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2025 | Book

Design of Long Span Railway Suspension Bridges

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About this book

This book presents the latest practices in high-speed railway suspension bridge design, covering site selection, bridge type and span layout, loading assumptions and load combinations, structural stiffness, structural components, expansion joints, wind resistance, and seismic analysis. It also shares insights on the wind-train-track-bridge interaction, wind and seismic analysis and design, and provides solutions for construction and maintenance. Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge was taken as an example to introduce the key technologies of long-span high-speed railway suspension bridges in research, design, construction, and maintenance comprehensively.

This is an ideal guideline and reference book for bridge engineers and consultants engaged in research, design, construction, and maintenance of suspension bridges. It can also be adopted as a textbook for teachers and students of bridge engineering in the teaching of suspension bridges.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
There is a general consensus among bridge engineers that the super-long span bridge should be based on the cable load-bearing system, especially in the kilometer span. Cable-stayed bridges and suspension bridges have numerous engineering applications. As for recent highway suspension bridges, the span record is frequently refreshed. In comparison, suspension bridges are more competitive in spanning.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 2. Location, Type and Span Layout of Railway Suspension Bridges
Abstract
It is the primary work in bridge design to first select a suitable location for a bridge crossing rivers according to route planning, transportation functions and construction conditions, and then determine the preliminary design for bridge type. The selection of a bridge location influences directly on the basic characteristics of a bridge, such as structural function, safety, service life, technical and economical rationality, convenience of construction and maintenance and so on. The location of a bridge should be considered based on the influential factors like overall alignment of transportation route, hydrogeological conditions, surrounding radiation range, and long-term social and economical development.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 3. Loading Patterns of Long-Span Suspension Railway Bridges
Abstract
The bridge loading mode is the basis of railway bridge design and one of the most important parameters for design calculation. The design train load for railway bridges is an envelope load, which shall meet the needs of both transportation capacity and the development of rolling stock. It shall also ensure that the load-bearing structure has a certain degree of reliability to ensure safe transportation.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 4. Rational Stiffness of Railway Suspension Bridges
Abstract
The main span of the Tianxingzhou Yangtze River Bridge is a steel truss girder cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 504 m. It was the first long-span high-speed railway cable-stayed bridge in China at that time. In its engineering construction report, the use of stiffness standards is described as follows: for long-span railway cable-stayed bridges, the stiffness standards of the existing railway bridge codes are no longer suitable for use, and the value of the stiffness standards is an important technical issue. It is necessary to analyze the dynamic response according to the specific structure and refer to domestic and foreign engineering practices and experience to determine.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 5. Structural Components of Railway Suspension Bridge
Abstract
For railway bridges, in addition to traditional stress requirements such as structural strength, crack resistance, fatigue, and seismic resistance, the focus and challenges are also on the comfort and the sustaining of track geometry and position at different speeds. This chapter discusses the typical structural types of cable-supported bridges, so as to screen out the structural configurations of super-long-span railway suspension bridges that are more suitable for the mechanical characteristics of railway bridges.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 6. Girder-End Expansion Joint of Railway Suspension Bridge
Abstract
At present, girder end expansion joints of long-span railway steel bridges mainly include sliding tie type expansion devices, through-beam type track expansion devices and transition plate type girder end expansion devices. In China, the sliding tie expansion type device is widely used in arch bridges and cable-stayed bridges, including two types namely through-type expansion joint and deck-type expansion joint. Domestic TSSF girder end expansion joints are the major through-type joints used whereas BWG SA60 made in Germany is the major deck-type joints used.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 7. Wind and Seismic Analysis of Railway Suspension Bridge
Abstract
With the progress of technology and the development of transportation, the span of bridges is becoming larger and larger. The long-span bridge structures have small stiffness and high flexibility, and are sensitive to the action of wind. Therefore, for long-span bridges, especially long-span suspension bridges, the wind resistance is often the primary consideration in design. The earthquake will cause serious damage and irreparable losses to the bridge in many aspects, and reflect the vulnerability of the bridge structure. Therefore, the seismic performance of the bridge has attracted more and more attention.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 8. Wind-Train-Track-Bridge Coupled Vibration Analysis on Railway Suspension Bridge Design
Abstract
Bridge vibration under strong wind load will not only affect the vibration performance of trains on the bridge, but also significantly increase lateral loads on the bridge due to the wind pressure acting on the bridge and trains. Meanwhile, the aerodynamic force and torque of high-speed trains under the strong transverse wind pressure has changed their original vibration characteristics, thus increasing the risk of overturning and derailing. In addition, wind load response on bridges and trains will also be affected by the movement of bridges and trains. The coupling of these factors forms a wind-train-bridge dynamic interaction system.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 9. Structural Design of Long-Span Railway Suspension Bridge
Abstract
Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge is the first long-span railway suspension bridge designed and built by China. Multiple suspension bridge alternatives with different main span lengths, including 1120 m main span recommended by feasibility study, 1036 m main span and 1092 m main span proposed by preliminary study, were developed and compared. The preferred bridge alternative is three-span suspension bridge with span layout of 350 m + 1092 m + 350 m, which is also the first rail-cum-road high speed railway bridge with main span over 1000 m in the world.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 10. Manufacturing, Erection and Construction Control of Steel Girders of Suspension Bridges
Abstract
This chapter continues to use the Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge as an example to illustrate the manufacturing, erection and construction control calculation of the railway suspension bridge stiffening trusses.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 11. Corrosion Protection for Steel Components of Railway Suspension Bridges
Abstract
The purposes of corrosion protection of suspension bridges are improving the durability of the main structure, herein to ensure the capability under loads and service life. Meanwhile, it also alleviates the work and cost for maintenance activities within the lifespan of the bridge.
Gongyi Xu
Chapter 12. Reviews and Perspectives for Design of Super-Long-Span Railway Suspension Bridge
Abstract
Up to now, A number of super long-span road-rail bridges are in service or under construction in the world, include Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, Great Seto Bridge of the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project in Japan, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge over the Bosporus in Turkey, Pingtan Strait Bridge, Hutong Yangtze River Bridge, and Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge in China. Also, the design of Messina Strait Bridge in Italy has been completed and the construction is expected to start in the near future. Although there are precedents in the world for the successful application of suspension bridges to railways. However, the development and application of long-span railway suspension bridges have been plagued by unfavorable factors such as low stiffness of suspension bridges, slow attenuation of transverse and longitudinal vibrations during train operation, and large rotation angles at girder ends. With the development of science and technology and transportation needs, how to better apply this kind of bridge structure with strong spanning ability to railway construction is worthy of further research and exploration. This chapter will discuss the novel and unique practices in the design of several world-renowned suspension bridges, and look forward to new technologies and prospects in the future.
Gongyi Xu
Metadata
Title
Design of Long Span Railway Suspension Bridges
Author
Gongyi Xu
Copyright Year
2025
Publisher
Springer Nature Singapore
Electronic ISBN
978-981-9983-94-0
Print ISBN
978-981-9983-93-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8394-0