Cable-stayed bridges in Shanghai where Chinese recent major bridges launched

Ma Biao Senior Engineer Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design General Institute Shanghai, CHINA
mabiao139@139.com Ma Biao, born 1961, received his civil engineering bachelor degree from Tongji Univ.

Lin Yuanpei Senior Engineer Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design General Institute Shanghai, CHINA
tzbridge@163.com Lin Yuanpei, born 1936, received his civil engineering bachelor degree from Shanghai City Construction Institute

Abstract
Cable-stayed bridges are one of the most popular solutions for long span crossings. The design and construction techniques for this type of bridge have undergone significant development and improvement over the past several decades. Shanghai is one of the first cities in China to build modern long span cable-stayed bridges. The construction of the Nanpu Bridge in 1988 is regarded as the beginning of modern long span cable-stayed bridge construction in China. Shanghais cablestayed bridges are described in this paper, with special attention devoted to experience gained during construction, structural characteristics, technological developments, and innovative techniques. Keywords: Shanghai, cable-stayed bridge, development, innovative techniques

1. Introduction
After the Chinese government initiated its opening policy thirty years ago, Shanghais economy has developed rapidly. Bridge construction in the city has kept apace with a series of impressive achievements. Among these, Shanghais cable-stayed bridges have attracted particular attention. Shanghai is one of the first cities in China to build modern long span cable-stayed bridges. The first cable-stayed bridge, the Maogang Bridge, was completed in 1982. The construction of the Nanpu Bridge in 1988 is regarded as the beginning of modern long span cable-stayed bridge construction in China. The Yangpu Bridge, with main span of 602 m and completed in 1993, briefly held the record for the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Since then, design and construction technology for cable-stayed bridges have been continuously developed and improved in China. Shanghais Yangtze River Bridge and Minpu Bridge, two long span cable-stayed bridges that incorporate particularly innovative techniques, will be completed in 2 years. The development and innovative techniques applied in these cable-stayed bridges are introduced in this paper.

2. Maogang Cable-stayed Bridge

The Maogang Cable-stayed Bridge, with a total length of 391.8 m, is located in Maogang, Songjiang County, Shanghai. It is a double tower double cable plane prestressed concrete cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 200 m and side spans of 85 m on either side. Auxiliary piers are provided at the third points of the side spans. The total width of the deck is 12 m, which provides 7 m for

Fig.1 Maogang Cable-stayed Bridge

highway traffic lanes and 2.5 m for sidewalks on either side. The main girder is composed of separated double-box girders. By using movable suspended scaffolding, the deck structure was erected by cantilever construction with wet joints. The main tower is a straight reinforced concrete structure, rising 44 m above the deck. Wind bracing is provided between the tower columns. The girder has a fixed connection to the tower. The cables are arranged in harp configuration, with 11 pairs of cables at each side of the tower. The bridge was completed in June 1982. Technical innovations: For the first time in China, the cold cast anchorage was used for stay cables. The Kalman Filter Approach was used for construction control for a cable-stayed bridge. By taking both structural analysis and construction control in consideration, internal forces and profile of the cable-stayed bridge reached the ideal state. The Maogang Bridge is the first cable-stayed bridge in China to be built with modern techniques.

3. Hengfeng North Road Overcrossing

As part of one of Shanghais main south-north arteries, the Hengfeng North Road Overcrossing is located on the west side of Shanghai Railway Station. The bridge spans 15 railways, including the Shanghai-Nanjing line, the Shanghai-Hangzhou line and other lines. The bridge is a single tower single cable plane prestressed concrete cable-stayed bridge, with a total length of 613 m. The main spans are 76.65 m+72.8 m, with deck width of 24.1 m. To increase torsional stiffness, the girder has a multi-cell box cross-section. The cross section is composed of a Fig.2 Hengfeng Cable-stayed Bridge spine girder, side box girders, and cantilever slabs, which were constructed simultaneously using three kinds of movable suspended scaffolding arrayed in a triangle. The tower is 50 m high, with a constant rectangular cross section. Steel tubular piles were used for the foundation of main pier. The single cable plane consists of 15 pairs of stays in harp configuration. The bridge was completed on September 30, 1987. Technical innovations: This was the first use in China of very long steel tube piles in bridge foundations (depth of 82 m). This provided valuable experience for the design and construction of soft soil foundations for the longer-span bridges over the Huangpu River. Improved cold cast anchorages (close-up format) were used for stay cables. The Hengfeng North Road Overcrossing is the first single tower single cable plane prestressed concrete cable-stayed bridge to be built in China.

4. Nanpu Bridge
The Nanpu Bridge, which is located in Southern Dock area, is not only the first long span bridge to cross the Huangpu River in Shanghai, but also the first project to be built under the Revitalize Shanghai and Develop Pudong policy. The

Fig.3 Nanpu Cable-stayed Bridge

total length of the bridge is 8346 m. The Nanpu Bridge is a double tower double cable plane steelconcrete composite girder cable-stayed bridge. The span arrangement is 76.5 m+94.5 m+423 m+94.5 m+76.5 m, with one span crossing the Huangpu River. The net navigational height for the bridge is 44+2 m. The total deck width is 30.35 m, with 23.45 m for six lanes of traffic and 2 m for sidewalks on either side. A vertical elevator is provided for visiting and sightseeing. The main girder of Nanpu Bridge is a steel-concrete composite structure. Steel deck framing consists of two main I-girders and transverse floorbeams. Precast concrete deck slab panels are connected to the steel structure by means of shear studs and cast-in-place closure pours. The main towers, 150 m high, are built of reinforced concrete and are given a broken H-shape. There are 22 pairs of stays on either side of the tower, arranged in a fan-shaped plane. Steel tubular piles with diameter of 900 mm were used for the foundations of main piers. Auxiliary piers were provided for the side spans. The superstructure uses a longitudinal floating system, with displacement restraint and seismic devices in the transverse direction. The Nanpu Bridge is just like a dragon lying on the Huangpu River, which achieves the citizens dream of crossing the river with bridge. The whole structure is constructed in a strong and slim configuration, showing a beautiful view over the Huangpu River. The Puxi Approach is in a spiral shape, also exhibiting a nice look. The construction of Nanpu Bridge started on December 15, 1988 and was completed on December 1, 1991. Technical innovations: By using improved anchorage and cable manufacturing techniques, industrialized production techniques for stayed cables were developed and applied for the first time. The cold cast anchorage (close-up format) and parallel steel wire hot-squeezed polyethylene sheaths were used for the stays. These improved manufacturing techniques for stay cables were widely applied to the construction of long span cable-stayed bridges in China. Integrated measures were applied to solve the problem of cracking in the deck slab. Through the use of internal prestress, transverse through cracks in the slab were prevented; by using a newly developed cable to steel girder connection, radial cracks near the cable anchorage were prevented; by using a temporary longitudinal triangle frame in construction, skew cracks at the cable deck connection were prevented; by using the cross beam reverse-jack technique in construction, longitudinal cracks in the deck were prevented. During wind engineering research work, the new concept of multimode coupled flutter in bridge wind vibration was first put forward in the world. By developing 3-D flutter theory, the wind vibration problem of the Nanpu Bridge was effectively solved. The Nanpu Bridge was the first cable-stayed bridge with span exceeding 400 m in China. Its completion is regarded as the beginning of intensive construction of long span cable-stayed bridges in China.

5. Yangpu Bridge
The Yangpu Bridge, located in the Ningguo Road area, is the second long span bridge to cross the Huangpu River in Shanghai. Together with the Nanpu Bridge, These two bridges form the two river crossing links for the inner-ring expressway circling the city. The total length of the bridge is 8354 m. The Yangpu Bridge is a double tower double inclined cable plane steel-concrete composite girder cable-stayed

Fig.4 Yangpu Cable-stayed Bridge

bridge. The span arrangement is 99 m+144 m+602 m+144 m+99 m, with one span crossing the Huangpu River. The net navigational height for the bridge is 48+2 m. The total deck width is 30.35 m, which includes 23.45 m six lanes of highway traffic and 2 m for sidewalks on either side. A vertical elevator is installed for visiting and sightseeing. The main girder of the Yangpu Bridge is a steel-concrete composite structure. Steel framing for the girder consists of two main box shaped longitudinal girders and I-shaped transverse floorbeams. Precast concrete deck slab panels are attached to the steelwork using welded shear studs and castin-place concrete closure pours. The diamond-shaped main tower, which has a height of 200 m, is constructed of reinforced concrete. Steel tubular piles with diameter 900 mm are used for the foundations of main piers. Auxiliary piers are provided for the side spans. There are 32 pairs of stays on either side of the tower, arranged in fan-shaped planes. The superstructure uses a longitudinal floating system, with displacement restraint and seismic devices in the transverse direction. The Yangpu Bridge is constructed in a beautiful and magnificent configuration, like a rainbow over the Huangpu River. The 602 m span length once held the world record for cable-stayed bridges. The construction of the Yangpu Bridge started on April 29, 1991 and was completed on September 15, 1993, taking only 2 years and 5 months. Technical innovations: Due to the long span, large initial internal forces exist in the structure under dead load. The influence of this effect on internal forces due to live load was taken into consideration in design, to ensure the overall structural safety and stability of the bridge. Due to the long span, diamond-shaped towers and inclined cable planes are used. This increases the overall stiffness of the structure. The performance of the bridge was thus greatly improved without the need for special aerodynamic measures, and the stability of the bridge under design wind conditions was ensured. To facilitate construction given the spatial arrangement of stay cables, the prestressed anchorage method was used for anchoring the stays at the tower, i.e., the stays were directly anchored to the face of the reinforced concrete tower. The structures safety and reliability were validated by fullscale model testing. The connection of stays to the side box girders used standardized details and production. Seismic design of the Nanpu and Yangpu Bridges used a two-level approach. Seismic vulnerability of the side piers in the transverse direction was addressed by adding steel tie rods between the side piers and the deck. These rods may be broken under strong earthquake, which helps to reduce seismic loading on the piers.

6. Xupu Bridge
The Xupu Bridge, located in the Huajing area, Xuhui District, is a major bridge crossing the upper reaches of the Huangpu River. It forms part of the outer-ring express way that circles the city. The total length of the bridge is 6.017 km. The Xupu Bridge is a double tower double cable plane composite girder cable-stayed bridge. The span arrangement is 40 m+339 m+45 m+590 m+45 m+339 m+40 m, with one span crossing the Huangpu River. The net navigational height for the bridge is 44+2 m. The total deck width is 35.95 m. The bridge carries

Fig.5 Xupu Cable-stayed Bridge

eight lanes of highway traffic. Maintenance right of ways, each 0.75 m wide, are provided on both sides of the deck. The main span girder has a steel-concrete composite cross section. The structure is similar to the Yangpu Bridge but with a wider deck (35.95 m). The side spans are constructed from concrete girders. Each side span consists of 18 pieces of precast I-shaped beams, assembled with cast-inplace concrete to form a mono-box multi-cell cross section. The A-shaped main tower is 212 m tall, with 30 pairs of stay cables arranged on either side. Steel tubular pile with diameter of 900 mm are used for the foundations of main piers. The construction of the Xupu Bridge started in April 1994, and was completed on June 24, 1997. Technical innovations: For the first time, domestically produced STE355 standard steel plate was used to replace imported steel plate for manufacturing bridge components. This promoted the improvement of smelting and rolling techniques of special steel for bridge construction in China. Identical construction methods were used for both side spans and approaches. This enabled a single set of equipment and techniques to be used for construction. The concrete side spans and the main tower were constructed in parallel. Synchronized completion of the side span structures was thus achieved, which reduced the construction time and cost. One auxiliary pier is installed about every 40 m in the side span, which improves the structural performance of the main bridge. Due to soft soil, a series of measures was applied to control the negative influence of differential settlement in the concrete side spans. (For instance, heightadjustment devices were installed on each auxiliary pier. Through careful monitoring of displacements during construction and operation, the heights of bearings can be adjusted if necessary, which ensures that structural performance of the concrete side spans is always in accordance with design requirements.

7. Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge

The Shanghai Chongming Cross River Routeway Project is a major component of the ShanghaiXian Expressway within the national highway network plan. The project, which has a total length of 25.5 km, crosses the south channel of the river with a tunnel and the north channel with a bridge. This project is the longest combined tunnel and bridge project in the world. The Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge is located in the northern port area of Yangtze River mouth. In the short term plan, the bridge will carry six lanes of highway traffic with 4.15 m wide shoulders on either side. According to the long term plan, the shoulders will be rebuilt for rail transit connecting Pudong and Chongming Triple Islands. The Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge is a double tower double cable plane separated steel box girder cable-stayed bridge. The span arrangement is 92 m+258 m+730 m +258 m+92 m, with one auxiliary pier for each side span. The total width of the deck is 220.75 m, with net navigational height of 52.7 m.

Elevation

plan Fig.6 Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge

The main towers are designed as an inverted Y-shape and projects a distinctive visual impression. They are 216.3 m high and are constructed of reinforced concrete. To facilitate construction, steel anchorage boxes are used to anchor the stay cables. The steel anchorage box and concrete wall are connected using shear studs. To be consistent with the inverted Y-shaped tower, the main girder is designed as separated steel box girders, with a total width of 51.5 m and depth of 4 m. Steel cross beams are used to connect the separated steel box girders. There are 23 pairs of stay cables on either side of the tower, arranged in spatial fan-shaped double planes. Large diameter variable cross section bored piles (3 m diameter for the upper part and 2.5 m diameter for the lower part) are used for the foundations of main towers. Pilecaps are provided with an exterior steel box that functions as an anti-ship collision device.
Fig.7 Pylon of Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge

The construction of the bridge started in September 2005, and the main structure was completed in June 2008. The whole bridge is scheduled to be complete by
Fig.8 Cross section of Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge

the end of 2009. Technical innovations and key technology research: The Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge is a major transportation infrastructure project. There is little available experience related to the construction of river crossings incorporting combined tunnel and bridge. In particular, no codes are available to guide the design. Therefore, several key technology

research projects were carried out as part of the design process, relating to the required space to be reserved for rail transit, design standards, design parameters, bridge schemes, train operation, and safety of users under strong wind, as well as the use of continuous rail. The results of train operation analysis under strong wind, taking vehicle-bridge interaction into account, show that under the allowable operational wind speed of 25 m/s, the Sperling index is less than 2.5, which represents an excellent comfort travelling state. Wheel unloading is less than the limit value of 0.65, and the maximum derailment index is less than the limit value of 1.0 and the overturning index is less than 0.8, all of which satisfy the project requirements. The safety of users is mainly governed by wind speed. For normally loaded vehicles, the ultimate wind speed for travelling safety is about 30 m/s; for unloaded vehicles travelling at design speed, the ultimate wind speed is about 20 m/s; at reduced speeds, the ultimate wind speed can be raised to 25 m/s. Long continuous rail is recommended. The use of continuous rail only reduces the dynamic effect of trains, which in turn improves conditions for operation on the bridge, but also greatly reduces rail maintenance. The use of 2+2 groups of adjusters and precast slab rails is recommended. Longitudinal loading associated with the use of continuous rail was developed from a research study of rail-bridge interaction, which provided the basis for structural design. As the bridge is located in Yangtze River mouth with high frequency of strong wind, excellent behaviour under wind action is required. By using single tower, inclined cable planes and the separated steel box girder design, the performance of the bridge under design wind is improved.

8. Minpu Bridge
The Minpu Bridge located in the Wujing area, Minhang District, is a major bridge crossing of the Huangpu River in Shanghai and an important component of its expressway network. The bridge also carries a regional road in addition to the A15 expressway. The Minpu Bridge is a double deck cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 708 m. The upper deck carrries eight lanes of highway traffic for the A15 expressway. The lower deck carries six lanes of highway traffic for the regional road connecting Pudong and Puxi. The span arrangement of main bridge is 463 m+708 m+463 mfor a total length of 1212 m, with one span crossing the river. Three auxiliary piers are provided for each side span. The net navigational height is 39+2m. The width of the upper and lower decks are 43.6 m and 28 m, respectively.

Fig.9 Elevation of Minpu cable-stayed bridge(m)

Fig.10 Cross section of middle span of Minpu cable-stayed bridge

Fig.11 Cross section of side span of Minpu cable-stayed bridge

Fig.12 Pylon of Minpu cable-stayed bridge

The main towers are H-shaped straight columns, with height of 210 m. To provide suitable wind performance, the cross section of the tower columns is given a pentagon shape. There are 22 pairs of stayed cables on either side of the tower, arranged in fan-shaped double cable planes. Steel tubular piles with diameter of 0.9 m and length varying between 52 and 67 m are used for the foundations of the main towers. Double column frame piers are used on the side spans. Technical innovations and key technology research: The main span is the first Chinese application of a composite fully welded steel truss on this type of bridge. Truss depth is 9 m and panel spacing is 15.1 m. To satisfy the overall requirements and reduce the length of the side spans, a composite truss is used for the first time on a cable-stayed bridge. In the side spans, the truss is composed of steel web members and concrete embedded with reinforced steel frames for the upper and lower deck. The truss depth and width on the side spans is set equal to the main span. Panel spacing is 10.5 m. The side span design maintains important similarity to the main span, while greatly reducing the consumption of steel consumption. Due to the innovative design and the three-dimensional nature of the structure, refined numerical analysis technologies were used to study the structural performance of the truss in the main span and the truss-slab composite system of the side spans. Reduced scale model tests of typical joints were also carried out.

The use of a truss necessitated special studies to determine wind loading. These involved both computational fluid dynamic studies and wind tunnel tests. The Minpu Bridge and the Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge apply new structural life-cycle and performance based seismic design methods, which consider the importance, reparability, replaceability, and inspectability of structural components in the life-cycle of the project, as well as different seismic protection levels and performance requirements. Further, in view of the fact that large earthquake-induced displacements were calculated at the girder ends on both bridges, that the use of nonlinear dampers at the tower girder connection was recommended as a means of controlling these displacements. The construction sequence for the truss began with construction of the side spans, followed by the main span. Side spans and towers were built simultaneously. Assembly of the reinforced steel truss frame in the side spans included: 1) segmental assembly on the ground, 2) vertical elevation and sliding to the required location, and 3) connection to the previously constructed portion. The concrete beams and slab for the deck were then constructed. Segments of the steel truss for the main span are prefabricated in the shop and assembled, then shipped to the site and lifted for installation. The standard section of main span is erected as a whole by a loop wheel machine on the deck, and stay cables are installed and tensioned simultaneously. The test pile construction of Minpu Bridge started in September 2005. The bridge is scheduled for completion in early 2010.

9. Conclusion
The structural characteristics and key technologies of design and construction of seven cable-stayed bridges in Shanghai are introduced in this paper. Through the construction of these bridges, the design and construction techniques of cable-stayed bridges have been developed. Compared with other types of structure, the modern cable-stayed bridge has a relatively short history. Therefore, many problems related to design methods and construction technology require further study and improvement. Shanghai will continue to contribute in the development of cable-stayed bridges.