OF

CABLE
STRUCTUR
ES
TOS REPORT

ASHISH V SHETTY
FIFTH YEAR R.NO-67
PHCOA
 INTRODUCTION TO CABLE STRUCTURES
Cable structure, Form of long-span structure that is subject to tension and uses
suspension cables for support. Highly efficient, cable structures include the
suspension bridge, the cable-stayed roof, and the bicycle-wheel roof. The graceful curve
of the huge main cables of a suspension bridge is almost a catenary, the shape assumed
by any string or cable suspended freely between two points. The cable-stayed roof is
supported from above by steel cables radiating downward from masts that rise above
roof level. The bicycle-wheel roof involves two layers of tension cables radiating from an
inner tension ring and an outer compression ring, which in turn is supported by columns.
There are several types of cable-supported structures, but they can generally be sorted
into two categories, cable-suspended and cable-stayed structures. In cable-suspended
structures, the draped cables are the main supporting elements of the structure, and
their curvature is a major factor in the load carrying capacity of the system. In cable-
stayed structures, cables stabilize vertical or sloped compression members (usually called
masts or pylons) and serve as tension-only members. This paper focuses primarily on
this second type of cable-supported structure, cable-stayed structures.

TYPES OF APPLICATION AND LOAD DISTRIBUTION

The load carrying capacity of cable-stayed roof structures is not dependent on the
curvature of the cables themselves, which are virtually straight with the exception of a
small amount of sag due the cable’s self weight. Various cable configurations can be
incorporated into cable-stayed structure layouts, including “fan” profiles, “harp”
profiles, and hybrid profiles that are a combination of the two (see Figure 2). The axial
compressive members (masts/pylons) that support the cables can be designed as solid
elements or open elements that are designed like tied-column elements. The axial
compressive members can take on different profiles and can be oriented as vertical
elements or sloped elements. Symmetry of the structural system, architectural
preferences, as well as how the cable loads are applied to the masts, are factors in the
final shape and orientation of the supporting axial compressive element.
LEARNING FROM FAILURES
Some Structural Failures are Caused due to
(1) Poor communication between the various design professionals involved, e.g.
engineers involved in conceptual design and those involved in the supervision of
execution of works.
(2) poor communication between the fabricators and erectors.
(3) Bad workmanship, which is often the result of failure to communicate the design
decisions to the persons, involved in executing them.
(4) Compromises in professional ethics and failure to appreciate the responsibility of
the profession to the community at large could also result in catastrophic failures.
-Other common causes of structural failure are summarized below:
(a)lack of appropriate professional design and construction experience, especially when
novel structures are needed.
(b)complexity of codes and specifications leading to misinterpretation and
misapplication. (c)unwarranted belief in calculations and in specified extreme loads and
properties.
inadequate preparation and review of contract and shop drawings.
(d)poor training of field inspectors. compressed design and/or construction time.

Joinery Details
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
The destruction of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge by aerodynamic forces subsequently
revolutionized the thinking of structural engineers, on how wind loading could affect large
slender structures. This is a good example of errors in Conceptual Design.
In 1940, Tacoma Narrows Bridge was opened across Tacoma Narrows in Washington State.
On Nov 7, 1940, with a wind speed of about 60 km/h (well below the design wind speed),
the bridge began twisting and oscillating violently. As a result the tie down cables intended
to stiffen the bridge snapped, causing the entire structure to crash into the river below.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge before and after collapse

Investigations (subsequent to the collapse) showed that the excessive vertical and
torsional oscillations (which occurred prior to failure) were the result of extraordinary
degree of flexibility of the structure and its relatively small capacity to absorb the dynamic
forces. The deck was too narrow for the span and thus its torsional rigidity was
inadequate. The plate girders, which were provided for stiffening, had insufficient flexural
rigidity and little torsional rigidity. Their elevation caused wind vortices above and below
the deck in moderate and steady winds. From the day bridge was opened very substantial
horizontal and vertical movements of the deck in waveforms were noticeable even in
moderate wind and high traffic.

The failure was indeed caused by a lack of proper understanding of aerodynamic forces
and knowledge of torsional rigidity in the whole profession. It was not realised by the
designers that the aerodynamic forces (which had proven disastrous in the past to much
higher and shorter flexible suspension bridges) would affect a structure of such magnitude
as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, despite the fact that its flexibility was greatly in excess of
that of any other long span suspension bridge.

It is clearly dangerous to exceed the design paradigm without fully understanding the
forces one is dealing with and the limitations of applicability of current design concepts.
 Silver Bridge
Silver bridge collapse is considered to be one of the failures that had been very
influential. It led to the approval of the 1968 National Bridge Inspection Standards by the
U.S. Congress. Built to specifications, this American Suspension Bridge was completed in
1928 and failed in 1967. The cause of failure was a fracture in an eyebar link resulting
from a crack which had grown through stress, corrosion and corrosion fatigue.
A brief report on the causes of failure is summarized below.
On Dec 15, 1967 Silver Bridge, considered to be first eye bar suspension bridge in the
United States, collapsed without warning into the Ohio River. The bridge was spanning
Ohio River between Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio. The collapse
occurred when the bridge was crowded with heavy traffic resulting in the loss of 46 lives
and nine injuries.

At the beginning, the first joint of the eyebar, west of the Ohio tower came apart. As a result
of the separation of the joint and the failure of the eyebar, the Ohio tower fell eastward. The
collapse continued eastward, causing the West Virginia tower to fall eastward. Thus once the
continuity of the suspension system was severed at first panel point west of Ohio tower, the
unbalanced forces on each side of that joint caused the bridge to totally disintegrate.

No consideration was given in the design to secondary stresses arising from