BAHAN KULIAH KONSTRUKSI JEMBATAN-2 TENTANG

JEMBATAN CABLE STAYED

The continuous development of the cable stayed bridge since the 1950's is described
and the arrangement of the stay cables, the supporting conditions for the girder, the
cable planes and type of girder are introduced. The choice of elements is discussed
and special aspects of behaviour and analysis are described. The special connections
required are also described and special features of construction are given.

1. INTRODUCTION
Cable stayed bridges have been built for centuries but up to the 1950's they had not
been developed to the same extent as other bridge types, such as truss bridges, arch
bridges and suspension bridges.

However, since the completion of the Strömsund Bridge in 1955, the cable stayed
bridge has been continuously developed. It has appeared in a larger number of
variants than any other bridge type during this period.

The cable stayed bridge is mainly used for road bridges, where it is applicable for both
narrow 2-lane roads and for wide 6 or 8 lane motorways.

Another application is within the field of pedestrian bridges where cable stayed
bridges can prove advantageous also for smaller spans.

Finally, cable stayed bridges have been designed to carry railway lines, in a few cases.

The cable stayed bridge has been used for a span range from approximately 150m to
400m, where it has proved to be very competitive against truss bridges, arch bridges
and box girder bridges. Recently, the cable stayed bridge has started to increase its
span range up to almost 900m, i.e. moving into a span range that previously has been
entirely in the domain of suspension bridges.

The impressive development of cable stayed bridges is reflected in Table 1 which

shows the largest cable stayed bridges built from 1955 to 1993.
2. TYPES
The cable stayed bridge consists of the bridge girder, the stay cables and the pylons
(Figure 1).

2.1 Arrangement of Stay Cables

For the system of stay cables, two main configurations are generally found: the fan
system, Figure 1a, and the harp system Figure 1c.

The fan configuration leads to the most efficient structural system as it is entirely
composed of triangles. In contrast, the harp system contains mainly quadrangles, and,
therefore, an additional bending stiffness of the girder or the pylon is required to carry
a non-uniform load.

In the pure fan system, all stay cables radiate from the pylon top as indicated for
System (a). It will, however, in many cases be complicated to anchor all the cables at
one point at the pylon top. To avoid this difficulty, the fan system is often modified so
that the cable anchors at the pylon top are spread over a certain height, as shown for
System (b).
Provided that the cable anchors are concentrated in a relatively narrow zone at the
pylon top, there is no significant difference between the behaviour of bridges with the
pure fan or with the modified fan.

The efficiency of the harp system can be significantly improved by adding

intermediate supports in the side spans, as indicated by dotted lines in System (c) of
Figure 1.

In modern cable stayed bridges, the cable system is generally of the multi-cable
configuration where each stay consists of a mono-strand prefabricated in full length
and full cross-section. To achieve this arrangement, it is necessary to have the stay
cables closely spaced. The distance between the cable attachments at the girder is
therefore often chosen between 10 and 20 m.

2.2 Supporting Conditions for the Girder

Cable stayed bridges are generally built as self-anchored systems where the
supporting conditions are chosen so that vertical load from the self-weight and the
traffic introduces vertical reactions only.

This loading can be achieved by supporting the stiffening girder on one fixed bearing
and three longitudinally movable bearings, as indicated on Figure 2a for a system with
the pylons fixed to the stiffening girder.
There are, however, many variants to this basic system and in some systems,
horizontal reactions of moderate size might occur due to compatibility phenomena.

For example, Figure 2b shows a system with a fixed end bearing and pylons that are
rigidly connected to the substructure.

For this system, the elongation of the left anchor cable will force the top of the left
pylon to deflect in the longitudinal direction introducing bending and horizontal shear.
In addition, the contraction of the girder, e.g. under traffic load, will result in a
longitudinal displacement of the movable end bearing to the right and this
displacement will partly be transmitted to the top of the right pylon by the right
anchor cable.

It should also be noted that elongations or contractions of the girder due to

temperature effects will introduce displacements of the pylon tops, and thereby
horizontal shear in the pylon legs.

In some cable stayed bridges, the girder will have direct vertical supports only at the
end piers whereas it will be free to move vertically at the pylons. With this system, a
total symmetry under temperature variations can be achieved if both end bearings are
longitudinally movable, as indicated on Figure 2c. With this system longitudinal
forces, e.g. from braking, will have to be transferred to the soil by bending of the
pylons. This system is, therefore, only applicable if the longitudinal forces are of
moderate intensity.

2.3 Position of Cable Planes and Type of Girder

In cross-section the cable system is generally arranged in one vertical plane above the
centre line, in two vertical planes at the edges of the girder or in two inclined cable
planes - as shown in Figure 3.

A central cable plane with the stay cables attached along the girder axis provide
(elastic) vertical support to the girder, but no torsional support. It is, therefore,
essential that the girder has a sufficient torsional stiffness to transmit any twisting
moment from a load with an eccentric resultant, e.g. traffic load in only one
carriageway.

To achieve the required torsional stiffness, the girder will have to be of the box type,
Figure 3a.

With two vertical cable planes attached along the edges of the girder, both vertical and
torsional support is provided by the cable system and it is therefore not required that
the girder in itself possesses torsional stiffness.

The girder can simply consist of two I-shaped plate girders directly under the cable
planes Figure 3b.

With two inclined cable planes intersecting at the top of the pylon, the girder in
principle gets the same cable support as with two vertical cable planes. In this case a
girder with torsional stiffness is also not required.

In cable stayed bridges with very long spans, where the torsional stiffness becomes
essential to achieve aerodynamic stability, it is often advantageous to have a box
girder combined with two cable planes, and also to give the girder a favourable
streamlined shape, as illustrated in Figure 3c. It should, however, be emphasized that
a lay-out such as that of Figure 3c is only required for very long spans (above 500m)
or for small width-to-span ratios (below 1/25).

3. CHOICE OF ELEMENTS
3.1 Stay Cable

The main advantage of applying a cable support to bridges is linked to the fact that
cable steel can be manufactured with a much higher strength than structural steel.

For cold drawn steel wires with a diameter of 5-7mm, an ultimate strength of 1600
MPa is easily achieved, whereas ordinary structural steel has ultimate strength of 350-
500 MPa. In other words, cable steel is 3-4 times stronger than ordinary structural
steel. This difference implies that an element under pure tension, if made of cable
steel, will have a cross-section (and a weight) that is only 25-33% of that required
with structural steel.

Each stay cable is composed of a large number of wires, either with a circular shape
and diameters between 5 and 7mm or with a special shape to give a higher degree of
compaction and a more dense surface.
In the so-called locked coil cable, Figure 4, the outer layers are composed of Z-shaped
wires that fit tightly together, whereas the inner wire layers are cylindrical. All layers
are helical with the direction of helix changing from one layer to the next.

Due to the twisting of the wires, the locked coil cable becomes self-compacting, so
that a wrapping is unnecessary. At the same time the interlocking Z-wires of the outer
layers ensure a tight surface of the cable under tension, and the required corrosion
resistance can therefore often be achieved just by galvanizing the wires.

In helical cables the axial stiffness is influenced by the twisting of the wires and the
modulus of elasticity is therefore reduced by 15-25% to a typical value of
170  103 MPa.

The twisting of the wires also slightly influences the fatigue strength, so that the stress
range endured by the cable is smaller than for the wires themselves.

In the other type of stay cable, the parallel wire strand (PWS), the drawbacks of the
helical strand are eliminated by having all wires parallel and straight (or twisted with a
very long lay corresponding to a twist angle of less than 3).

With parallel and straight wires the cable is without a self compacting effect. A
special wrapping is, therefore, required to keep the wire bundle together and establish
the necessary corrosion protection.

In the early cable stayed bridges with parallel wire strands (PWS), the wires were
generally blank (ungalvanized) and the corrosion protection established by placing the
wires inside a polyethylene tube that was injected with cement grout after installation
of the stay cable.

In the more recent developments the PWS is composed of galvanized wires and the
cement grout is substituted by a corrosion inhibiting compound or the tube is extruded
directly onto the wire bundle, Figure 5.

3.2 Girder

In steel bridges, the girder is composed of stiffened steel panels, as illustrated for a
box girder in Figure 6.
The deck plate is typically 12-14mm thick and stiffened by longitudinal ribs giving
support along lines a distance of 300mm apart, i.e. with trapezoidal ribs each attached
along two lines the distance between the centres of the ribs is 600mm.

The longitudinal ribs are supported by cross beams or diaphragms spaced 2,5-4m
apart, and these transverse elements are finally attached to the main girder. Thus the
transfer of concentrated wheel loads acting on the bridge deck to the main girder
induces plate bending in the deck plate, and bending plus shear in both the
longitudinal ribs and the cross beams or diaphragms. This results in a rather
complicated biaxial stress distribution in the deck plate. To determine this
distribution, the local structural system should be modelled as an orthogonal grid of
beam elements.

The webs and the bottom plate of the box girder also have to be stiffened by
longitudinal and transverse ribs. In this case the main purpose of the stiffeners is to
prevent buckling - a phenomenon that is especially important to consider as the girder
forms an important part of the primary structural system by transmitting in
compression the horizontal components of the stay cable forces.

Full diaphragms, either plated or braced, are generally positioned at all cable anchor
points and at the pylons, whereas the intermediate transverse elements can be
composed of relatively shallow plate girders.

For a girder with an open cross-section and a concrete deck, an efficient structural
system can be achieved by applying plate girders directly under the cable planes and
interconnecting these main girders by transverse girders at intervals of 3-5m (Figure
7).

With this system, the transverse girders are subjected to positive moments over the
entire length so that they can fully benefit from acting compositely with the concrete
slab. Similarly the composite action is also favourable for the longitudinal girders,
being subjected to compression by the horizontal components of the stay cable force.

Both the main girders and the transverse girders therefore, have shear studs on their
top flanges.

3.3 Pylon

The configuration of the pylon is closely related to the lay-out of the cable system, as
the main function of the pylon is to support the stay cables.

In bridges with a central cable plane the pylon can be designed as a free standing
column or as a lambda-shaped frame, as shown in Figure 8a.
The free standing vertical pylon at the centre of the bridge deck is well suited to
support both a harp-shaped and a fan-shaped cable system, whereas the lambda pylon
requires a modified fan system.

The vertical pylon must have a rigid moment connection to either the box shaped
main girder, or to the bridge pier, to be stable in the lateral direction.

The lambda pylon has in most cases its inclined legs passing outside the girder
without a direct connection.

In bridges with two vertical cable planes, the pylon can either consist of two vertical
columns or form a portal frame, as shown on Figure 8b. Regarding supporting
conditions at the bottom and lay-out of the cable system, the double pylon under (b)
closely corresponds to the matching single pylon under (a).

With two inclined cable planes, the pylon is A-shaped in most cases, Figure 8c, in
combination with a modified fan system. Other combinations are theoretically
possible.

The cross-section of the pylon generally forms a rectangular box with a single cell.
Due to the dominating compression it is necessary to stiffen the side plates primarily
with longitudinal stiffeners, as shown in Figure 9.

Transverse diaphragms are required to support the longitudinal stiffeners at certain

intervals. Due to the fact that very little torsion is applied to the pylon, the diaphragms
do not need to be very rigid. They can therefore be made with relatively large
openings (man holes) to ease inspection and maintenance.
At the cable anchor zones, it may be necessary to add more robust horizontal
diaphragms and/or vertical bulkheads to ensure the transmission of the stay cable
forces to the pylon cross-section and to the stay cables in the opposite side.

4. SPECIAL ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOUR AND ANALYSIS

For the design of the structural elements in a cable stayed bridge it is sufficient in
most cases to use a standard two- or three-dimensional frame analysis program.

For bridges with only one, central cable plane, a two-dimensional structural system is
adequate to analyse the structure under vertical loading due to dead load and traffic
load. This analysis gives the forces in the stay cables, and the axial forces, shear
forces and bending moments in the girder and the pylons.

For the torsion induced in the girder under one-sided traffic load, the girder can be
analyzed subsequently without taking the cable system and the pylon into account.
The same type of analysis applies to the girder under lateral load, e.g. wind load.

In bridges with two cable planes the mathematical model has to be three-dimensional.

For a bridge with two main girders, see Figure 3b, the mathematical model should be
as indicated in Figure 10a, i.e. with two longitudinal beam elements to model the main
girders and a large number of transverse beam elements to model the transverse
girders. The stay cables can in most cases be modelled as straight bars carrying pure
tension.
For bridges with a single box shaped girder and two cable planes, as illustrated in
Figure 3a, the mathematical model should comprise a single longitudinal girder with
the flexural and torsional stiffness of the box shaped main girder. At the points of
cable attachment the central beam should be joined to transverse beam elements, as
illustrated in Figure 10(b).

In the analysis, the stay cable is in most cases regarded as a straight member subjected
to pure tension. In reality an inclined cable is always slightly curved due to the action
of the cable's own weight.

For long stay cables, the sag, or rather the sag variations, tends to reduce the axial
stiffness as the elongation is due not only to the elastic strains in the cable wires but
also to a reduction of the sag, as illustrated in Figure 11.

For stay cables with horizontal projections up to 150m and moderate stress variations,
the sag effect can generally be disregarded, but for longer cables the stiffness of the
cable support is overestimated if the axial strain is only considered.

The sag effect can be taken into account in the analysis by substituting the real
modulus of elasticity E of the cable material by an equivalent modulus of elasticity
Eeq determined by:
  (1)

where

 is the density of the cable material

a the horizontal projection of the cable

1 is the initial dead load, stress

2 the final stress (from dead + live load)

Equation (1) which introduces a secant modulus, requires an iteration in the structural
analysis, as the final stress 2 is unknown from the beginning.

For stay cables with moderate stress variations and horizontal projections up to 250-
300m, it is allowable to substitute the secant modulus of Equation (1) by a tangent
modulus Etan derived simply by inserting 2 = 1 in Equation (1):

 (2)

In this case an iteration can be avoided as the tangent modulus depends only on the
initial stress 1.

When applying the more exact secant modulus approach, the first step in the iteration
is often based on axial cable stiffnesses found from Equation (2), whereas the
following steps are based on stiffnesses determined from Equation (1).

The pylon is subjected primarily to compression from the vertical components of the
cable forces. For this reason it is very important to consider column buckling when
designing the pylon.

It is, therefore, essential to determine thoroughly the effective length of the column to
be applied in the actual case. To illustrate this feature, three examples are shown in
Figure 12.
Figure 12a shows the lateral buckling of a free standing pylon supporting a pure fan
system at the top. The column length 1 c is equal to the pylon height h due to the fact
that the cable plane rotates with the anchor point at the pylon top so that the resultant
of the stay cable forces still points towards the bridge axis.

If this effect had been neglected, then the column length of the free standing pylon
would have been stipulated at twice the pylon height, i.e. a much more severe
condition.

Figure 12b shows the buckling of a pylon in the longitudinal direction in a system
where the girder is longitudinally supported at the end pier. In this case the anchor
cable leading from the fixed bearing to the pylon top restrains the pylon top in the
longitudinal direction and the column effective length in the plane is therefore close to
0,7 times the pylon height.

Finally, Figure 12c shows the buckling of a pylon in a system where the girder has no
longitudinal restraint through fixed bearings. In this case, the buckling is accompanied
by a longitudinal sway of the girder so the cable reaction remains vertical. The
column length is, consequently, twice the pylon height.
5. CONNECTIONS
In cable stayed bridges, special connections are required to allow the transmission of
the cable forces to the girder and the pylon.

Due to the fact that the high strength of the wires is achieved by a carbon content
approximately five times larger than in normal structural steel, the wires cannot be
welded.

Instead sockets are fixed to the ends of the wire bundle constituting the stay cable.

The sockets are made of cast steel in the form of a short cylinder with a conical cavity,
Figure 13. Inside this cavity the strand is broomed and subsequently the space is filled
with a metallic zinc alloy or a mixture of epoxy resin, zinc dust and steel balls.

The transmission of the cable force from the socket to the adjacent structure is
established as contact pressure on the end face or through an external thread to a nut.
The socket might also have a shape that allows a pin connection.

During erection the length of the stay cables has to be adjusted either by inserting
shims between the socket and the supporting structure or by turning the nut.

To vary the length of the stay cable, it is only necessary to make adjustments at one
end (at the active anchorage). Thus the other end can be made without provision for
adjustments (the passive anchorage).

The active anchorage can be positioned either at the girder or at the pylon. The choice
between these two possibilities depends on the accessibility in the actual locations.
In modern cable stayed bridges with stay cables made of mono-strands it is generally
a requirement that the stay cables can be replaced in the event of corrosion or fatigue
leading to wire breaks. The anchorage detail should, therefore, also allow the stay
cable to be released and removed in the service state.

When designing the cable anchor point at the girder, it is necessary to consider
thoroughly the transmission of both the vertical and the horizontal component of the
cable force.

Throughout the history of cable stayed bridges a very large number of anchorage
details have been developed for the special conditions at the girder level.

As an example, Figure 14 shows a simple solution for anchoring a central cable to a

box girder. Here the cable force is transferred from the socket through a bearing plate
to two gusset plates welded to the deck plate and to a plated diaphragm. Thus, the
horizontal component of the cable force is transferred to the deck plate by shear in the
longitudinal weld and the vertical component to the diaphragm by shear in the vertical
weld.

It is emphasized that the deck plate and the diaphragm must intersect exactly at the
cable axis in order to exclude moments due to eccentricity.

At the pylon, the stay cables might be anchored to inclined, secondary diaphragms
extending between the two longitudinal side plates of the pylon, as illustrated in
Figure 15 for a pylon supporting a modified fan.
6. SPECIAL FEATURES OF CONSTRUCTION
The success of the cable stayed bridge is to a large extent linked to the efficient
erection procedure which characterizes this type of bridge. Thus, a cable stayed bridge
can be erected by free cantilevering from the pylon, either symmetrically in both
directions (Figure 16a) or only into the main span (Figure 16b). In the latter case, the
side span is erected initially as a normal girder bridge.

With the double cantilevering, Figure 16a, it must be remembered that the entire
stability in the temporary stage depends on the flexural stiffness and the fixity of the
pylon. In some cases this stiffness governs the design of the pylon.
With cantilevering only into the main span (Figure 16b) the stay cables are generally
installed in pairs so that the fan (or harp) of the side span is established
simultaneously with that of the main span.

Typically an erection sequence comprises the following steps:

1. Cantilevering the girder from one cable anchor point to the next - in most cases
achieved by lifting girder units by a derrick crane positioned on the bridge
deck.
2. Installation of the stay cable, often performed by unreeling a prefabricated
strand from a reel positioned on the bridge deck.
3. Controlled tensioning of the stay cable by jacking at the active anchorage.
4. Moving the crane to the tip of the girder.

In many cases the stay cable is subjected to its maximum tension after cantilevering
the girder to the next cable anchor point. Subsequently, the tension is relieved when
the following stay cables are being tensioned.

It is of the utmost importance to realize that the distribution of dead load moments in
the girder is entirely governed by the tensioning of the stay cables during erection. An
optimum distribution of dead load moments can therefore be achieved by choosing the
initial cable tension accordingly.

The required analysis of the erection stages may conveniently be carried out
"backwards", i.e. by initially choosing a desired distribution of dead load moments
and then "moving backwards" by "demolishing" the structure in the same stages as
assumed for the erection.

To determine the dead load moments by subjecting the final structure to the dead load
of the structural elements is not only erroneous, but is also very uneconomical in most
cases.

7. CONCLUDING SUMMARY
 Modern cable stayed bridges cover a span range from approximately 150m to
900m (for road bridges).
 The cable system comprises straight cables in a fan or a harp configuration.
 The girder cross-section is chosen taking into account the support offered by
the cable system. With only one central cable plane the girder must possess
considerable torsional stiffness.
  The spacing of the stay cables should be chosen so that each stay can consist of
a single strand (mono-strand cables).
 For stay cables with a horizontal projection of more than 150m, the non-linear
sag effect has to be taken into account in the analysis.
 The distribution of dead load moments in the girder should be determined by
considering the initial tensioning of the stay cables during erection.

8. ADDITIONAL READING
1. Gimsing, N.J.; Cable Supported Bridges, Concept and Design, John Wiley and
Sons, Chichester, 1983.
2. Walther, R.; Houriet, B.; Isler, W.; Moia, P.: Ponts Haubanés, Presses
Polytechniques Romandes, Lausanne, 1985.
3. Podolny, W. Jr. and Scalzi, J.B.: Construction and Design of Cable Stayed
Bridges, John Wiley and Sones, New York, 1986.
4. Roik, K.; Albrecht, G.; Weyer, U.: Schrägseibrücken, W. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin,
1986.
5. Troitsky, M.S.; Cable Stayed Bridges: Theory and Design, BSP Professional
Books, Oxford, 1988.

YEAR SPAN  M NAME COUNTRY GIRDER

MATERIAL
AT MID-
SPAN
1955 183 Strömsund Bridge Sweden Steel

1957 260 Theodor Heuss Germany Steel

Bridge
1961 302 Germany Steel
Severins Bridge
1969 319 Germany Steel
Knie Bridge
1970 350 Germany Steel
Duisburg-
1975 404 Neuenkamp France Steel
Bridge
1983 440 Spain Concrete
St. Nazaire Bridge
1986 465 Canada Composite
Barrios de Luna
1991 490 Bridge Japan Steel
 1992 530 Alex Fraser Bridge Norway Concrete

1995 856 Iguchi Bridge France Steel

1999 890 Kvarnsund Bridge Japan Steel

Normandy Bridge

Tatara Bridge

Table 1 Evolution of span length for cable stayed bridges