Wrinkled Membranes and Cable-Stayed Bridges
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 4, Issue 1
Abstract
In seeking an efficient arrangement for the bearing cables of a cable-stayed bridge, inspiration is drawn from the natural wrinkling behavior of in-plane stressed triangular membranes. The bridge deck is thought of as being sustained by such a membrane, rather than stays, and the wrinkle pattern is studied as vertical loads act on the deck. Since it can be shown that the resulting wrinkles are straight and develop in such a way as to offer maximum stiffness towards impinging actions, the idea is to place cables according to their layout. The examined cases consider various ratios between the height of the towers and the main span of the bridge, reproducing as well the scheme of significant existing bridges and the possible presence of notches in the membrane. In all the cases, the patterns assumed by the wrinkles show evident resemblance to the traditional harp, half-fan, and fan schemes, and reveal surprising similarities with the disposal of the stays really adopted in existing bridges.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Banziger, D., Koppel Buchs, A. J., Walther, R., and Mory, H. ( 1988). “The Diepoldsau Bridge: the first cable stayed bridge in Switzerland.” L'Industria Italiana del cemento, 616, SIPI Editore, Rome, 94–107.
2.
Calatrava, S. ( 1990). Engineering architecture . Birkhauser, Basel, Switzerland.
3.
Figg, G., and Muller, J. ( 1991). “The Sunshine Skyway bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida.” L'Industria Italiana del cemento, 653, SIPI Editore, Rome, 148–170.
4.
Love, A. E. H. ( 1934). A treatise on the mathematical theory of elasticity . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
5.
Mansfield, E. H. ( 1989). The bending and stretching of plates, 2nd Ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
6.
Menn, C. ( 1990). Prestressed concrete bridges . Birkhauser, Basel, Switzerland.
7.
Reissner, E. ( 1938). “On tension field theory.” Proc., 5th Int. Congr. Appl. Mech., Champman & Hall, London, 88–92.
8.
Steigmann, D. J. ( 1990). “Tension field theory.” Proc., Royal Soc. of London, Series A, 429, 141–173.
9.
Virlogeux, M. ( 1993). “Le project du Pont de Normandie.” Annales de l'Istitut Tecnique du Batiment et des Travaux Publics, 517, Paris, 1–92.
10.
Wagner, H. ( 1929). “Ebene Blechwandträger mit sehr dünnem Stegblech.” Z. Flugtechnik u. Motorluftschiffahrt, R. Oldenbourg, Munich, Germany, 20, 200–207.
11.
Walther, R., Houriet, B., Isler, W., and Moia, P. ( 1988). Cable stayed bridges . Thomas Telford, London.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 4 • Issue 1 • February 1999
Pages: 56 - 62
History
Received: Dec 2, 1996
Published online: Feb 1, 1999
Published in print: Feb 1999
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.