Millau Viaduct Research Articles

Bridges: a tourist attraction and iconic element at urban cities’ tourism promotion websites

PurposeThe nuclear purpose of this research paper is to analyse representative bridges around the world as a tourist attraction and iconic element through destination marketing organisations’ (DMOs’) tourism official websites where these are localised and three online travel agencies’ (OTAs’) websites.Design/methodology/approachThis research used a mixed method. The author carried out Google research (13 March 2023) that included the following search word string “iconic bridges around the world” and “the most famous bridges worldwide” to select the most relevant bridges around the globe. Moreover, this research used a content analysis to examine how Expedia, Booking and Orbitz OTAs promote the bridges through their websites in terms of a tourist attraction, iconic element, tourist package, images and information.FindingsFindings suggest that the most representative bridges analysed in this study are promoted as iconic element and tourist attraction through DMOs’ websites. Nevertheless, Booking, Expedia and Orbitz OTAs promote and sell products and services related to bridges selected, except in the case of the Millau Viaduct in France, the Si-O-Se-Pol bridge in Iran, the Danyang Kunshan Grand bridge in China and the Royal Gorge in the USA. Furthermore, results support that OTAs need to enhance the quality and variety of products and services that are linked to iconic bridges sightseeing tours because at the moment, there is a great uniformity in the promotion of products and services provided.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to broader debates in the importance of bridges as a tourist attraction and iconic element to attract tourists through tourism promotion websites.

Construction Processes and Strategies of Millau Viaduct

Millau Viaduct crosses the Tarn Gorge and is one of the highest bridges in the world. More than 20 years after its completion, it still holds the record for the highest pier in the world. It is a shining pearl in the history of human architecture. In this study, the construction processes and strategies of Millau Viaduct are introduced in detail. Results show that after the concrete pier was poured, the bridge deck was pushed forward by applying the jacking from the tail then completed the construction of the long-span bridge. In order to reduce the impact of wind during construction, the construction team improved the construction accuracy by optimizing the bridge model and using satellite positioning. Combined with understanding and perception of the high span and high-risk construction projects such as Millau Viaduct, some methods are put forward to improve the construction technology. These construction methods could be adopted in the future to reduce the risks associated with the project.

Comparison of construction methods of the Pingtang Bridge in China and the Millau Viaduct in France

The cable-stayed bridge is a kind of bridge deck system under pressure and a support system under tension. The Pingtang Bridge is 2135m long, with the main bridge being 249.5m + 550m + 550m + 249.5m three-tower, double cable-faced steel and hybrid combination girder cable-stayed bridge. Its highest cable-stayed tower is 320m, making it the third highest bridge structure in the world. The Millau Viaduct is 2460 m long, with two end spans of 204 m each and six central spans of 342 m each. Its tallest tower is 343 m, making it the second tallest bridge structure in the world. The two bridges suffer from similar climatic and geological factors, but the construction methods differ significantly. This paper summarizes the similarities between the construction methods of the two bridges and compares their differences. Results show that the construction methods of the Milo Viaduct are very creative, challenging and technically difficult, and the construction methods of the Pingtang Bridge are operational and imitative.

Millau viaduct [engineering places

SPANNING A gorge valley near a small town in the south of France stands an incredible bridge. Called the Millau Viaduct, it is the tallest bridge structure in Europe. Eight consecutive cable-stayed spans total 2,460m, and its pier and mast are a lofty 343m above ground - around 19m taller than the Eiffel Tower. With a roadway 277m above France's Tarn river, it was the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world until 2012, when Mexico's Baluarte Bridge opened. Plans to build a bridge to span the Tarn Valley were first discussed as early as 1987, as eager holidaymakers from Paris descending into the valley to get to Spain often caused heavy congestion and much disruption for locals in the town of Millau. In 1991, the French government decided to build the viaduct to relieve pressure on local roads. Between 1993 and 2001, the government held consultations with architects and engineers, and held competitions until they found the best design. An engineering and architectural group led by French engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Sir Norman Foster won the bid to design and build the structure.

Fatigue analysis of a bridge deck using the peaks-over-threshold approach with application to the Millau viaduct

Usually, to estimate the fatigue life of structural details in existing bridges, fatigue damage assessed with monitoring data is extrapolated linearly in time. In this study, a methodology is proposed for predicting the numbers of fatigue cycles with the peaks-over-threshold approach. On the other side, this POT approach, which is based on extreme values, is, as usually, also used to predict the load effects of extreme amplitude. This provides an innovative method to predict fatigue damage, which considers the initial distribution of numbers of cycles over time. It may account for traffic growth in volume and mass. This paper shows the comparison between reliability indexes assessed with the proposed method and the linear extrapolation.

The Millau Viaduct – Ten years ago

(2015). The Millau Viaduct – Ten years ago. Structural Engineering International: Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 373-374.

The Millau Viaduct: Ten Years of Structural Monitoring

The Millau viaduct’s monitoring and instrumentation system was designed by a team of experts already involved in structural engineering of the bridge. With the client they set objectives and priorities. Data management, system monitoring and maintenance were also examined. After describing the monitiring program, the results are presented for the first few operating years of the structure.

Bridge Influence Line Estimation for Bridge Weigh-in-Motion System

This paper presents an algorithm that estimates the influence line (IL) of a bridge using data collected when trucks pass over the sensors installed in the bridge. The algorithm is tested with data collected from the Millau Viaduct in France using a bridge weigh-in-motion (B-WIM) device. The algorithm uses the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and is compared with an old algorithm. The algorithm is more robust because it takes into account many signals for the estimation of the IL.

Millau viaduct geotechnical studies and foundations

The Millau viaduct over the Tarn River is an exceptional bridge considering the height under the deck and the 2.5km total length. Each of the seven high piers is founded on a thick raft setting on four large piles of 5m in diameter and 10–15m deep. The ground schematically consists of limestone in the north and of marls in the south. As the bridge is very sensitive to foundation settlements, the concessionary company decided to use the observational method for controlling the displacements and if necessary stabilize the foundations. The measurements show that the movements have remained small and admissible, particularly in terms of the rotations. The settlements have not occurred continuously under the load, but by steps.

Briefing: French bridge elegance and the future

Innovative and elegant bridges such as the Pont de Normandie and Millau Viaduct may be the last of their kind in France. This is due to a combination of reduced funding, growing environmental pressures, delegated design responsibility and decreasing central government involvement.

Effect of Vehicle Speed on the Millau Viaduct Response

Abstract This paper deals with the influence of a bituminous mix surfacing on orthotropic deck bridges. These researches are part of a French national project “Orthoplus,” which is briefly introduced. The approach to take into account the surfacing and to develop calculation tools is explained. First, the behavior of the different bituminous constituent materials is investigated. A linear viscoelastic modeling is proposed with a rheological model, previously developed at the Civil Engineering and Buildings Dept. (“DGCB”) of the University of Lyon/ENTPE. This model is implemented in a Finite Elements code, which enables the simulation of any orthotropic structures. To validate the proposed numerical tool, the highest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct (France) is studied. In situ measurements were especially carried out on the Millau Viaduct. Focus is made on comparisons between experimental data and simulations results. Influence of vehicle speed on bridge response is also analyzed.

Ambient and free vibration tests of the Millau Viaduct: Evaluation of alternative processing strategies

The Millau Viaduct is an outstanding multi-span cable-stayed bridge located in southern France that opened to traffic in 2004. It is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with the top of a pylon rising at 343m above the river level, and due to its total length of 2460m, it also the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. The present work aims to demonstrate the usefulness of ambient vibration tests performed at the commissioning stage and is specially focused on the evaluation of the efficiency and accuracy of alternative state-of-the-art processing strategies for identification of the modal parameters of the tested structure. Since both ambient and free vibration tests were performed, the modal damping ratio estimates obtained with the two testing approaches are compared. Furthermore, the natural frequencies and mode shapes provided by the ambient vibration test are correlated with modal estimates derived from a numerical model developed at the design stage. At the end, it is demonstrated that the data collected during the ambient vibration test, which only took some hours and very few resources, processed with adequate algorithms provided very useful information. It enabled the experimental identification of more than 20 natural frequencies and mode shapes that permitted the validation of their numerical counterparts and provided modal damping ratio estimates in good agreement with the values derived from the time series collected during the less economical and practical free vibration tests.

Recent perspectives in dynamic testing and monitoring of bridges

SUMMARY The paper reviews some of the most recent aspects involved in the dynamic testing and continuous monitoring of bridges. This includes a discussion of testing techniques, instrumentation, modal identification and damage detection. On the basis of their experience, the authors described several case studies in which some of the most recent developments have been used to accomplish different purposes: the Millau Viaduct, in France, the Pedro e Ines footbridge and the Infante D. Henrique Bridge, in Portugal, and the Grande Ravine Viaduct, at the Reunion Island. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modeling of viscous bituminous wearing course materials on orthotropic steel deck

This paper deals with the influence of a bituminous mix surfacing on the orthotropic deck bridges. These researches are part of a French national project “Orthoplus”, which is briefly introduced. The approach to take into account the surfacing and to develop calculation tools is explained. First the behavior of the different bituminous constituent materials is investigated. A linear visco-elastic modeling is proposed with a rheological model, previously developed at the Civil Engineering and Buildings Department (“DGCB”) of University of Lyon/ENTPE. This model was implemented in a Finite Elements code, which enables the simulation of any orthotropic structures. In order to validate these developments, two orthotropic structures are studied, including the highest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct (France). In situ measurements were especially carried out on the Millau Viaduct. The analysis is also performed on the French five-point bending fatigue test used at the EIFFAGE Travaux Publics research center in parallel to the construction, in 2004, of the Millau Viaduct. Focus is made on comparisons between experimental data and simulations results.

Reorganising space and time:

The multiplication of objects, actors and underlying rationales of heritage development, or patrimonialisation, is increasingly blurring the strength and meaning of our relationship with the past. The aim of this article is to reflect on the processes involved in the emergence of new heritage objects and on the consequences of these developments. The article is based on a comparative analysis of two symmetric objects, both of which have been the subject of heritage development processes: the Chauvet cave and the Millau viaduct in Southern France. By showing that each object is projected in the spatial or temporal dimension from which it was a priori excluded at the time of its discovery, the analysis demonstrates the necessity of integrating a heritage approach to our understanding of territorial dynamics. The analysis suggests that the interplay of territorialisation and heritage development processes represents a reconstruction of a controlled time-space, a prerequisite for addressing a recurring problem in our society, that of its sustainability.

Modelling of pavement materials on steel decks using the five-point bending test: Thermo mechanical evolution and fatigue damage

This paper deals with the modelling of wearing courses on steel orthotropic decks such as the Millau viaduct in France. This is of great importance when dealing with durability: due to the softness of such a support, the pavement is subjected to considerable strains that may generate top-down cracks in the layer at right angles of the orthotropic plate stiffeners and shear cracks at the interface between pavement and steel. Therefore, a five-point bending fatigue test was developed and improved since 2003 at the ENTPE laboratory, to test different asphalt concrete mixes. This study aims at modelling the mechanical behavior of the wearing course throughout the fatigue test by a finite element method (Comsol Multiphysics software). Each material – steel, sealing sheet, asphalt concrete layer – is considered and modelled. The modelling of asphalt concrete is complex since it is a heterogeneous material, a viscoelastic medium and it thermosensitive. The actual characteristics of the asphalt concrete (thermo physical parameter and viscoelastic complex modulus) are determined experimentally on cylindrical cores. Moreover, a damage law based on Miner's damage is included in the model. The modelling of the fatigue test leads to encouraging results. Finally, results from the model are compared to the experimental data obtained from the five-point bending fatigue test device. The experimental data are very consistent with the numerical simulation.

Numerical simulation of the five-point bending test designed to study bituminous wearing courses on orthotropic steel bridge

The structural role of the wearing courses on orthotropic steel deck bridges is usually not estimated during the design process. Both geometry of the structure and very high flexibility of steel plates induce severe stress and strain fields in the steel bridge surfacing. In this paper, we quantify the influence of a bituminous mix surfacing on the steel plate response when considering the French Five-Point Bending Fatigue Test. Mechanical behavior of bituminous mixes is very complex. It includes a great thermal sensitivity. Moreover in the small strain domain (for strain amplitudes below about 10−4) the behavior can be considered as linear. Therefore, the theory of linear viscoelasticity can be applied. After introducing the French five-point bending fatigue test used at the research center of “EIFFAGE Travaux Publics” company, in parallel to the construction of the Millau Viaduct (France) -the highest bridge in the world-, a numerical parametric study using the Finite Element Method (FEM) is presented. The specimens are made of a 12-mm-thick steel plate, a 3-mm-thick sealing sheet and a 60-mm-thick bituminous mix. Different wearing course behaviors are considered introducing temperature and viscous effects. This behavior is modeled using the linear part of the general thermo-viscoplastic model «DBN» (Di Benedetto and Neifar), recently developed at ENTPE laboratory and briefly described in this paper. An important observation is that the rigidity of the intermediate bituminous sealing sheet as well as the wearing course behavior seems to have a great influence on the orthotropic multilayer specimen complex behavior.

Plaque Unveiling Ceremony at the Millau Viaduct, France

Plaque Unveiling Ceremony at the Millau Viaduct, France

New French Standard Test Method for the Design of Surfacings on Steel Deck Bridges. Case Study of the Millau Viaduct

New French Standard Test Method for the Design of Surfacings on Steel Deck Bridges. Case Study of the Millau Viaduct

Advances in Numerical Bridge Aerodynamics and Recent Applications

Aerodynamic aspects are a major design factor in bridge engineering today. Whilst wind tunnel testing is the standard procedure for the assessment of the aerodynamic behaviour of bridge decks, numerical methods can provide a suitable supplement and offer further insight into flow properties. Here the two-dimensional Vortex Particle Method is discussed as a means to solve the underlying Navier-Stokes equations numerically. This well-known technique, which has been extensively used for the study of aeroelastic phenomena due to its flexibility and speed, has been extended to allow further improvements.A novel hybrid Particle-Mesh algorithm is developed which achieves a highly efficient particle velocity computation. This allows for a large number of computational elements and thus high-resolution simulations at modest computational cost. Applications of the computer code to problems in the field of wind engineering of structures are presented. Projects briefly described are: the Millau Viaduct, River Neath Bridge and a Savonius turbine. A high level of spatial and temporal resolution is used. It is concluded that such computations can provide important design guidance through fast-track aerodynamic testing.