26.1.1 Features of Cable-Supported Bridges
26.1.1 Features of Cable-Supported Bridges
Cable-Supported
                                                                              Bridges
           26.1 Introduction
           26.1.1 Features of Cable-Supported Bridges
           Cable-supported bridges or cable-suspended bridges are defined as bridges whose decks are supported
           by flexible cables. They are, in principle, classified into a suspension type where the bridge deck is
           continuously supported by stretched catenary cable(s), a cable-stayed type where the deck is discretely
           and directly suspended by straight stay cables, and their combined type. Suspension and stayed
           structures are applied to roof and buildings too.
             Although the load bearing mechanisms are different, suspension and cable-stayed bridges have in
           common the following features:
                1. They generally consist of cables, bridge deck incorporated with solid-web girder or truss, and
                   towers.
                2. They are advantageous for spanning long distances as seen in Figure 26.1 because cables are
                   subject to only tension and steel wires consisting of a cable have very high tensile strength,
                   although they may also be used economically on short- and medium-span pedestrian bridges.
                3. The entire structure is much more flexible than other types of structures having equivalent span
                   length.
                4. The complete structure can be mostly erected without intermediate staging from the ground.
                5. The main structure is elegant and neatly expresses its function owing to its transparent
                   appearance.
           0-8493-1569-7/05/$0.00+$1.50
           # 2005 by CRC Press                                                                                             26-1
2000
                                                     1500
                                                                                   Suspension
Span length, m
1000
                                                                                                       Steel stayed
                                                            Cantilever truss
                                                      500
                                                                                  Steel arch
                                                             Simple truss      Concrete arch
                                                                                                     PC stayed PC girder
                                                       0
                                                       1900          1920       1940          1960         1980       2000
                                                                                       Year
FIGURE 26.1 Transition of maximum span length of bridges in the 20th century.
             Since the cable-supported bridges are mostly used outside the span range of the standard bridge
           specifications and are quite flexible compared with other structural types, their design specifications are
           often provided peculiarly.
             From around 1960, a wave of long-span suspension bridges moved to western Europe. In particular,
           the unprecedented ideas of streamlined box girder and inclined hangers adopted first for the design of
           the Severn Bridge in the United Kingdom, completed in 1966, were further applied to the Humber
           Bridge, the world’s longest span bridge at the time of completion in 1981, and the first Bosporus bridge
           (Kemal Ataturk Bridge), designed by the same group. Later, in the last quarter of the 20th century, the
           construction of long-span suspension bridges boomed in Japan and the Scandinavian countries, and
           then in China. Such chronological trends as mentioned above may be recognized from Table 26.1a.
             Among the recent suspension bridges in the Far East, the Seto Bridges in Japan (1988) and the Tsin Ma
           Bridge in Hong Kong (1997) are featured as long-span suspension bridges carrying both road and sub-
           stantial rail traffics. Particularly in the former, new techniques such as innovative track structures and new
           design and fabrication provisions against fatigue were first developed. The longest span of a suspension bridge
           TABLE 26.1 Span Length Ranking of (a) Suspension Bridges (Span >1000 m) and (b) Cable-Stayed Bridges
           (Span > 500 m)
           Name                             Span (m)              Country                 Year                    Girder
                                                        (a) Suspension bridges
               Akashi                       1991             Japan                       1998             Truss
               Great Belt                   1624             Denmark                     1998             Box
               Humber                       1410             U.K.                        1981             Box
               Jiangyin                     1385             China                       1999             Box
               Tsin Ma                      1377             Hong Kong, China            1997             Road/rail
               Verrazano                    1298             U.S.A.                      1964             Double deck
               Golden Gate                  1280             U.S.A.                      1937             Truss
               Hoga Kusten                  1210             Sweden                      1998             Box
               Mackinac                     1158             U.S.A.                      1957             Truss
               South Bisan                  1100             Japan                       1988             Road/rail
               F.S. Mehmet                  1090             Turkey                      1988             Box
               Kemal Ataturk                1074             Turkey                      1973             Box
               G.Washington                 1067             U.S.A.                      1931             Double deck
               Kurushima III                1030             Japan                       1999             Box
               Kurushima II                 1020             Japan                       1999             Box
               April 25th                   1013             Portugal                    1966             Road/rail
               Forth Road                   1006             U.K.                        1964             Truss
               Runyang Yangtze              1490             China                       (2005)           Box
               Tsing Lung                   1418             Hong Kong, China            u.d.             Twin box
           has reached nearly 2 km in the 20th century, while the Messina Strait Bridge in Italy, which will also carry both
           road and rail and is awaiting construction, is expected to have the formidable span length of 3300 m.
             Although the concept of cable-stayed bridge was known since ancient times, the first outstanding
           application of stay cables was realized by Roebling in his Niagara suspension bridge in the mid-1850s,
           carrying rail and road. The same system was used for the Brooklyn Bridge also though these stays were
           not effective structural components. More than a half century later, F. Dischinger proposed the com-
           bined system of suspension and stay cables in 1938 but did not use it for actual construction.
             The construction of modern cable-stayed bridges was led by German engineers after the Second World
           War. In particular, three large bridges, Nord, Knie, and Oberkassel, built from 1956 to 1972 for the city
           of Duesseldorf crossing the River Rhine, were a dramatic display of the new form. Following these early
           German designs, cable-stayed bridges spread rapidly throughout the world, marked especially by a
           variety of forms chosen for esthetic and technical reasons. As seen in Figure 26.1, the development of
           record span length of this type has been very rapid. The longest span exceeds 800 m in the late 1990s, and
           now is expected to exceed 1000 m by 2010 (see Table 26.1b). As far as the number of long-span cable-
           stayed bridges is concerned, Japan and China have taken lead; in 2010, China will have eight among the
           top ten longest bridges.
             Since the tower and girder of a cable-stayed bridge are mostly subject to bending and compression,
           concrete structures have been widely used from the early stage, even for spans as long as 500 m or more.
           On the other hand, its application to short-span pedestrian bridges has been also very widespread, being
           appreciated for its esthetic value and economical advantage.
2.0
                                                                                                              Akashi
                                               1.8
                                                                                              Kanmon
                                                                            G.Washington
                               Strength, GPa
                                               1.6
                                                                                                              Seto
                                                          Manhattan                               New Port
                                               1.4
                                                                   Williamsburg
                                               1.2
                                                        Brooklyn
           where E0 is Young’s modulus of the straight cable, g is the weight of the unit length cable, l is the
           horizontally projected length of the cable, and s is the tensile stress in the cable [1]. Although this
               Source: Okukawa, A., Suzuki, S., and Harazaki, I., in Bridge Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2000,
           with permission.
           reduction of the stiffness is practically negligible in most cases, it must be properly considered for a very
           long cable or during some construction stage.
             The sectional area of cables is determined on the basis of the maximum cable tension. The safety factor
           of structural cables has been normally 2.0 to 2.5 for the guaranteed tensile strength, while that of main
           cables of long-span suspension bridges may be a little lower. This depends on the ratio of the dead load
           stress to the total stress, the nature of secondary stress, and the existence of fatigue stress.
           7 mm wires and the thickest one comprises 421 wires. The longest stay cable of this type is 460 m long
           with an outer diameter of 165 mm, as used in the Tatara Bridge.
           the following, a variety of high-fatigue-resistant sockets have been developed for the stay cables
           (Figure 26.3):
               1. HiAm anchor socket. The anchoring mechanism is mainly arch action of wires and steel balls in
                  the conical hole of the steel socket.
                                Fixed
                               socket
                              Movable
                               socket           Inner
                                                plate
                                                                                                            Transition
                                                                                                             material
                                        Tensioning thread              Wire/7-Wire strand
                     (b)                                               Shim
                                             Cover
                                             plate      Button
                                                        head                   Steel sleeve         PE jacket
                                    Fixed
                                   socket
                                 Movable
                                  socket
           FIGURE 26.3 Examples of high-fatigue-resistant socket: (a) HiAm anchor socket; (b) DINA anchor head; and
           (c) NS anchor socket. (Adapted from M. Ohashi, Cables for Cable-Stayed Bridges, in Cable-Stayed Bridges — Recent
           Developments and their Futures, M. Ito et al., Eds., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 125, 1991, with permission.)
               2. NS socket. This consists of a hot poured Zn–Cu alloy cone and epoxy resin at the mouth of the
                  socket. The epoxy resin prevents fretting corrosion, buffers stress concentration, and reduce
                  unfavorable thermal effect of the molten alloy.
               3. DINA anchor head. It consists of button heads of wires, a steel anchor head, and epoxy resin. One
                  of its advantages is the short length that can be accommodated into a small space.
             Furthermore, various stay-cable anchorages such as Freyssinet, Dywidag, VSL, Stronghold, and SEEE,
           evolved from the post-tension systems, have been applied to the cable-stayed bridges.
                              (b)                    Paint
                                                             Rubber sheet
           FIGURE 26.4 Corrosion protection of suspension-bridge cable: (a) conventional system and (b) new system for
           the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.
             However, the above-mentioned system was found unsatisfactory under highly humid environments
           because the conventional types of paste are not effective in protecting against water and corrosion inside
           the cable occurs irrespective of the effectiveness of the paste if moisture exists in the cable. Accordingly,
           new corrosion protection technologies have been introduced in the recent Japanese suspension bridges.
           One is the use of a combination of aluminum triphosphate and organic lead paste and wrapping with
           S-shaped deformed steel wires adopted in the Hakucho Bridge (1998), and the other is the system
           consisting of, in addition to the conventional wire wrapping, the wrapping with neoprene rubber sheet
           instead of paste, as shown in Figure 26.4b; the adoption of a dehumidified air-injection device has also
           been used, which was used in the Akashi Kaikyo (1998) and Kurushima (1999) bridges. The rubber sheet
           may be replaced by fiberglass acrylic sheet. In the latter, double layers of butane-contained rubber and
           denatured silicone were used at the cable band portion.
           26.2.5.2 Wire Ropes
           The wires for spiral ropes are zinc galvanized and the voids are filled with a sealing compound such as
           metalcoat, which is a suspension of aluminum flakes incorporated into a hydrocarbon resin carrier
           suitably diluted with a solvent for ease of application.
             LCRs used in Japanese cable-stayed bridges are manufactured from galvanized wires, applying a
           minimum amount of lubricating oil during rope closing to avoid any concern about future stains of the
           surface. The outer surfaces are usually painted after the dead load has been fully applied. In European
           practice, the inner voids of the zinc-galvanized wires are filled by polyurethane with zinc dust or linseed
           oil with red lead, and outer surface of the rope is coated with polyurethane. Metalcoat is also sometimes
           applied as the second barrier during its fabrication.
           PE envelope and for the finish coat, and a baking of the primer with a far-infrared ray. The finish coat is
           usually done by fluoro-olefin paint. The light color is preferred not only for good looks but also for
           reducing the temperature effect. Supplementary wrapping with colored Tedler tapes is an alternative.
           forces acting on the cable. However, because the exciting mechanisms of different vibratory phenomena
           differ, the countermeasures shall fit for the phenomenon concerned.
              Occurrence of wake galloping depends on the spacing of neighboring parallel cables. Very small
           spacing or quite wide spacing, more than six times the cable diameter, can remarkably moderate the
           response. If these conditions cannot be satisfied for other design reasons or when undesirable wake
           galloping is observed after erection, the cable vibration can be suppressed by connecting both cables
           by a few spacers or small mechanical dampers.
              One of the common countermeasures that has been often adopted is to connect the cables with
           secondary thin cables which may terminate at a cable or at the deck (tie-down cable). Even with a few and
           small stabilizing ropes, cable movement can be restrained. The natural frequencies of each cable and thus
           the resistance to dynamic excitation can be raised by shortening the effective free length of the primary
           cables. Such elements may be also sources of additional damping. But even if the size of stabilizing ropes is
           significantly smaller than that of the primary cables, they may affect the appearance of the structure to
           some extent. Furthermore, the rupture of these interconnecting ropes or the fatigue failure of the con-
           nection fittings have been reported in several bridges. Viscoelastic bushings or special clamps with
           damping devices in the joint of the both cables can reduce fatigue and provide additional damping.
              Increase of structural damping is effective in suppressing the amplitude of buffeting, vortex excitation,
           and rain/wind-induced vibration and in raising the critical wind speed for the onset of galloping. It is
           first recommended to place such damping material as neoprene ring or high-damping rubber between
           the cable and the steel exit pipe at the pylon and deck anchorage. Use of damping material results in the
           additional benefit of reduced local bending moment in the cable. Further additional damping, if
           necessary, can be provided by mechanical damping devices. Very simple and small tuned mass dampers
           represented by the classical Stockbridge damper that has been prevailing on transmission power lines
           were applied to stay cables or diagonal hangers of some European cable-supported bridges, but is not
           very popular now for esthetic reasons.
              When rather high additional damping is required, the most prevalent method in cable-stayed bridges
           is to install a dash-pot type viscous damper between the stay cable and the bridge deck. Shock absorbers
           similar to those used in automobiles or hydraulic oil dampers are the examples. These dampers shall not
           spoil the appearance of the bridge. The mechanical dampers utilizing shear-viscous material can be more
           compact. The attached position of these dampers influences the mode shape and the dampening effect of
           the cables. It is not easy to make a compromise between the requirement to lower the damper position
           and the efficacy of the damper when the cable is long.
              The aerodynamic countermeasures for the round cables are to modify the sheath surface. The idea of
           helical fins often used on circular stacks to prevent vortex excitation will be also effective against rain
           vibration, but care shall be taken on the appearance. The idea of axial protuberances in the form of
           longitudinal ribs on the HDPE tube surface was developed in the Higashi Kobe Bridge in Japan
           (Figure 26.5a), aiming at preventing the rain vibration. A similar idea was later seen in the more simpler
           HDPE sheaths with fine grooves. Further on the Tatara Bridge, HDPE sheaths are provided a pattern-
           indented surface with roughness of 1% applied disorderly in a convex or a concave pattern
           (Figure 26.5b). The effect of these surface modifications is linked to influence the water rivulets.
           However, it should be noted that these means are not necessarily effective in suppressing vortex exci-
           tation and that the drag coefficient may be increased. In case of the Tatara Bridge, however, the drag
           coefficient in the supercritical Reynolds number range could be reduced to 0.6.
(a) (b)
FIGURE 26.5 High-density polyethylene sheath of (a) the Higashi Kobe and (b) the Tatara bridges.
              FRP composites have many advantages as structural materials such as high strength, relatively
           high elastic modulus, light weight, long-term durability, high dielectric strength, low axial thermal
           expansion, low maintenance, design flexibility, tailored esthetic appearance, and low tooling and
           installed costs. On the other hand, their demerits are the rupture without yielding, low elastic modulus
           of some kinds of the materials, anisotropic properties, low shear and impact resistance, and high
           material cost that may be gradually improved by the progress of manufacturing technology and
           widespread use.
              Although the use of FRP composites is now becoming popular in structural engineering, carbon
           fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) as a cable material seems the most ideal application. Actually, CFRP
           stay cables have already been employed on several cable-stayed bridges for pedestrian use. In the far
           future, CFRP or some other FRPs may be used for the main cables of suspension bridges and greatly
           increase the limiting span length. The mechanical properties of different cable materials are shown in
           Table 26.4.
              CFRP cables are produced as assemblies of the wires made up of carbon fibers and an epoxy resin
           matrix. The design considerations for cables made of unidirectional CFRP wires are similar to those
           for steel cables, with a few exceptions due to the highly anisotropic nature of the material. So far,
           CFRP stay cables have been made by twisting CFRP wires. Although twisted fiber rope makes coiling
           possible, resulting in ease in handling, care must be taken on the strength loss of the wires in a
           bundle and friction between wires. Since the decrease in cable strength is also brought by side
           pressure and bending, the diameter of a reel and the radius of curvature of the saddle should not be
           small. As the strength of epoxy resin deteriorates by the effect of ultraviolet radiation, the CFRP
           cables shall be protected by covering.
              The trial design of a super-long-span suspension bridge for which CFRP main cables are used indicates
           that the bending moment and vertical deflection of the stiffening girder significantly increase due to the
           light weight of the structure [6], while the dimensions of towers and foundations can be greatly reduced.
           It is recommended to reduce the sag/span ratio of the main cables.
           26.3.1.2 Classification
           The structural system of suspension bridges may be classified by the following factors:
              Number of spans. A suspension bridge may be single-span, two-span, three-span, or multispan. The
           number of main towers is one for two-span, two for single- and three-span, and more than two for
           multispan bridges (Figure 26.7). Two-span suspension bridges have been rare because they are less
           efficient as recognized from Equation 26.2. Single-span suspension bridges have straight backstays.
           Three-span suspension bridges are the most popular, in particular for long-span bridges and the ratio of
           side spans to main span is mostly 0.2 to 0.5. Although multispan suspension bridges have been rare
           because of great flexibility, their applicability is being studied for the future straits crossings [7].
           The major concerns about multispan suspension bridges are the design of intermediate towers and
           cable erection.
FIGURE 26.7 Single-, three-, and multispan suspension bridge (from top).
              Continuity of stiffening girder. The stiffening girders are typically either simply supported on each span
           or continuous over two or more spans. The former is called two-hinged and commonly used for road
           bridges. Although continuous girder with intermediate supports is not economical as also recognized
           from Equation 26.2, it is advantageous for a rail bridge to improve runnability of trains. Furthermore,
           in the Great Belt Bridge, which is a road bridge with a center span of 1624 m, the girder is continuously
           supported by the cable system through three spans. The economical design was attained in this case by
           omitting the vertical support of the girder at the towers and fixing the main cables to the stiffening girder
           by clamps at the midspan.
              Arrangement of hangers. Hangers are either vertical or diagonal. The latter makes the entire suspended
           structure a kind of truss incorporated with the main cables and the bridge deck.
              Method of cable anchoring. The main cables of a suspension bridge are either externally anchored to
           the anchor blocks or self-anchored to the stiffening girder. Although the latter is rare, a more detailed
           description will be made in the following.
           26.3.1.3 Self-Anchored Suspension Bridge [8]
           Self-anchored suspension bridges do not require massive end anchor blocks. Instead, the main cables are
           anchored to the stiffening girder. Accordingly, the girder is subject to large axial force in addition to
           bending and shear, and the girder must be placed before the main cables are erected. Therefore, this type
           of structure is limited to moderate spans. Recent examples of the self-anchored suspension bridge are the
           Konohana Bridge in Japan (1990, three spans), the Yongjong Bridge in Korea (2000, three-span double-
           deck truss), and the replaced San Francisco Oakland Bay East Bridge (two spans). The first two bridges
           have 300 m center span, whereas the span of the Bay Bridge will be 385 m long. The Konohana Bridge is a
           monocable type, while two main cables of the other two bridges are converged at the peaked tower top.
           where M0(x) is the bending moment due to the live load in a beam without cables, having the same span
           length, y(x) is the ordinate of the cable, measured from the straight line connecting cable supports, v(x)
           is the vertical deflection due to live load, Hw and Hp are the horizontal components of cable tension due
           to dead load and live load, respectively.
              It is understood from the above equation that the stiffening girder of a suspension bridge subject to
           vertical live load can be replaced by the beam shown in Figure 26.8, and the bending moment in the
           stiffening girder decreases with increase of cable tension and deflection. The longer the span length is,
           the more conspicuous this effect becomes. In other words, the cable tension very much contributes to
           the stiffness of a suspension bridge, and since almost all dead loads are sustained by the main cable, the
           stiffening girder of a suspension bridge is not necessary to be so stiff even if the span is long.
P −Hpd2y /d2x
Hw + Hp Hw + Hp
Pc (x, t)
h
                                                Pf (x, t)
                                                                    v
           suspension bridge structure is available taking into account the discreteness and elongation of hangers,
           deformation of towers, and so on.
Start
                                                                   Initial conditions
                                                             Configuration
                                                               Span length
                                                               Cable sag
                                                             Assumption of members
                                                               Dead load
                                                               Stiffness
                                   No             Verification                          Verification            No
                                             of the assumed value                   of the aerodynamic
                                                  of member                               stability
Yes Yes
End
           lower lateral bracings. The ratio of fundamental natural frequencies in torsion and in bending is
           recommended to be 2.0 or higher.
              Although short-span bridges are often provided with I-girders, the stiffening girder of a long-span
           suspension bridge is usually either a truss girder or a box girder. Its design is mainly governed by the
           function such as traffic requirement, the necessary stiffness, and aerodynamic stability, as well as the site
           conditions of erection and maintenance. Selecting an aerodynamically stable cross-section has usually
           priority. Use of either streamlined box section or the section with openings such as a truss of small
           solidity factor and steel open-grating floor will meet this requirement. Three typical examples of the
           stiffening girder are shown in Figure 26.11. Although a truss girder has been used on double-deck
(a) 22,860
                                                                                                3,050
                                                           31,860
(b) 36,000
7,232
41,000
                      (c)                                           35,500
                            14,000
           FIGURE 26.11 Examples of stiffening girder of modern suspension bridge: (a) Severn Bridge; (b) Tsing Ma Bridge
           and (c) Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.
           bridges, adoption of big fairings on both sides of the cross-section and longitudinal openings on upper
           and lower decks features the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong (Figure 26.11b).
              Even if the stiffening girder is simply supported, both supports are designed as movable shoes in long-
           span suspension bridges; that is, the stiffening girder is suspended by tower links at the tower and end
           links at the abutment. The wind bearings preventing transverse displacement of the girder are installed
           on the horizontal strut of the tower and on the abutment. When no vertical support is provided at the
           tower, the lateral support at the tower can be accomplished by applying vertical sliding bearings between
           the girder and the inner surfaces of the tower shafts as in the case of the Great Belt Bridge.
              In many long-span suspension bridges, the stiffening girder is fixed to the main cables at the center of
           main span by either rigid clamps or diagonal stays, which are called the center tie and the center diagonal
           stay, respectively. These aim at constraining the asymmetric vibration mode of torsion and the relative
           longitudinal displacement between the cables and the girder, resulting in the reduction of secondary
           bending stress in short hangers and the increase of longitudinal restoring force of the girder. In the case
           of the diagonal stay, it may be proportioned to fail at a certain service limit state.
           26.3.5 Erection
           26.3.5.1 Towers
           The control of erection accuracy in holding verticality is very important in tower construction. Steel
           towers are erected by using tower cranes and creeper traveler cranes. When open water area is available,
           floating cranes are sometimes used together. Because very tall and slender steel towers are vulnerable to
           wind-induced vibrations, in particular during the free standing stage of erection, some damping devices
                                                               116,000
                                        5,500                  105,000                     5,500
                                                                                                        4,500
                               4,500
                                                                                             6,500
                                       6,500
                                                     1        Live wire                           3
                                                                                 2
                                                                 Dead wire
           FIGURE 26.13 Operating principle of aerial spinning. (Source: Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority, Technology of
           the Seto-Ohashi Bridge, Japan, 1989, with permission.)
           are often installed. In the case of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, a set of tuned mass dampers are left as
           permanent fixtures inside the shafts. In constructing concrete towers, the towers are slip-formed in a
           continuous operation, employing self-climbing forms, tower cranes, and concrete-pumping buckets.
           26.3.5.2 Main Cables
           The erection of parallel-wire main cables of a suspension bridge is executed by either aerial spinning (AS)
           method or prefabricated strand (PPWS) method. In the former, the total cable section is assembled on
           site from individual 5 mm wires pulled across an anchorage to the other anchorage over the tower
           saddles. The conventional sag-control method spans individual wires in free-hang condition and the sag
           of each wire is individually adjusted to ensure the wires to be of equal length (Figure 26.13). The problem
           of this method was the sensitiveness of the quality of the cables and the erection period to such site
           working conditions as wind environment and spinning equipment.
              A new method that is called the tension-control method was developed in Japan (Figure 26.14) and
           has been applied not only to the Japanese bridges but also to the Second Bosporus and Great Belt
           bridges. Although adjustment of individual strands is still required, the idea of this method is to keep the
           tension in the wire constant during cable spinning to obtain uniform wire lengths.
              On the other hand, the PPWS method was introduced to reduce the labor and the weather sensitivity
           and consequently to speed up erection work. Although the limitation of this method may lie in the
           weight of the strand and the size of the reel, it was successfully applied to the world’s longest Akashi
           Kaikyo Bridge, requiring strands with a length of 4000 m and a strand plus reel weight of 95 tons.
              Now that the AS and PPWS methods have been improved step by step and experience has been gained,
           the method undertaken depends on the cost and period of construction at the specific site or area.
                                                                   Forward
                                                    2                                      1
Return
           FIGURE 26.14 Operating principle of tension control method. (Source: Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority,
           Technology of the Seto-Ohashi Bridge, Japan, 1989, with permission.)
(a)
(b)
           FIGURE 26.16 Typical cable-stayed bridges: (a) partially earth-anchored two-span bridge and (b) three-span
           bridge with intermediate piers in the side span.
           cable-stayed bridges can be applied to not only very long-span bridges but also to short-span pedestrian
           bridges. In contrast to a suspension bridge, a cable-stayed bridge is typically a closed structural system; in
           other words, mostly a self-anchored system. Since a cable-stayed bridge can be built usually without
           massive anchor block and temporary staging, it is particularly advantageous in areas where the soil
           condition is not so good.
             As compared with a suspension bridge, the stiffness of a cable-stayed bridge is greater because the
           cables are straight though the limit span length of the former may be longer than the latter.
           26.4.1.1 Alignment of Bridge
           Although most bridges are straight or skewed, a cable-stayed bridge can be designed as a curved bridge.
           The Katsushika Harp Bridge in Tokyo has the bridge axis forming an S-shape curve because of the
           complex site conditions from the adjacent rivers and road alignment. The anchors of single-plane stay
           cables were positioned symmetrically with respect to the tower, so as to minimize the transverse bending
           moment in the tower. The girder of a curved bridge should be torsion-stiff.
           26.4.1.2 Span Allocation
           Although the three-span structure is most prevalent, two-span layouts are widely acceptable in a cable-
           stayed bridge. Even the asymmetric span allocation can be designed economically and be esthetically
           pleasing. When the side spans are very short, all or some of the stay cables may be earth-anchored
           (Figure 26.16a). The earth-anchored stay cables make the whole structure stiffer and hence more
           advantageous in planning super-long-span cable-stayed bridges.
             If the situation allows, it is advantageous to provide the intermediate piers in the side spans
           (Figure 26.16b) or to extend the suspended side spans continuously toward further one or a few spans in
           order to increase the stiffness of the entire structure.
             On the other hand, multispan cable-stayed bridges are also attractive. Examples are the Maracaibo
           Bridge (cantilevered multispan P/C bridge, 235 m span) in Venezuela built in 1962, the Mezcara Bridge
           (167 þ 311.4 þ 299.5 þ 191 m) in Mexico built in 1994, the Ting Kau Bridge (127 þ 448 þ 475 þ 127 m)
           in Hong Kong built in 1998, the Rion Antirion Bridge (286 þ 3  560 þ 286 m) in Greece built in 2004,
           and the Millau Viaduct (204 þ 6  342 þ 204 m) in France also built in 2004.
           FIGURE 26.17 Alternate solutions for multispan cable-stayed bridges (from top: rigid intermediate pylons; head-
           cables connecting tower tops; cables connecting tower top and an adjacent pylon at the deck level; overlapped stays
           in the mid-span area). (Adapted from Virlogeux, M., Struct. Eng. Int., IABSE, 1, 61, 2001, with permission.)
           compared with a two-plane cable system: currently the Tsurumi Bridge in Yokohama, Japan, has the
           maximum span length of 510 m. On the other hand, the double-plane system may be formed either as
           two vertical planes or as twin inclined planes connected from the edge of the deck to either an A frame or
           inverted Y frame tower. Inclined stays increase the stiffness and stability, particularly in torsion, of the
           structure and are advantageous for very long spans.
             Viewing from the transverse direction, the cable arrangement can be classified into harp, fan, and
           radial types (Figure 26.18). Although the fan-type system is popular because of the advantages in
           proportioning bridge components, the harp-type cable system is sometimes preferred for either pleasing
           appearance or more constraint upon longitudinal displacement of the bridge deck.
             The use of a small number of stay cable(s) with large diameter has shifted to a multistay system since
           the end of the 1960s. The closely spaced multistay system has such advantages that additional bending
           moment in the girder is reduced, a stay cable is individually replaceable, and the anchorage details
           become more compact and simple.
(a)
Radial type
(b)
Fan type
(c)
Harp type
           26.4.2.2 Towers
           Since the action of stay cables becomes inefficient with decreasing inclination, the stay inclination is
           usually taken as 25 to 65 , or the tower height of a cable-stayed bridge is around 14 to 15 of the main span
           and hence much taller than that of a suspension bridge with equivalent scale.
              Almost all towers of the recent cable-stayed bridges are made of concrete though steel towers were used
           on the earlier steel bridges and presently almost all Japanese bridges have steel girders. Now concrete
           towers can be used for very long-span cable-stayed bridges such as the Normandy Bridge over the Seine
           (850 m span) and the Su-Tong Yangtze River Bridge (the world’s longest span 1088 m) now under
           construction in China, with advances in concrete construction and formwork technology. In the
           Stonecutters Bridge (1018 m span) now under construction in Hong Kong, the top one third of 290 m
           high single-pylon tower will be a composite steel/concrete structural section. The steel skin will be
           fabricated from stainless steel for reasons of appearance and durability.
              Development of bending moment in pylons was prevented in the earlier bridges by the use of rocker or
           sliding saddles and pinned tower feet, but those of recent bridges except for very short spans are mostly
           made integral with the pier or sometimes with the girder.
              Wider choice is available in the tower form of a cable-stayed bridge as compared with a suspension
           bridge. This feature is advantageous in view of esthetical design. The tower form in general has dis-
           tinctive characters, attaining increasing levels of refinement and rationality as time passes. Needless to
           say, the design of the tower must adapt to the stay cable layouts and to the topography and geology of the
           bridge site, and carry the forces economically.
             The typical forms of cable-stayed bridge towers are shown in Figure 26.20. The single pylon adapting
           to a single-plane cable system has to be usually situated within the central median of the roadway and
           hence an additional width of deck is required for the necessary clearance to traffic. The inverted Y-shape
           tower is used for both single-plane and double-plane cable systems, while A- or inverse V-shape towers
           adapt to a double-plane cable system. The H-shape tower is the most logical form structurally for a
           two-plane cable system. In the case of the A or inverted Y towers, the spacing of two shafts under the
           deck is often narrowed to reduce the size of the foundation. These diamond-shape towers have been used
           for long-span cable-stayed bridges such as the Tatara (Japan), Yangpu (China), and Baytown (United
           States), but the visual aspect of securing the strength of the portion under the deck should be carefully
           pursued.
                   (a)                                          30,350
                                 2,675                12,500                       12,500             2,425 250
                                                                                                              500
                                            2,60 50
                         2,100
                                                                                                              700
                                 2,955                          24,440                                2,995
                   (b)                                           20.0 m
                                         1.75 m         7.0 m     2.5 m          7.0 m       1.75 m
           FIGURE 26.21 Examples of steel girder of cable-stayed bridge: (a) composite girder of the Nanpu Bridge and
           (b) steel box girder of the Tatara Bridge.
           connected by the transverse beams and incorporated with the stay anchors are sometimes employed.
           Even in the prestressed concrete girders, wind nose may be added to the cross-section when the span
           is long.
              When the ratio of the side span to main span length is small, the use of steel girders in the main span
           and continuously extended concrete girders in the side spans is one of the solutions to attain the rational
           and economical design. If the situation allows, it is advantageous to provide with intermediate supports
           for the side-span girders in this case.
              Most of the truss girders for cable-stayed bridges are employed in double-deck cases, as exemplified in
           several Japanese designs. Among them, the Hitsuishijima and Iwakurojima bridges (Figure 26.22) were
           designed to carry four lanes of roadway traffic on the upper deck and ordinary type railway tracks as well
           as double Shinkansen rail tracks on the lower deck. Yokohama Bay Bridge, which carries six lanes of
           roadway traffic on the respective decks, is unique in that the upper chord of its truss is a shallow steel box
           section stiffening the girder system and concealing power and communication cables. The truss girder of
           the Higashi-Kobe Bridge is shallow and of Warren type without vertical members, so it appears slender
           for a double-deck road bridge.
           26.4.2.4 Vertical Support of Girder
           A variety of supporting conditions have been adopted in modern cable-stayed bridges [16] because the
           selection of the supporting conditions for longitudinal movement is rather adaptable owing to the
           existence of stay cables and flexible towers. Less constraint in the bridge axis direction yields longer
           natural periods of the corresponding motion and thus reduces the seismic inertia forces. However, less
           constraint on the longitudinal movement of the girder may cause large bending moment in the towers
           and larger displacement of the girder. The effect of temperature change should be also taken into
           account. Figure 26.23 illustrates the potential combinations of supporting conditions for three span cases
           that are most prevalent in long span cable-stayed bridges.
                                                               Highway
                                                2 lanes                   2 lanes
                                                                                                           13 m
                                                               Railway
30 m
              Type (a) or (e) in the figure, where one support is made as a fixed hinge and all other supports are
           longitudinally movable, have been widely used for bridges with medium or short span length because
           temperature effects are released and the seismic force applied to the substructure is relatively small. With
           increasing span length, design and construction of the pier fixed to the girder become difficult due to the
           increase of seismic reaction. The supporting condition (e) has been preferred to (a) in Japanese bridges
           because the expansion of the girder end under temperature change is smaller and the size of the tower
           foundation is relatively large for reasons other than earthquake effect. The supporting condition (a) may,
           however, be preferable when the height of the tower below the bridge deck is large and the end support is
           on the abutment.
              When large clearance height is required, the bridge deck is often provided with fixed hinges at both
           flexible towers as in (c) or is rigidly connected to these towers. The stresses due to temperature change
           can be released owing to the flexibility of the towers and seismic reactions can be sustained by both tower
           piers. Some difficulties may arise, however, in giving the towers both the flexibility to absorb defor-
           mation of the girder due to temperature change and the stiffness to cope with seismic effects. The
           additional thrust induced in the girder should be also borne in mind in this case.
              Prevalent in long-span cable-stayed steel bridges in Japan are the various devices connecting the girder
           elastically with towers or abutments ((b), (d), or (h) in Figure 26.23). In the Meikoh-West bridge and
           some other bridges, elastic restraint was provided by attaching horizontal cables between the girder and
           the tower, while large belleville springs were fitted to the rocker bearings at each end pier of the
           Hitsuishijima and Iwakurojima bridges. The purpose of these devices was to reduce and distribute
           seismic forces, to control the longitudinal movement of the girder, and also to find a compromise with
           temperature effect.
              The advantage of all movable support types, (f) and (g) in Figure 26.23, is to reduce the seismic
           inertial force of the girder by attaining very long natural periods of longitudinal sway motion. The
           so-called floating type (g), where the vertical support at the tower is omitted, leads to a noticeable
           reduction of the bending moment in the girder at the towers. However, care should be given to
           excessive displacement of the girder and proneness of instability of the towers. In the Higashi-Kobe
           Bridge, newly developed vane-type dampers were installed on the end piers as stopping devices
           against unexpectedly severe earthquakes. The use of short tower links in the Yokohama Bay Bridge or
           thick rubber shoes on the side span of the Ikuchi Bridge was also aimed at optimizing seismic design
           under the given conditions.
                                                                                                 Type of
                                                                                                supporting
                                                                                                conditions
(g) Floating
                                                                                             Floating but
                                                                                             elastically
                          (h)
                                                                                             constrained at
                                                                                             tower piers
           toward mid-span, the stay cables will have to be installed and tensioned every time an anchor point at the
           girder is reached. In some cases, even the construction of the pylons will proceed in parallel with the
           erection of the girder and stay cables. More detailed description on the erection of cable-stayed bridges
           are given in the book by Gimsing [17].
             The construction methods used on the towers of cable-stayed bridges are typically not different from
           those of suspension bridges. For smaller or moderate size of steel towers, the erection may be carried out
           by traveler crane or floating crane with tall boom.
           References
            [1] Ernst, H.J., Der E-Modul von Seilen unter Beruecksichitigung des Durchhanges, Bauingenieur,
                No. 2, 52, 1965.
            [2] Podolny, Jr., W., Current corrosion proyection methods for stay cables, in IABSE Report 83-2,
                Symp. Extending the Life-Span of Structures, 855, 1995.
            [3] Ito, M., Tada, K., and Kitagawa, M., Cable corrosion protection system for cable-supported
                bridges in Japan, op. cit. [2], 873.
            [4] Lapsley, R.D. and Granz, H.R., Experience, developments and trends for improved durability of
                stay cables, op. cit. [2], 879.
            [5] Recommendations for Stay Cable Design, Testing and Installation, 4th ed., Post-Tensioning Insti-
                tute, 2001, sec. 5.2.
            [6] Maeda, K. et al., Applicability of CFRP cables to ultra long span suspension bridges, IABSE Report
                84, Conf. Cable-Supported Bridges (in CD-ROM), 2001.
            [7] Lin, T.Y. and Chow, P., Gibraltar Strait crossing — a challenge to bridge and structural engi-
                neering, Struct. Eng. Int., IABSE, No. 2, 53, 1991.
            [8] Ochsendorf, J.A. and Billington, D.P., Self-anchored suspension bridges, J. Bridge Eng., ASCE, 4–3,
                151, August 1999.
            [9] Peery, D.J., An influence line analysis for suspension bridges, Proc. ASCE (ST), 80-581, 558, 1954.
           [10] Okukawa, A., Suzuki, S., and Harazaki, I., Suspension bridges, in Bridge Engineering Handbook,
                Chen, W.-F. and Duan, L., Eds., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2000, chapter 18.
           [11] Ito, M., Suppression of wind-induced vibrations of structures, in A State of the Art in Wind
                Engineering, IAWE, Wiley Eastern, New Delhi, 281, 1995.
           [12] Schlaich, J. and Engelsmann, S., Stress ribbon concrete bridges, Struct. Eng. Int., IABSE, 4, 271,
                1996.
           [13] Virlogeux, M., Bridges with multiple cable-stayed spans, Struct. Eng. Int., IABSE, 1, 61, 2001.
           [14] Tang, M.-C., Buckling of cable-stayed girder bridges, Proc. ASCE, 102-ST9, 1695, 1976.
           [15] Leonhardt, F. and Zeller, W., Past, present and future of cable-stayed bridges, in Cable-Stayed
                Bridges — Recent Developments and their Future, Ito, M. et al., Eds., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1, 1991.
           [16] Ito, M., Supporting devices of long span cable-stayed bridge girder, in Innovative Large Span
                Structures, Srivastava, N.K. et al., Eds., Canadian Soc. Civil Engineers, Montreal, 2, 255, 1992.
           [17] Gimsing, N.J., Cable Supported Bridges — Concept & Design, 2nd ed., Wiley, New York, 1998,
                chapter 7.