Theoretical and Experimental Studies of the Antislip Capacity between Cable and Saddle Equipped with Horizontal Friction Plates

For multispan suspension bridges, the slip between the main cable and middle saddle is a critical problem. It is therefore essential to find efficient antislip schemes and develop the corresponding evaluation method. In this study, the antislip conception of using horizontal friction (HF) plates is presented, and an analytical model is then established, taking into account the layer-by-layer slip behavior. Large-scale model tests are performed to reveal the effects of the HF plate and verify the proposed analytical model. A typical multispan suspension bridge, named Oujiang River North Estuary (ORNE) Bridge in China, is taken as a practical case for parametric analyses using the proposed methodology. The results validate that the proposed analytical model can provide reliable and adequate predictions for the slip behavior of multistrand cables. The HF plates can significantly improve the antislip capacity of such cables. A lower location of the HF plate leads to a greater enhancing effect and a larger unevenness ratio of strand tensions as well. The proposed methodology is promising to be extensively applied to the antislip designs for the multispan suspension bridges.