An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls to resist lateral movement of the earthen fill of the bridge approach. Multi-span bridges require piers to support ends of spans unsupported by abutments. Dam abutments are generally the sides of a valley or gorge, but may be artificial in order to support arch dams such as

Kurobe Dam The or , is a high variable-radius arch dam on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The tallest dam in Japan, it supports the 335 MW Kurobe No. 4 Hydropower Plant and is owned by Kansai Electric Power Company. It was constructed betwe ...

in Japan. The

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

term may also refer to the structure supporting one side of an arch, or masonry used to resist the lateral forces of a

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

.Pevsner, N. (1970) ''Cornwall''; 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 245 The impost or

abacus The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hi ...

of a column in classical architecture may also serve as an abutment to an arch. The word derives from the verb "

abut Premises are land and buildings together considered as a property. This usage arose from property owners finding the word in their title deeds, where it originally correctly meant "the aforementioned; what this document is about", from Latin ''pra ...

", meaning to "touch by means of a mutual border".

Use in engineering

An abutment may be used for the following: * To transfer loads from a superstructure to its

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

elements * To resist or transfer self weight, lateral loads (such as the earth pressure) and wind loads * To support one end of an approach

slab Slab or SLAB may refer to: Physical materials * Concrete slab, a flat concrete plate used in construction * Stone slab, a flat stone used in construction * Slab (casting), a length of metal * Slab (geology), that portion of a tectonic plate tha ...

* To maintain a balance in between the vertical and horizontal force components of an arch bridge.

Types

Types of abutments include: * Gravity abutment, resists horizontal earth pressure with its own dead weight * U abutment, U-shaped gravity abutment * Cantilever abutment, cantilever retaining wall designed for large vertical loads * Full height abutment, cantilever abutment that extends from the underpass grade line to the grade line of the overpass roadway * Stub abutment, short abutments at the top of an embankment or slope, usually supported on piles * Semi-stub abutment, size between full height and stub abutment * Counterfort abutment, similar to counterfort retaining walls * Spill-through abutment, vertical buttresses with open spaces between them * MSE systems, "reinforced earth" system: modular units with metallic reinforcement * Pile bent abutment, similar to spill-through abutment

References

External links

Ohio Department of Transportation

Fixed Bridge Abutments
{{Authority control Bridges Civil engineering Dams Foundations (buildings and structures) Bridge components