SEMINAR REPORT

ON

NETWORK TIED ARCH BRIDGES

Submitted By

DEEPTHI V

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

AWH ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CALICUT-8, KERALA
UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
2014-15

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

AWH ENGINEERING COLLEGE
CALICUT-8, KERALA
2014-15

Certificate
This is to certify that this report entitled NETWORK TIED ARCH BRIDGES is
a bonafide record of the seminar presented by DEEPTHI V. (

under our guidance towards the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of
Master of Technology Degree in Structural Engineering, of the University of Calicut
during the year 2014-15.

Chairman, Evaluation Committee

Head of the Department

Dr. Sabeena M V
Professor
Dept. of Civil Engineering

Mr. Rahmathulla. A
Associate Professor
Dept. of Civil Engineering

Network Tied Arch Bridges

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr . Sabeena M V, Professor,
Department of Civil Engineering for the guidance and help given in the preparation of
this report.
I also express my sincere thanks to our HOD Mr. Rahmathulla A for his
support and guidance.
I would like to extend my appreciation towards my teachers and friends for
their encouragement throughout this venture.

DEEPTHI V.

Department of Civil Engineering

Network Tied Arch Bridges

ABSTRACT
A constant research of more ecological and efficient structures has enabled
bridges to be more innovative through the years. Nowadays, as the need is greater than
ever, a new kind of bridge is expanding in the entire world: the network arch bridges.
The concept was developed by professor and engineer Per Tveit in 1955 and has been
improved since then. But it is only for 10 years that many bridges of this sort have
been built.
Network arch bridges can be defined as the arch bridges with inclined hangers
and multiple intersections. Beneficial structural behaviour of this kind of bridge leads
to economical bridge members mainly subjected to axial forces. Network arched
bridges in its design are slender structures which by its efficient configuration can
carry loads several times higher than for more traditional tie arched bridges with
vertical hangers.

Furthermore, the high stiffness and therefore small deflections

favour the application of network arches for high speed railway as well as roadway
transportations. Construction of optimal network arches can bring economic
advantages due to significant savings of steel compared to other arch bridges.
Touching on the development of network arches, in this paper we will discuss how
network arches function, about their structure and how it can be erected. The
advantages of network tied arch bridges over other types bridges are also seen. Some
examples of built network arches are also discussed.

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CONTENTS
PAGE NO
CERTIFICATE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
LIST OF FIGURES
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Beam Bridges
1.2 Cantilever Bridges
1.3 Suspension Bridges
1.4 Cable stayed Bridges
1.5 Truss Bridges
1.6 Arch Bridges
1.6.1 Types of Arch Bridges

1.7 Basic concept of Tied Arch Bridges

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2. NETWORK TIED ARCH BRIDGE

2.1 General Features of Network Tied Arch Bridges
2.2 Characteristics
2.3 Advantages in Structural Behaviour

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3. ELEMENTS OF NETWORK TIED ARCH BRIDGES

3.1 Arches
3.2 Hangers
3.3 Arrangement of hangers
3.4 Buckling of Arches
3.5 Tie or Slab

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4. ECONOMIC ERECTION

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5. SUITABLE SITES FOR NETWORK ARCH

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6. CONCLUSION

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REFERENCES

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LIST OF FIGURES
Fig No

Title

Page No

Fig 1.1

Model of a network arch bridge

Fig 1.2

Basic concept of tied arch bridges

Fig 2.1

Network tied arch bridge

Fig 2.2

Skeleton lines for a network arch bridge

Fig 2.3

Areas, stiffness and influence lines for the lower and

upper chord of two tied arches

Fig 2.4

Full and partial loading in tied arch bridges

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Fig 2.5

One sided live load on the span might make the dotted

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hangers relax
Fig 3.1

The multiple crossings between hangers resolved with

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special device
Fig 3.2

Rough sketch of lower end and upper end of hanger

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Fig 3.3

Possible form of buckling in the plane of a network arch

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Fig 3.4

Slab thickness in network arches

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Fig 3.5

Typical cross section of concrete slab with transverse

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prestressing
Fig 4.1

Lifting the temporary steel skeleton of a bridge

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Fig 4.2

Erection of network tied arch bridge

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Fig 5.1

Deba bowstring arch bridge

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CHAPTER 1
1. INTRODUCTION
A bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other
physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Bridges are
considered to be masterstrokes of engineering. Light, wide spanning structures
especially attract attention. In the development of any country, bridges have an
important role. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge and
the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed.
There are six basic forms of bridges: beam bridges, cantilever bridges, arch
bridges, suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges and truss bridges.
1.1 BEAM BRIDGES
Beam bridges are horizontal beams supported at each end by piers. The earliest
beam bridges were simple logs that were set across streams and similar simple
structures. In modern times, beam bridges are large box steel girder bridges. Weight
on top of the beam pushes straight down on the piers at either end of the bridge.
1.2 CANTILEVER BRIDGES
Cantilever bridges are built using cantilevershorizontal beams that are
supported at only one end. Most cantilever bridges use two cantilever arms extending
from opposite sides of the obstacle to be crossed, meeting at the centre.
1.3 SUSPENSION BRIDGES
Suspension bridges are suspended from cables. The earliest suspension bridges
were made of ropes or vines covered with pieces of bamboo. In modern bridges, the
cables hang from towers that are attached to caissons or cofferdams.

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1.4 CABLE STAYED BRIDGES

A Cable-stayed bridge has one or more towers, from which cables support the
bridge deck. Like suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges are held up by cables.
However, in a cable-stayed bridge, less cable is required and the towers holding the
cables are proportionately shorter.
1.5 TRUSS BRIDGES
Truss bridges are composed of connected elements. They have a solid deck
and a lattice of pin-jointed or gusset-joined girders for the sides. Early truss bridges
were made of wood, and later of wood with iron tensile rods, but modern truss bridges
are made completely of metals such as wrought iron and steel or sometimes of
reinforced concrete.
1.6 ARCH BRIDGES
Arch bridges are arch-shaped and have abutments at each end. The earliest
known arch bridges were built by the Greeks. The weight of the bridge is thrust into
the abutments at either side.
1.6.1 Types of Arch Bridges
There are mainly three different types of arches
1) A deck arch
2) A through arch
3) A half-through arch
A deck arch is the one where the bridge deck which includes the structure that
directly supports the traffic loads is located above the crown of the arch. It is also
known as a true or perfect arch.
A through arch is one where the bridge deck is located at the springline of the arch.
A half through arch is where the bridge deck is located at an elevation between a
deck arch and a through arch.
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Bridges have had a long journey till now during which the above said types of
bridges have evolved and have found their position in different places of the world.
Bridges have travelled its way from stone masonry bridges, cable stayed bridges to
tied arch bridges with hangers. Arch bridges with vertical hangers which forms the
basis of network tied arch bridges are popular.
In 1950s, a Norwegian engineer, Per Tveit designed an arch bridge with
inclined hangers, which have multiple intersections. He called this bridge as network
arch bridge. He designed two network arch bridges which were built in 1963. The
worlds most slender and lightest arch bridge [till 2007] was erected over
Bolstadstraumen 60 km northeast of Bergen, Norway, which was designed by Per
Tveit in 1963. Since then surprisingly very few such bridges have been built. Now the
worlds most slender and lightest arch bridge is Brandanger Network Arch, opened in
2010 in Western Norway. On an estimate, the total number of existing network arch
bridges is 50 to 100 in Asia and 10 to 15 in America and Europe. The reason for this
can be attributed to the fact of little familiarity with the new structure and also to the
possible doubts about the benefits of the structure. Therefore this literature aims at
studying the properties of a network arch bridge. The model of a tied arch network
bridge is given in the figure 1.1

Fig. 1.1 : Model of a network arch bridge

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1.7 BASIC CONCEPT OF TIED ARCH BRIDGES

A Tied arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the compression of the arch is
balanced with a tensile action developing in the bottom chord, a tie or deck resulting
in no horizontal forces at the abutments. Figure 1.2 shows the basic concept of tied
arch bridges. Here the load applied to the deck of tied arch bridges is carried by
tension in hangers towards the curved top chord. This develops a thrust in the arch.

Fig. 1.2

Basic concept of tied arch bridges

This thrust is balanced by the tension in the bottom tie. Since the horizontal thrust is
balanced by the bottom tie, there will be only vertical thrust at the foundations.

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CHAPTER -2
2. NETWORK TIED ARCH BRIDGE
2.1 GENERAL FEATURES OF NETWORK TIED ARCH BRIDGES
Network arch bridges are tied arch bridges with inclined hangers, which have
multiple intersections. A model of network arch bridge is shown in figure 2.1.The
hangers connect the arch and tie at small intervals, leading to small bending moments.
A simply supported span is always some type of beam with a tensile and
compressive flange and a web in between. The network arch is also a simply
supported beam, where the arch is the compressive flange, the tie is the tensile flange,
and the hangers are the web. The axial forces in the tensile and compressive flanges
are inversely proportional to the distance between the flanges. In tied arches, aesthetic
reasons limit the distance between the arch and the tie. Small bending moments with
good lateral support of the arch can be utilized for making very slender spans.

Fig 2.1 : Network Tied Arch Bridge

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In tied arch bridges the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch are
borne by the bridge deck, rather than the ground or the bridge foundations. The bridge
deck ties the ends of the arch together, and is under tension, much like the string of a
bow; therefore, this bridge design is sometimes called a bowstring arch bridge. The
elimination of horizontal forces at the abutments allows a tied arch bridge to be
constructed with less robust foundations; this bridge type can be easily situated on top
of elevated piers or in areas of unstable soil. In addition, since they do not depend on
horizontal squeezing forces for their integrity, tied arch bridges can be prefabricated
offsite, and subsequently floated, hauled or lifted into place.
Beneficial structural behaviour of this kind of bridge leads to economical bridge
members mainly subjected to axial forces. Furthermore, the high stiffness and
therefore small deflections favour the application of network arches for high speed
railway as well as roadway transportations. Network arches seem to be very
competitive for road bridges of spans of 135 to 160 m. Construction of optimal
network arches can bring economic advantages due to significant savings of steel
compared to other arch bridges. A well designed network arch is likely to remain the
worlds most slender tied arch bridge. The slim chords are pleasing to the eye and do
not hide the landscape or cityscape behind them. The details are simple and repetitive.
Figure 2.2 shows the skeleton lines for a network tied arch bridge.

Fig 2.2 : Skeleton lines for a network arch bridge

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2.2 CHARACTERISTICS
To achieve great efficiency with this type of structure the following
characteristics should be applied. The arch should be part of a circle as this makes
fabrication easy and contributes to a more constant axial force in the middle portion of
the arch and even maximum bending moments along the tie. The hangers should be
spaced equidistantly along the arch and not merged in nodal points. This decreases
bending due to local curvature and gives more efficient support to the arch in
buckling. The lower chord is a concrete slab between small concrete edge beams.
Longitudinal prestressing of the edge beams takes the horizontal forces of the arch.
Furthermore, the prestressing increases the durability of the concrete. For a width
between the arches of more than about 10 meters transverse prestressing is suggested
as this gives a more slender tie. The number of hangers is usually much higher than
for tied arch bridges with vertical hangers.
2.3 ADVANTAGES IN STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOUR
Compared with tied arches with vertical hangers the network arch bridges
feature the fact that the chords are only subjected to very little bending. The bridge
acts more like a simple beam and shows therefore a high stiffness and small
deflections.
Partial loading of the span leads to a deflection of the upper and lower chord in
the arch with vertical hangers. This causes bending which is to be taken by big crosssections of the arch and the tie. In network arches the inclined hangers restrict these
deflections, and so bending only occurs as a result of local loading and the arch and tie
are mainly subjected to axial force. If we are comparing the influence lines diagram
for bending moments of a conventional tied arch bridge with vertical hangers and
network arch bridge, it is very clear that the ordinates or the ILD values are lesser for
network arch bridge than the bridge with vertical hangers. Figure 2.3 explains the

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difference of influence lines of bending moment for the lower and upper chord of
conventional and network tied arches.
Due to the stiffness of the hanger web, the bridge deck spans between the
planes of the arches and does not have to take much longitudinal bending, therefore it
can be slender. As a result of the larger number of hangers their cross-section can be
very small. As a conclusion, the structural members of the network arch mainly take
axial forces and the compression member, the arch, is more supported in buckling.
The cross-sections can be very compact, which contributes to a more efficient use of
material, to less steel weight and a better design due to higher transparency of the
structure.
There are four sources of bending in network arches. Distinguishing between
sources of bending moments in chords gives a better understanding of how network
arches should be designed.
. The four sources are:
(1) Bending due to concentrated loads and abrupt changes in load intensity
(2) Bending due to relaxation of hangers
(3) Bending due to distance between nodal points
(4) Secondary bending.
Regarding the first source, bending due to concentrated loads and abrupt
changes in load intensity, it is sometimes useful to look upon a network arch as a
series of individual trusses placed on top of one another. A concentrated load gives
rise to shear forces. These shear forces give rise to local bending. Similar shear forces
arise due to any abrupt change in load intensity. The steep hangers would give the
shear forces in the chords, shorter lengths to travel in order to make all trusses deflect
equally. Thus, steep hangers normally lead to small bending due to a concentrated
load. The figure 2.4 shows full and partial loading in tied arch bridges. In network
arch sloping hangers reduce the bending moments in the chords. It can be seen as a
simply supported beam consisting of many trusses on top of each other.

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Fig 2.3: Areas, stiffness and influence lines for the lower and upper chord of two tied
arches

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Arch bridges with vertical hangers and even load

Load on half the bridge

Fig 2.4: Full and Partial loading in tied arch bridges

A concentrated load gives some bending, but the load does not have far to go
to distribute itself to all the trusses. The distribution is indicated by double arrows
with opposite directions. Thus the bending moments are very small.
The network arch can be seen as a simply supported beam with a tensile and a
compressive flange. The hangers are the web. Most of the shear force is carried to the
supports by the vertical component of the force in the arch. Much of the variation in
the shear force is taken by variation in the hanger forces. The hangers distribute the
load between the chords in such a way that the chords have little bending.
In terms of the second source, bending due to relaxation of hangers, network
arches with all hangers in tension act as trusses and have little bending in the chords.
However, live load on one side of the span can make hangers relax. Relaxation of

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hangers causes significant increases in bending moments in the chords, and even then
bending moments do not increase as fast as the moments in a tied arch with vertical
hangers. This is because the sloping hangers restrain the horizontal displacement of
the arch and because part of the network arch works likes a truss. Even if some
hangers relax, moderate live load on part of the span gives smaller maximum stresses
in the arch than the same live load on the whole span. This is because the partial live
load gives a small axial force in the arch. Considerable bending moments, due to
relaxation of hangers, are needed so that the two load cases cause equal maximum
stresses. With todays loads and materials many hangers may relax due to load on one
side of the span as indicated in figure 2.5.

Fig 2.5: One-sided live load on the span might make the dotted hangers relax

The hangers tendency to relax might be counteracted by increasing the

distance between the nodal points. This, however, would lead to increased bending in
the lower chord and less buckling strength of the arch.
The third source, bending due to distance between nodal points, is due to
continuous curvature of the arch and due to transverse load between the nodal points
of the lower chord. This is particularly important in relatively short spans. Bending
due to distance between nodal points can be reduced by using more hangers. In most
network arches, the lower chord will be made of partially prestressed concrete. The
creep and shrinkage of the concrete will make the span bend upwards, and this will
counteract the secondary bending due to deflection and contribute to a good
appearance.

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CHAPTER -3
3. ELEMENTS OF NETWORK TIED ARCH BRIDGES
3.1 ARCHES
In network arches there is little bending, and the hangers and wind bracing
normally provide good lateral support of the arches. For aesthetic reasons the rise of
arch is assumed to be 15 % of the span. If the bridge has hilly surroundings we can
give a rise of above 15%.Arches made of steel tubes look good and attract less force
from wind. Steel tubes were chosen in the very slender arches of the Brandanger
Bridge in western Norway.
The arch is made of steel and for practical reason, such as fabrication, is often
circular. Single-rolled steel sections can be used for arches in narrow road bridges up
to about 100 m (330 ft) and for single-track railway bridges up to approximately 70 m
(230 ft). The single-rolled section gives simple structural details and low fabrication
costs. For spans over 150 m, hollow sections that are weldable from the inside should
be considered. For hollow arches, access for maintenance may govern the size of the
cross section. Increased cross section of arches generally leads to fewer hangers.
Another recommended shape is a universal column or an American wide flange beam,
which are cost-effective and easy to find on the market. For longer spans, i.e. with
bigger axial forces, a box section may be necessary. However, the latter is more
expensive, needs more work for joints between the arch and the hangers and is usually
less slender than universal columns. Therefore a universal column is preferred to box
section, with its weak axis in the vertical direction.
3.2. HANGERS
The hangers act as the linking element between the deck and the arches, and
transmit the vertical loads from the former to the latter. The hangers were designed in

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an inclined network suspension system linking the ties to the arches. The hangers
should normally be made from spirally wound galvanized wire ropes. The hangers,
which compose the network suspension system of each inclined arch, are located on
two different parallel planes, each one of them with a slight eccentricity with respect
to the archs plane, that is the reason why the hangers cross but dont cut one another.
Where the wire ropes intersect, they can be protected by a sheathing of slit open
plastic tubes as given in figure3.1 can be adopted. The socketed ends of wire rope can
be fastened to the chords. The ends of hangers are usually the only really labourintensive structural parts in a network arch.

Fig 3.1: The multiple crossings between hangers resolved with special device

The lower ends of the hangers are fastened to bolts through the lower chord which can
be replaced when damaged. There is supposed to be a compound glued to the vertical steel
rod that makes it possible to twist them out of the concrete. Removal of some of that
compound should make it possible to put in new rods to replace the old ones. The ends of the

cables can be fastened to the chords at the top and bottom as shown in the figure3.2.

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Upper end of hanger

Fig 3.2: Rough sketch of lower end and upper end of hanger

3.3 ARRANGEMENT OF HANGERS

The optimal arrangement of hangers will depend on many factors. Important
considerations are slenderness of arch and tie; ratio of live load to dead load; intensity
of evenly distributed live load; magnitude of concentrated live load, structural codes,
form of arch, etc. It is better to assume that the arch is part of a circle, because this
makes fabrication easy. Furthermore, the constant curvature gives a more constant
axial force in the middle portion of the arch and contributes to even maximum
bending moments along the tie. Many goals must be considered at when optimizing
hanger arrangements. Some of them are:
(1) Small bending in arch and tie;
(2) Equal cross section and maximum utilization of tensile capacity in all hangers;
(3) Reasonable resistance against hangers becoming relaxed;
(4) Reasonable minimum hanger diameter; and
(5) Aesthetic appearance.
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The hangers should be placed equidistantly along the arch. This arrangement
gives the smallest bending due to local curvature of the arch when the span is fully
loaded. Two hangers at each nodal point would give more bending in the arch due to
local curvature and less efficient support of the arch in buckling. When hangers relax,
due to partial loading, the distance between points of support doubles and bending due
to local curvature increases. It seems best to make the distance between nodal points
small enough so that the load on the whole span decides the dimensions of every point
in the arch. The optimal number of hangers must be considered for each design.

Many hangers will increase the cost of labour in production, erection, and
adjustment of hangers. This increase will, however, be moderate since all the
hangers have the same cross section and hanger details are all alike. These
repetitions tend to reduce labour costs.

Many hangers also mean that one can use small hangers and light equipment
for mounting and adjusting them.

An increase in the number of hangers will give lighter spans because it gives
less bending in the chords and less local shear force at the lower end of
hangers.

Many hangers can also allow the use of single-rolled steel sections for arches.

Many hangers can, however, make the design around the lower end of
hangers more difficult due to crowding.

More hangers will usually allow a lighter temporary lower chord for erecting
the span.

The use of many hangers makes it easy to replace defective ones without
interruption of traffic, since each hanger is light and the temporary removal
of each one causes less extra stress.

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If there are many hangers, there is a decreased chance that the breaking of
one or more hangers caused by a vehicle will have catastrophic effects. It can
be calculated by ordinary computations by the removal of hangers.

Adjacent hangers at the deck are well spaced at the arch. Thus, the network
arch is less sensitive to the breaking of hangers than the usual tied arch.

The hangers should be placed equidistantly along the middle half of the tie,
giving the smallest bending in the tie and even maximum forces in the
hangers. The distance between the nodes in the middle of the tie should be
the same as, or slightly smaller than, the distance between the nodes along the
arch. In the half of the tie situated nearest to the ends of the arch, hanger
distances should be varied in order to obtain nearly the same maximum force
in all hangers. Long distances between nodal points should be avoided,
because the greatest bending moment in the tie often occurs at the longest
distance between nodal points.

3.4 BUCKLING OF ARCHES

With usual arches and wind bracing, the buckling out of the plane of the arch
is more important than the in-plane buckling. Thus, a thorough examination of inplane buckling of the arch is usually not necessary. In-plane buckling in network
arches is best examined by advanced computer programs that account for relaxation of
hangers and calculate in the deflected state, using nonlinear material properties.
Buckling is easiest to calculate when the whole span carries full load. The decisive
load case is likely to have the concentrated traffic load in the middle of the bridge. A
likely mode of buckling is shown in figure 3.3.
3.5 TIE OR SLAB
The simplest tie would be a concrete slab spanning between the arches. A slab
tie spreads out concentrated loads before they reach the edge beams. The tie is best
made of concrete with longitudinal pre stressing cables. The transverse bending
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Fig 3.3 : Possible form of buckling in the plane of a network arch

moment in the slab tie is usually much greater than the longitudinal bending moment.
The main purpose of the edge beam is to accommodate the hanger forces and the
longitudinal pre stressing cables. The use of a partial longitudinal prestress in the tie
reduces the cracks. The figure 3.4 below shows the thickness needed to get enough
strength in concrete slab spanning between arches.

Fig 3.4 : Shows slab thickness in network arches.

When the distance between the arches is less than 18 m the tie should be made of
concrete and prestressed. Since there is very little longitudinal bending in the tie, it
can be very slim. The tensile force in the tie is best taken by prestressing cables in the
edge beams. They give a beneficial compressive stress in the tie. This leads to less
maintenance of the concrete tie.
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Two more reasons for favouring the simple slab are:

(1) The slab spreads out the concentrated loads, while the transverse beams
concentrate the loads and make them cause more bending in the edge beam; and
(2) The simple slab is more favourable as far as maintenance is concerned. Figure 3.5
shows a typical cross section of concrete slab with transverse prestressing.

Fig 3.5: Typical cross section of concrete slab with transverse prestressing

Longitudinal steel beams in the tie are not so good because they cost more.
They also lead to more cracks and more maintenance of the tie. They give deeper
lower chords. In network arches the added stiffness in the tie is of little value.
Compared to conventional tied arch bridges, network arches without steel beams in
the tie usually saves 2/3 of structural steel. If there are steel beams in the tie, 1/3 rd of
the steel weight is likely to be saved.

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CHAPTER -4
4. ECONOMIC ERECTION
Network arches are inexpensive as far as material is concerned. If efficient
methods of erection could be used, network arches would make most economical
bridges. The most promising methods of erection utilize the fact that the arch and
hangers supplemented by a light temporary lower chord can carry the deck while it is
being cast as shown in figure 4.1. The same temporary lower chord might be used for
spans of varying length and width. During construction, most of the tension in the
lower chord is carried by a longitudinal prestressing cable. This cable is tensioned
from time to time during casting. The edge beam must be cast before the roadway.
Maximum wind forces during the casting of the edge beam will often be important
when designing the longitudinal beam in the temporary lower chord. During erection
and in the final adjustment of hanger lengths, hanger forces can be calculated from the
deflection due to a transverse load on the steel hanger. The measurements are easily
made, except for the shortest hangers, which are usually not fully utilized. Thus, exact
measurements of their forces are not such a necessity.
In cold climates, the ice of a river or lake can be used for erecting or moving
the temporary structure .The ice can be reinforced by wood or ribbed bars, which are
placed on the ice. Then, the thickness of the ice can be increased in steps by pumping
water onto the ice or by spraying water in cold air above the ice. This thick ice can be
used for casting and erecting the network tied arch between the piers.
Figure 4.2 show the arches crown closing operation with the lifting and
adjusting in place of the central segment. Finally all the welding between the different
segments of the arches and the connection of the arches to the lateral ties was
completed. With the whole steel structure finished, the arches temporary props can be
removed causing the arches to start working.

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Fig 4.1: Lifting the temporary steel skeleton of the bridge

Fig 4.2: Erection of Palma del Ro bowstring arch Bridge. Crdoba. Spain

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Fig 4.2: Erection of Palma del Ro bowstring arch Bridge. Crdoba. Spain

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CHAPTER 5
5. SUITABLE SITES FOR NETWORK ARCH
The low material and erection costs will make the network arch an economic
solution for many building sites, especially where spans of 80-300 m are required. The
network arch is relatively light, has vertical reactions, and is not sensitive to uneven
settlements of the foundations. In the figure 5.1 you can see a network arch bridge at
Spain. Thus, the network arch can be extra competitive where soil conditions are
difficult. High strength and low weight give the network arch good resistance to
earthquakes. The deck of a network arch is usually a simple slab. This makes ramps in
flat terrain short when a flow of traffic must be lifted to pass navigable waters or other
traffic. Generally, the network arch is most likely to be built when local conditions
lead to acceptance of structural members above the lane. This seems to occur more
often for railway bridges than for road bridges.

Fig 5.1: Deba bowstring arch Bridge. Guipuzcoa. Spain

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CHAPTER 6
6. CONCLUSION
The network arch is defined as a tied arch bridge with inclined hangers that
cross each other at least twice. In its optimal form the bridge deck is a concrete slab
with small edge beams that accommodate longitudinal prestressing cables. Axial
forces are predominant in all structural elements of a network arch .In network tied
arches there is very little bending in the arch and the tie. The hangers give the arch
good lateral support. Thus, the buckling stress of the arch is high. The axial forces in
the upper and lower chords are determined by the loads and by the rise of arch
compatible with good looks. The hangers make a very light web. Since all members in
a network arch efficiently carry forces that cannot be avoided in any simply supported
beam, it can be concluded that the network tied arch is probably the lightest possible,
simply supported span. If suitable methods of erection are used, the network arch must
also be an economic solution, because the building costs include that of materials, plus
the expense of forming and handling these materials. The ends of hangers are the only
labour-intensive structural members, but they lend themselves to labour saving
through repetition of details. Corrosion protection ought to be cheap, because the areas
to be protected are small and easily accessible. Promising methods of erection utilize
the fact that the arch and hangers, supplemented by a temporary lower chord, can
carry the roadway while it is being cast. Light members and small scaffolding costs
contribute to keeping erection costs down. The network arch is insensitive to uneven
settlements of the foundations, and the roadway is usually a simple slab. This property
makes the network arch especially competitive where soil conditions are difficult.
Compared to conventional tied arch bridges with vertical hangers, the maximum
longitudinal bending moments in the chords in the chords of a network arch bridge are
about 10 times smaller. Besides important possible savings of structural steel (more

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than 50%), it offers a wide variety of other economic advantages such as a smaller
deck depth, less corrosion protection, less welding, lighter erection equipment etc. The
inclined hangers in network arches are pre stressed by the bridges self weight and
superimposed dead load. This allows them to act like diagonals in a truss. Despite of
these advantages, very few network arches have been built so far.

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REFERENCES
Journals

Per Tveit, ( August 15th 2006), An Introduction to the Network Arch,

Lectures at NTNU Trondheim , 4876 Grimstad, Norway, per.tveit@hia.no

Per Tveit, About The Network Arch, (January 2011), Bits of Manuscript in
after Lectures in 50 Countries

Tveit, P. (2009), India Needs Network Arches, Civil Engineering and

Construction Review. vol.10

Per Tveit, (2013), Systematic Thesis on Network Arches, dr. ing. UiA,
Norway

Tveit, P. (2003), Preliminary Design of Network Arch Road Bridges

Examples with spans of 135 and 160 meters, Grimstad, Norway,

Websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Arch_Bridge

http://pchome.grm.hia.no/~ptveit/documents/About_the_network_arch.pdf

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