road that is acceptable structurally but has debris falling off. The lead paint and rust has caused problems in the town (it is located by a school).
The study is to determine whether it makes sense to do repairs and re-paint...
At our firm we haven't done much bridge design for the rail world.
I'm fairly new to the crew myself and I've already spent hours in AREMA.
Project Specific Question:
The Live Load deflection criteria and Impact Loading correlate to member length. If the member being analyzed is continuous...
I'm checking a number of calculations for a bridge widening in which a new wingwall foundation is pinned with dowels at mid-footing height to an existing wingwall footing. While my gut says that how it has been designed is fine, I don't know how to analyze a foundation with what is effectively a...
