Conception and Structural Optimization

of a Long Span Bridge

By

M. Ebrahim Fazly
Conception and Structural Optimization of a Long Bridge

M. Ebrahim Fazly
Master of Science in Structural Engineering
Institute of Reinforced Concrete Structures
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Hamburg University of Technology TUHH
2010

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is structural analysis and optimization of a road bridge crossing the river
Rhein in Maxau. It will provide an insight into structural behavior of cable stayed bridges and arch
bridges. Parametric studies and optimizations show how different geometric parameters such as tower
height, cable/hanger arrangement, and arch form influence the structural behavior of the corresponding
bridge type.

An arch bridge and a cable stayed bridge are designed for a central span of 255 m. The strategies and
factors that must be considered in the design of each bridge are discussed and the structural behavior,
material utilization, and costs of each bridge are compared. Furthermore, the bridges are compared
based on a feasibility study, aesthetic factors and their robustness to member losses.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like express my sincere thanks to Professor Sigrist for opportunity to study under his guidance
and for his support and commitment over the entire period of time it took me to finish this thesis. Prof.
Sigrist has served as a mentor and as inspiration to me during my studies at TUHH.

Many thanks go also to Dipl. Eng. Grischa Dette for his insightful discussions, support and feedbacks.

Finally, thanks to my beloved family for their support and encouragement.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION 2
1.2 OBJECTIVES 3
1.3 ORGANIZATION 4

CHAPTER2 BRIDGESTRUCTURES 5

2.1 INTRODUCTION 6
2.2 CABLESUPPORTEDBRIDGES 6
2.2.1 HISTORICALREVIEWOFCABLESTAYEDANDEXTRADOSEDBRIDGES 7
2.2.2 COMPARISONBETWEENCABLESTAYEDANDEXTRADOSEDBRIDGES 10
2.3 ARCHBRIDGES 12
2.3.1 ABRIEFHISTORYOFARCHBRIDGES 12
2.4 BRIDGESYSTEMS 13

CHAPTER3 PRELIMINARYDESIGN 16

3.1 INTRODUCTION 17

3.2 SELECTIONOFBRIDGETYPEANDSTATICALSYSTEM 17
3.3 CONCEPTUALDESIGNOFTHECABLESTAYEDBRIDGE 19
3.3.1 LAYOUTOFSTAYCABLES 19
3.3.2 THEGIRDERCROSSSECTION 24
3.4 CONCEPTUALDESIGNOFTHEARCHBRIDGE 24
3.4.1 DETERMINATIONOFTHESHAPEOFTHEARCH 26
3.4.2 CONFIGURATIONOFHANGERS 27

CHAPTER4 LOADINGANDSYSTEMSIMULATION 31

4.1 INTRODUCTION 32

4.2 LOADS 32
4.2.1 PERMANENTLOADS 32
4.2.2 LIVELOADS 32
4.2.3 TEMPERATURE 34
4.2.4 WINDLOADANDAERODYNAMICALBEHAVIOR 35
4.2.5 TIMEDEPENDENTDEFORMATIONSOFCONCRETE 36
4.3 FEMMODELINGOFBRIDGESYSTEMS 38
4.3.1 PLANEFRAMEMODELSAND3DBEAM/BARMODELS 38
4.3.2 SPACEFRAMEMODELS 39

CHAPTER5 CABLESTAYEDBRIDGE–STRUCTURALANALYSISANDDESIGN 40

5.1 INTRODUCTION 41

5.2 STAYS 42
5.2.1 DETERMINATIONOFINITIALCABLEFORCES 44
I
5.2.2 EQUIVALENTMODULUSOFELASTICITYFORSTAYCABLES 47
5.2.3 VERIFICATIONANDDESIGNOFSTAYSATLIMITSTATES 49
5.3 STIFFENINGGIRDER 50
5.3.1 DESIGNANDVERIFICATIONATSLSANDULS 51
5.4 CONSTRUCTIONSTAGEANALYSIS 55
5.4.1 ERECTIONPROCEDURE 55
5.4.2 ADJUSTMENTOFCABLEFORCES 57
5.5 STAYCABLES’ANCHORAGESANDCONNECTIONS 60

CHAPTER6 ALTERNATIVEDESIGN–ARCHBRIDGE 63

6.1 INTRODUCTION 64

6.2 THEARCH 64
6.2.1 STABILITYOFTHEARCHUNDERHALFLOAD 66
6.3 HANGERS 67
6.4 THEDECK 69
6.4.1 VERIFICATIONATSLSANDULS 70
6.5 CONSTRUCTIONOFARCHBRIDGES 72

CHAPTER7 PROGRESSIVECOLLAPSE 74

7.1 INTRODUCTION 75

7.2 INVESTIGATIONOFTHECABLESTAYEDBRIDGE 75
7.3 INVESTIGATIONOFTHEARCHBRIDGE 78
7.4 CONCLUSION 80

CHAPTER8 ECONOMICEVALUATIONANDDESIGNCOMPARISON 81

8.1 INTRODUCTION 82

8.2 ECONOMICSTUDIES 82
8.2.1 MATERIALQUANTITIES 82
8.2.2 COSTCOMPARISON 84

CHAPTER9 CONCLUSION 87

9.1 REVIEWOFINVESTIGATEDBRIDGES 88

CHAPTER10 REFERENCES 89

II
TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE11:AKASHIKAIKYBRIDGE 2
FIGURE12:RHEINBRIDGEINMAXAU 3
FIGURE21:FAROBRIDGE,DENMARK 6
FIGURE22:LOESCHER’SDESIGNIN1784 7
FIGURE23:STRÖMSUNDBRIDGE,SWEDEN 8
FIGURE24:KÖHLBRANDBRIDGE,HAMBURG 8
FIGURE25:SUTONGBRIDGE,CHINA 8
FIGURE26:ARRÊT-DARRÉ VIADUCT (MATHIVAT 1988) 9
FIGURE27:FINBACK,CABLEPANELANDEXTRADOSEDBRIDGES 9
FIGURE28:GANTERBRIDGE 10
FIGURE29:CABLESTAYED,EXTRADOSED,ANDGIRDERBRIDGE 11
FIGURE210:IRONBRIDGE—ABOVEANDVIENNERIVERBRIDGE—BELOW 12
FIGURE211:SHEIKHRASHIDBINSAEEDCROSSINGBRIDGE,DUBAI 15
FIGURE31:DETAILEDDRAWINGSFORTHEALTERNATIVE“CABLESTAYEDBRIDGE” 20
FIGURE32:DETAILEDDRAWINGSFORTHEALTERNATIVE“ARCHBRIDGE” 21
FIGURE33:INFLUENCEOFCABLECONFIGURATIONONBENDINGMOMENTSINTHEDECK. 22
FIGURE34:INFLUENCEOFCABLELAYOUTANDINCLINATION,A)QUANTITYOFCABLESTEELASAFUNCTION
OFTOWERHEIGHT–COMPARISONBETWEENFANANDHARPSYSTEMS,B)CONSTANTVERTICALFORCE,
C)CONSTANTTOTALFORCE 23
FIGURE36:INFLUENCEOFCABLELAYOUT—A)NORMALFORCES,B)BENDINGMOMENTS ANDC)
MOMENTSINPYLONS 24
FIGURE35:STAYLAYOUT 23
FIGURE38:POSITIONOFTHEHINGESINTHEARCH 26
FIGURE37:POSITIONOFTHEBRIDGEDECKINARCHBRIDGES 26
FIGURE39:CABLELINE,MOMENTLINEANDTHRUSTLINE 27
FIGURE310:DIFFERENTHANGERS’ARRANGEMENT 27
FIGURE311:THEFEMMODEL 28
FIGURE312:STATICSYSTEMS 28
FIGURE313:COMPARISONOFNORMALFORCESINTHEARCHESDUETODIFFERENTHANGERCONFIGURATION
 29
FIGURE314:COMPARISONOFBENDINGMOMENTSANDDEFLECTIONSOFTHEARCHESANDTHEDECKDUE
TODIFFERENTHANGERCONFIGURATION 30
FIGURE41:ARRANGEMENTOFLIVELOADACCORDINGTOLOADMODEL1OFDINFB101 34
FIGURE42:FATIGUELOADMODEL3ACCORDINGTODINFB101 34
FIGURE43:CORELATIONBETWEENOUTSIDEAIRTEMPERATURE(TMAX/TMIN)ANDSTRUCTURETEMPERATURE
(TE,MAX/TE,MIN) 35
FIGURE44:CREEPANDSHRINKAGE 38
FIGURE45:MODELUSEDFORTHESIMULATIONOFTHECABLESTAYEDBRIDGE 39
FIGURE46:ANEXAMPLEOFGENERATIONOFFEELEMENTS 39
FIGURE51:STAYSMANUFACTUREDBYSTAHLTON(STAHLTON2009) 42
FIGURE52:STAYPIPEARRANGEMENTWITHHIAMANCHORAGE(STAHLTON2009) 42
FIGURE53:HIAMANCHORAGE(STAHLTON2009) 43
FIGURE54:APPROXIMATIONOFCABLEFORCESINSTAYSOFTHECABLESTAYEDBRIDGES 44
FIGURE55:FINDINGTHEIDEALMOMENTDISTRIBUTION 46
FIGURE56:CABLEFORCEINSTAYSANDTHEREQUIREDSTEELQUANTITIES 47
FIGURE57:GEOMETRICBEHAVIOROFACABLEWITHMODULUSOFELASTICITYE=(WALTERETAL1999) 48
FIGURE58:EQUIVALENTMODULUSOFELASTICITY 48
FIGURE59:VERIFICATIONOFSTAYS 49

III
FIGURE510:INFLUENCELINESFORMAXIMUMBENDINGMOMENTS 51
FIGURE511:BENDINGMOMENTSANDDEFLECTIONSDUETOLIVELOADANDPERMANENTLOADS 52
FIGURE512:MOMENTENVELOPEATULS 54
FIGURE513:ERECTIONOFRHEINRIVERBRIDGEATMAXAU(GERMANY)(PODOLNYANDSCALZI1986) 56
FIGURE514:FREECANTILEVERMETHODOFERECTION(GIMSING1994) 56
FIGURE515:CABLEFORCESOBTAINEDFROMABACKWARDANALYSIS 58
FIGURE516:CONSTRUCTIONSTAGES 58
FIGURE517:ANCHORAGEOFTHECABLESTOTHEDECK–A)ORIGINALSYSTEMB)MODIFIEDSYSTEMFORA
BETTERLOADTRANSFERBETWEENTHETWOELEMENTS 61
FIGURE518:LOCALCRITICALSTRESSESATANCHORAGEPOINTSINABSENCEOFSTEELBARS 61
FIGURE519:CABLESANCHORAGETOPYLONS. 62
FIGURE61:STRUCTURALSYSTEMOFTHEARCHBRIDGE 64
FIGURE62:MOSTPROBABLEINPLANEBUCKLINGOFATWOHINGEDARCH 65
FIGURE63:AXIALFORCESNXUNDERSERVICELOADS 66
FIGURE64:SPLITTINGTHELOADINGINTOSYMMETRICALANDANTISYMMETRICALPARTS 66
FIGURE65:IMPERFECTIONINTHEARCH 66
FIGURE66:CONNECTIONPLATESANDTHEIR2DIMENSIONALFEMMODELS 67
FIGURE67:MAXIMALSTRESSESINTHECONNECTIONPLATESDUETOMAXIMALHANGERFORCENMAX 68
FIGURE68:HANGERFORCES 68
FIGURE69:BENDINGMOMENTSINTHEARCHANDINTHEBRIDGEGIRDER 69
FIGURE610:MOMENTSANDDEFLECTIONSUNDERDIFFERENTLIMITSSTATES 71
FIGURE611:ERECTIONOFTHEARCHBRIDGE 73
FIGURE71:BENDINGMOMENTSANDDEFLECTIONSCAUSEDBYFAILUREORLOSSOFSTRUCTURALELEMENTS
 77
FIGURE72:RESPONSESOFTHEARCHBRIDGETOHANGERLOSSES:MOMENTDISTRIBUTIONS,AXIALFORCES
ANDDEFLECTIONS 79
FIGURE81:AVERAGEGIRDERCONCRETEDEPTHOFBRIDGESSTUDIEDBYDUBROVACOMPAREDWITH
BRIDGESDESIGNEDINCHAPTERS5AND6(ORIGINALGRAPHFROMPODOLNY&SCALZI1986). 83
FIGURE82:AVERAGEGIRDERCONCRETEDEPTHOFBRIDGESSTUDIEDBYMERMIGAS(2008)COMPAREDWITH
BRIDGESDESIGNEDINCHAPTER5AND6(ORIGINALGRAPHBYMERMIGAS2008). 83
FIGURE83:SENSITIVITYOFTHECOSTESTIMATETOTHEUNITPRICEOFCONCRETE. 86

IV
LIST OF TABLES

TABLE21:EXAMPLESOFEXTRADOSED,CABLESTAYEDANDARCHBRIDGES 13
TABLE31:DESIGNALTERNATIVES 18
TABLE32:CABLESTAYEDBRIDGES(WALTHERETAL.1999) 19
TABLE34:CROSSSECTIONS 25
TABLE41:PERMANENTLOADS–MAXIMUMANDMINIMUMVALUESOFLOADFACTOR 32
TABLE42:NUMBERANDWIDTHOFTHELANES 32
TABLE43:VALUESOFQIKANDQIKACCORDINGTOTABLE4.2OFDINFB101 33
TABLE44:NUMBEROFEXPECTEDLORRIESPERYEARANDPERLANEACCORDINGTOTABLE4.5OFDINFB101
 33
TABLE45:WINDLOADSWINKN/M2ONBRIDGESACCORDINGTODINFB101CH.4TABLE11 35
TABLE46:CREEPANDSHRINKAGEFACTORS 38
TABLE51:STAYCABLEPROPERTIES 43
TABLE52:MATERIALCHARACTERISTICSCONSIDEREDFORTHEDESIGN 52
TABLE53:FLOWCHARTFORBACKWARDANALYSIS 57
TABLE54:MOMENTSDUETOCONSTRUCTIONSTAGES 59
TABLE61:ARCH’SSECTIONPROPERTIES 66
TABLE62:MATERIALSFORTHEARCHBRIDGE 70
TABLE81:MATERIALQUANTITIESINGIRDER. 84
TABLE82:AVERAGEMATERIALQUANTITIESINGIRDER 84
TABLE83:ESTIMATEDCOSTS. 85

V
LIST OF SYMBOLS:

Matrices and Vectors

C influence matrix
I Vector of moments or displacements of an ideal state
Mº Vector of the target bending moments
Md Vector of bending moments under dead load and prestressing
Mn Vector of updated bending moment in step n
T Vector of cable forces in stays
Tº Vector of initial cable forces in stays
Tn Vector of updated cable forces in stays in step n
T Vector of adjusted cable forces
Tn Vector of adjusted cable forces in step n

Scalars

A Cross-section
Ac Concrete cross-section
E Modulus of elasticity
Ec Modulus of elasticity of concrete
Ee Modulus of elasticity of cables material
Eeq Equivalent modulus of elasticity
Ei Idealized modulus of elasticity
Ep Modulus of elasticity of prestressing tendons
Es Modulus of elasticity of reinforcing steel
I Moment of inertia
L Length
Lx Length in x-direction
Ly Length in y-direction
M Bending moment
N Axial force
P Force
P Force number n
R Reaction force
RH Relative humidity
T Tension force (of a cable)

fc Concrete strength in compression

fcm Average concrete strength in compression after 28 days
fctm Average concrete tensile strength
fy Yield stress in steel
ftk Nominal yield stress in stay cables
fuk Ultimate yield strength of steel
fyk Steel strength in tension
h0 Effective thickness
m Number
n Number
s Length of a chord
t0 Age of concrete at the time of loading
ts Age of concrete at the beginning of shrinkage
u Perimeter

c (t,t0) Development of creep value as a function of time

VI
z Rapture stress in prestressing steel
 Strain
0 Initial strain
cas Value of plastic shrinkage strain
cds Value of drying shrinkage strain
cs (t,ts) Total shrinkage strain as a function of time
 density (of a cable)
 Stress
0 Initial stress
c Concrete stress
low lower limit of stress
m Mean stress
up upper limit of stress
per permissible stress
 Stress ratio low/ up
 Creep coefficient

VII