Recent concrete, self-anchored suspension bridges in China

Abstract

The self-anchored suspension bridge provides a competitive solution for bridges with short or moderate spans. This paper introduces some key techniques used in three concrete, self-anchored suspension bridges in China: GoldenBay Bridge, LanQi Bridge and WanXin Bridge. GoldenBay Bridge was the first concrete self-anchored suspension bridge in China. WanXin Bridge has a main span of 160 m. The appropriate structural forms were designed to take account of their different geographic positions, surrounding environments and functions. In the WanXin Bridge, two sliding saddles and one fixed saddle are set at each end of the main girder. The cables are made of a continuous galvanised steel rope passing over all saddles, and the two main cables form a closed loop. It was the first time that the practice of using a looped main cable had been utilised in China. Currently, the WanXin Bridge has the longest span of all concrete, self-anchored suspension bridges in the world. The final part of the paper describes the model investigation, developed to understand the basic structural behaviour of the WanXin Bridge.