Weight versus Cost: Light-Weight Materials in Cable-Stayed Bridges
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 124, Issue 11
Abstract
The weight advantage of light-weight construction materials such as steel or fiber-reinforced plastics is usually accompanied by the disadvantage of greater costs when compared with, e.g., reinforced concrete. This cost disadvantage makes light-weight materials uneconomical for many kinds of structures, because the advantage of reduced weight cannot efficiently be transformed into a cost benefit. For certain kinds of structures, however, weight reduction at the right locations conveys cost savings large enough to compensate for the higher material cost. Typical examples are high-rise buildings and long-span bridges, where light-weight materials can result in overall cost savings when used in the upper floors of the building or in the midspan region of the bridge. The weight-versus-cost problem is analytically investigated for a fan-type, cable-stayed bridge. A break-even point is determined that indicates the extension of the main-span center part that should be made of light-weight material to minimize overall costs. Results of example calculations are presented.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Reference
1.
Virlogeux, M., et al. (1994). “Design of the Normandie Bridge.”Proc., Cable-Stayed and Suspension Bridges Conf., Vol. 1, Association Française Pour la Construction, Deauville, France, 605–630.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Nov 1, 1998
Published in print: Nov 1998
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.