Fill factor f

the ratio of the sum of the nominal metallic cross sectional areas of all the wires in a rope (A) and the
circumscribed area (Au) of the rope based on its nominal diameter (d)

spinning factor k
reduction factor for rope construction included in the breaking force factor K

unit weight w
value of selfweight of rope (w) [kN/(m mm²)] related to the metallic cross section (A m) [mm²] and the
unit length [m] taking account of the weight densities of steel and the corrosion protection system

cable
main tension component in a structure (e.g. a stay cable bridge) which may consist of a rope, strand or
bundles of parallel wires or strands

breaking force factor (K)

an empirical factor used in the determination of minimum breaking force of a rope and obtained from the
product of fill factor (f) for the rope class or construction, spinning loss factor (k) for the rope class or
construction and the constant π/ 4

Kπfk/4

Minimum breaking force (Fmin)

specified value in kN, below which the measured breaking force (Fmin) is not allowed to fall in a
prescribed breaking force test and normally obtained by calculation from the product of the
square of the nominal diameter (d) [mm], the rope grade (Rr) [N/mm²] and the breaking force
factor (K)

Fmin=d2RrK/1000
The main forces in a suspension bridge of any type are tension in the cables and compression in the
pillars. Since almost all the force on the pillars is vertically downwards and they are also stabilized by the
main cables, the pillars can be made quite slender

Forces acting on suspension bridges

Three kinds of forces operate on any bridge: the dead load, the live load, and the dynamic load. Dead
load refers to the weight of the bridge itself. Like any other structure, a bridge has a tendency to
collapse simply because of the gravitational forces acting on the materials of which the bridge is made.
Live load refers to traffic that moves across the bridge as well as normal environmental factors such as
changes in temperature, precipitation, and winds. Dynamic load refers to environmental factors that go
beyond normal weather conditions, factors such as sudden gusts of wind and earthquakes. All three
factors must be taken into consideration when building a bridge.

Forces on Suspension Bridges

Components of a Suspension Bridge

• Anchor Block: Just looking at the figure we can compare it as a dead man having no function of
its own other than its weight.
• Suspension girder: It is a girder built into a suspension bridge to distribute the loads uniformly
among the suspenders and thus to reduce the local deflections under concentrated loads.
• Suspenders: a vertical hanger in a suspension bridge by which the road is carried on the cables
• Tower: Towers transfers compression forces to the foundation through piers.
 • Saddles: A steel block over the towers of a suspension bridge which acts as a bearing surface for
the cable passing over it.
• Cables: Members that take tensile forces and transmit it through saddles to towers and rest of the
forces to anchorage block.

THIS PROJECT
General

Table 1: outline of the project

Bridge type Three span continuous suspension with stiffening

box girder
Span 360m+990m+360m
Rode standard
Design speed 80km/hr
Design live load HL-93 ( The HL-93 is com-
posed of a truck (identical to
HS-20) or a tandem, combined
with a lane load of 0.64 kip/ft
(9.34 KN/m).) AASHTO LRFD
Roadway width 2.5*+3.5@4+2.5*
Plan alignment Strait
Vertical alignment 1.8% parabolic down
Slab type
Main cable
Hangers

Assumptions in design.
• The cable is completely flexible.
• The stiffening girder is horizontal and straight. The geometric moment of inertia is constant.
• The dead load of the stiffening girder and the cables is uniform. The coordinates of the cable
are parabolic.
• All dead loads are taken into the cables.

M(x) = M0(x) – Hpy(x) – (Hw + Hp)η(x)

where
M0(x) = bending moment resulting from the live load applied to a simple beam of the same span
length as the stiffening girder
y(x) = longitudinal position of the cable
η(x) = deflection of the cable and the stiffening girder due to live load
Hw,Hp= cable horizontal tension due to dead load and live load, respectively

Design Load
Design loads for a suspension bridge must take into consideration the natural conditions of the
construction site, the importance of a bridge, its span length, and its function (vehicular or railway
traffic). It is important in the design of suspension bridges to determine the dead load accurately
because the dead load typically dominates the forces on the main components of the bridge. Securing
structural safety against strong winds and earthquakes is also an important issue for long-span
suspension bridges.
1. In the case of wind, consideration of the vibrational and aerodynamic characteristics is
extremely important.
2. In the case of earthquake, assumption of earthquake magnitude and evaluation of energy
content are crucial for bridges in regions prone to large-scale events.
Other design loads include effects due to errors in fabrication and erection of members, temperature
change, and possible movement of the supports.

Dead load

The estimated dead load of the stiffening girder including the cable is

DL= 4.5KN/m2

The total width of the bridge, W=28.3m

 The linear distributed dead load=4.5KN/n*28.3m2

 DL=127.35KN/m

Live load

The live load per lane is taken from AASHTO LRFD specification is HS loading that has a lane loading
of 9.34KN/m.

 We have a total of 4 lanes;

 Therefore LL=4*9.34KN/m=37.36KN/m

Design load

To get the design load as per EBCS I took safety factor for DL 1.3 and for LL 1.6 therefore the design
load W is given:

 W= 1.3DL+1.6LL
= 1.3*127.35+1.6*37.36
= 225.331KN/m

Coble force

For parabolic cable sag, trends show that for many suspension bridges the sag (f) to central span (l) ratio
(r) of 1/10 or 1/11.
 f 1
 I took r = =
l 10
For my project the central span, l = 990m
 Therefore the maximum sag of the cable at the center of the span will be:
f = 990/10
= 99m
The trust H of the main cable is determined from:
W l2
H=
8f

This project a single main cable at each side of the bridge, hence the total design load per cable
will be W/2.
 H per cable = 112.66*9902/8*99
= 139423.556KN.
 The maximum tension of the cable is given by:

T max=¿ H √ 1+16 r ¿
2

= 139423.55*(1+16*0.12)1/2

= 150163.76KN.
 28.3

2.65 23 2.65

2.5 7 1.5 7 2.5

Main cable

Asphalt pavement

2% 2%

6.8 14.7 6.8

Unit in m