Structural Performance and Repair Methodology of the Wenxing Lounge Bridge in China

Abstract

Many timber lounge bridges are found in the south of Zhejiang Province and the north of Fujian Province in China. The timber lounge bridge is a unique type of timber arch bridge structure worldwide. Most of these bridges have some damages due to the influence by environmental impact and human action. In order to scientifically preserve these timber lounge bridges, their architectural configuration, structural performance, and damage mechanisms should be studied first, and then some adaptive repair methods can be put forward. The Wenxing Lounge Bridge is a famous and typical example of this type of bridge. This study investigated in detail how to repair the Wenxing Lounge Bridge. Since this bridge had much serious damage, such as asymmetric deformation, inclination and torsion, cracking and deflection of some timber members, and the slipping-off of the scissors braces and the crossbeams, and since the bridge occasionally swayed when people walked across it, it needed to be repaired urgently. Through the detailed on-site surveying and visits to the local bridge craftsmen, the architectural configurations and the damage characteristics of this bridge were understood. The finite element model analysis of this bridge before damage and after damage was made respectively to study the structural performance. Finally, the reasons for the damages of this bridge were analyzed and the adaptive repair design of the bridge is presented here. This work serves as a model for similar timber arch bridges.