FORENSIC STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

CASE STUDIES
CASE N° 31
CLEDDAU BRIDGE

MARTIN POLIMENI
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
EEPP SA
eeppsaingenieria@gmail.com
 CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
On June 2nd, 1970, the Cleddeau bridge near Milford Haven in Wales,
collapsed, during construction.
 CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
Principal cause: Consequences:
• Buckling of a support stiffener diaphragm, o 4 people dead and
during cantilever erection process. 5 injured.
CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
r.
 CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE

Principal structural systems.

• 7 spans.
• Main span: 214 m.
• Total length: 820 m.
• Continuous steel box-
girder. Top width: 20.1 m.
Height: 6.1 m
• Cantilever erection
process.
 CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE

Diaphragm plate over the inner

support with bulb-flat Loads distribution.
stiffeners. Tie and strut
simplified model.
CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
 CLEDDAU BRIDGE COLLAPSE
Lessons learned:
 The main cause of the collapse was the buckling of the diaphragm and then
entire section due the underestimated support reactions during the
cantilever erection process.
 Others concomitants facts, like local eccentricity between the reaction force
and the center of the support diaphragm and the tightened of the bolts at the
supports that increased the reaction force due to clamping force,
contributed to the overstresses the diaphragm producing its buckling.
 This type of collapse was similar to others bridge collapses due to buckling
at incorrect constructive details (unstiffened splices, sub stiffened
diaphragms, sub stiffened of flange and web plates, etc.) during cantilever
erection method. This type of collapses, happened at the beginning of 70s,
subsequently led to the needed the improvement of the structural analysis
of erection systems.
 All these steel box-girder collapses that happened during the erection
process, promoted the update of the structural codes. In addition, the
development of numerical analysis by FEM led to better understanding of
the stresses generated during erection processes of different methods.