Comparison of pier bridge design between AASHTO and Chinese codes

Many codes are used in different countries to design different constructions including bridges. Using of suitable code is depending on the project requirements and safety. In this paper two different codes are used to design a pier bridge to show the differences and similarities between them in order to use the suitable one according to the needs of this design. The AASHTO code shows more safety compared to the Chinese code except pier design in bending and shear due the conditions in US country which needs more restricted conditions compared with that used in China. This has a considerable effect in Iraq to find the best code to be used because there is no an available special code. Another effect is taken into consideration in this study which is the effect of bridge pier collision due to impact loads which is necessary to show the suitability of the bridge design using the mentioned codes. This effect shows the need of more requirements in the design to be safe and resist the lateral loads effect.