Bridge Engineering Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers

Bridge Engineering 168 March 2015 Issue BE1

Volume 168 Issue BE1 Pages 5263 http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/bren.12.00017
Design and static analysis of the Taizhou Paper 1200017
Received 25/05/2012 Accepted 04/01/2013
Yangtze River Bridge, China Published online 22/08/2013
Zhang, Wan and Wang Keywords: bridges/steel structures/stress analysis

ice | proceedings ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Design and static analysis of the

Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge, China
&
1 Min Zhang MEng &
3 Yingliang Wang PhD, CEng, MICE
Post-doctoral Candidate, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China Deputy Chief Engineer, China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance
&
2 Tianbao Wan MEng and Design Institute Co. Ltd., Wuhan, China
Deputy Chief Engineer, China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance &
Design Institute Co. Ltd, Wuhan, China

1 2 3

The Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge in China is a triple-pylon suspension bridge with double main spans of 1080 m; it is
the worlds first triple-pylon suspension bridge with double main spans larger than 1000 m. This paper presents the
general design feature and innovation, global static analysis and construction of the main channel bridge, including
the introduction of the general behaviour of a triple-pylon suspension bridge, the foundation and block of
anchorages, foundation and shaft of pylons, steel box girder, main cable, cable band, main cable saddle, splay saddle,
as well as the friction factor experiment between the main cable and main saddle.

Notation There are many port engineering and ship anchorages around
FEd1 maximum cable force on either side of the the bridge location. To reduce the impact of bridge construc-
middle pylon tion on the environment, keep flood discharge to a minimum,
FEd2 minimum cable force on either side of the maintain the sustainable development and facilitate naviga-
middle pylon tion, the bridge adopted a triple-pylon suspension with double
K slipping resistance factor of the main cable main spans and a main cable span arrangement of 390 + 1080 +
strands 1080 + 390 m. The steel box girder is suspended in the double
as angle in radians of the cable passing over main spans. The solution reduces the obstacle to the water
the main saddle current and ensures the original width of the main channel.
m frictional factor between main cable and The conventional double-pylon suspension bridge has a main
saddle trough span twice that of the triple-pylon bridge. Compared with this,
the triple-pylon suspension bridge halves the horizontal force
of the main cable, so the amount of anchorage and main cable
is reduced significantly. The bridge includes the northern
1. Introduction approach bridge, Jiajiang Bridge, main channel bridge and
The Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge, located 66 km away from southern approach bridge. In this paper, only the main channel
bridge is described the key part of the project.
the upstream Runyang Yangtze River Bridge and 57 km away
from the downstream Jiangyin River Bridge, links the cities of
Taizhou, Zhengjiang and Changzhou in China. The total width 2. Design criteria
of the Yangtze River at the bridge site is about 2100 m. The The key design criteria adopted for the bridge include
profile of the river bed at the bridge site is W-shaped. The deep
channel is more inclined towards one bank with the maximum & carriage lanes: six lanes in the short-term and eight lanes in
water depth varying from 17 m to 30 m. Both banks of the the long-term
river are typical middle and lower Yangtze River alluvial plains & bridge width: 33?0 m (excluding cable anchorage zone
with soft soil and thick cover layer. The bedrock is located width)
more than 190 m beneath ground level. & design speed: 100 km/h

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 Bridge Engineering Design and static analysis of the
Volume 168 Issue BE1 Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang

& live load standard: Chinese highway load class I with double main spans of 1080 m (Figure 1); the main cable
& navigation clearance: the width and height of the naviga- arrangement is 390 + 1080 + 1080 + 390 m.
tional channel should not be less than 760 m and 50 m,
respectively The ratio of cable sag to span is a key parameter of the general
& design wind speed: the average maximum wind speed within design of a large-span suspension bridge, which affects the
10 min is 31?83 m/s with 100-year return period and 10 m structural rigidity, material quantities and the control point of
above the mean sea level main cable. It is determined by the balance of the global rigidity,
& according to the site earthquake safety assessment report, dead load and construction cost. The ratio of cable sag to span
which was completed by the seismic department of the was studied from 1/7 to 1/13. The static analysis result determines
Jiangsu Province, the ground surface horizontal accelera- that, under live load, the slip resistance safety factor between the
tion is 0?159g and with a return period of 100 years and an main cable and the main saddle increases with increasing of sag-to-
exceedance probability of 10%, and 0?207g with a return span ratio, but the extent is very limited. In addition, the deflection
period of 100 years and an exceedance probability of 4%, of the main girder increases very rapidly with the increasing sag-
respectively to-span ratio. With the increasing ratio of sag-to-span, the critical
& the ship collision force of the main pylon is 116 MN and flutter wind velocity increases, but the extent is very limited.
58 MN in the transverse and longitudinal direction, Allowing for the static and dynamic structural behaviour and the
respectively. quantities of construction materials, the sag-to-span ratio finally
adopts 1/9, which ensures the vertical global stiffness and the
3. Design standards slippery resistance factor between the main cable and saddle.
In accordance with the requirement of the client, the preliminary
and detailed design of the permanent works were carried out The global articulation is shown in Figure 2. Vertical bearings
following Chinese Specifications for Highway Steel Bridges are installed at the bottom cross-beam of the side pylon; traverse
(hereafter in short CSHSB). However, the steel orthotropic deck wind bearings are installed on the inner side of all pylon shafts;
design of the highway bridge was not covered, so BS EN 1993-2 longitudinal viscous dampers are installed on the side pylons;
(CEN, 2005) and German national annex (DIN, 2003) were longitudinal cables are provided at the middle pylon cross-beam,
adopted in the bridge design for the supplement. which restrain the longitudinal displacement of main girder
under traffic loading and earthquake loading. The approach
4. Design of the main bridge bridge adopts a pre-stressed continuous box girder with a main
span of 70 m, which is not included in the paper.
4.1 General design of main bridge
Based on the construction conditions at the bridge site, both 4.2 Pylon and foundation
side pylons are set on the river bank, whereas the middle pylon
is set in the middle of the river at a water depth about 18 m 4.2.1 Middle pylon and foundation
under ordinary water level. Both anchorages are designed on Compared with the conventional double pylon suspension
the bank. The main bridge is located on the straight line in bridge, the triple-pylon suspension shows some different
plan. The main bridge is a steel box girder suspension bridge structural behaviours.

Elevation view

390 1080 1080 390

Taizhou Yangzhong
67.5+70.0+100.0+70.0+67.5=375 20.0+6516.0+20.0
sploy pointk14+966.0

20+6516+20 670=420
280 1080/2 1080/2 1080/2 1080/2
splay point
k17+906.0

240
IP.+203.000
200 IP.+183.000 IP.+183.000
160
120

120

120 +73.000 +73.000 IP.+26.500

80 IP.+26.500
40 k15+167.5 +5.92 maximum navigational level k17+690

0.0 bank
bank
40
80
120

North anchorage No4 No3 No2 No1 1 2 3 S01 S02 S03 S04 South anchorage

Plan view
390 1080 1080 390
down stream down stream

Figure 1. The general arrangement of the main bridge (unit: m)

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 Bridge Engineering
Volume 168 Issue BE1
1080
Longitudinal cable
Movable bearing Longitudinal cable
Figure 2. Global articulation of the bridge (unit: m)
(a) When one of the main spans is loaded by a full live load,
but another main span is empty, the middle pylon should
provide the restrain to the main cable, so the horizontal
component of main cable force will change significantly.
(b) The main cable is anchored on the middle pylon; the
longitudinal stiffness of the middle pylon is weaker than
that of conventional double-pylon suspension bridge, in
which the main cable is anchored on side anchorage, so
the global vertical stiffness of the triple-pylon suspension
bridge is weaker than the conventional double-pylon
suspension bridge. In order to enhance the global vertical
stiffness of the triple-pylon suspension bridge, the middle
pylon often adopts a rigid or semi-rigid configuration,
such as triangulation or inverted Y-type in the long-
itudinal direction. Therefore, the necessary longitudinal
restraint of the pylon top is achieved by the large bending
stiffness of triangulation or the inverted Y pylon
structure. The solution can enhance the global vertical
stiffness of the triple-pylon suspension bridge. The main
disadvantage of applying triangular pylon structures is
that this will induce a large longitudinal bending moment
in the middle pylon shaft and foundation.
If the full rigid middle pylon is adopted, the scale of foundation
will be very large because the bending moment under live load is
very large. The horizontal difference of the main cable force of
the middle pylon will be very large when one main span is fully
loaded, and it will reduce the slippery resistance safety margin of
the main cable on the saddle trough. Therefore a longitudinal
semi-rigid steel pylon, with the inverted Y-type configuration in
the longitudinal direction and transversely portal frame steel
pylon, was designed for the middle pylon, as shown in Figure 3.
54
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Design and static analysis of the
Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang
1080
C.L of main girder
Vertical restrain system
C.L of main girder
Transversal restrain system
C.L of main girder
Longitudinal restrain system
Damper Concrete restrain block
The semi-rigid middle pylon can ensure the global vertical
stiffness of the bridge, and control the difference of the
horizontal component of the main cable force, and ensure the
slippery resistance between the main cable and middle saddle.
In the longitudinal direction, from the top to bottom, the
middle pylon is divided into three sections: the upper linear
shaft, the middle transition shaft and the bottom inclined
pylon shaft. The middle transition segment is 25?775 m long.
The pylon shafts are connected by two cross-beams. The cross-
section of the upper pylon shaft is a single box with multiple
cells and four corner chambers with a dimension of 0?6 m 6
0?6 m to reduce the vortex vibration forces of wind. The cross-
section of the middle pylon shaft is shown in Figure 4.
The middle pylon uses grade Q370qD and Q420qD steel, which
is required to a have yield strength of 370 MPa and 420 MPa,
respectively. Both Q370qD and Q420qD are required to have
Charpy impact energy of 41 J at a temperature of 220 C. The
transverse dimension of the cross-section of the pylon shaft
remains 5?0 m. The longitudinal dimension of the cross-section
of the pylon shaft is variable.
The thickness of the flange and web of the pylon shaft varies from
50 mm to 60 mm and from 44 mm to 60 mm, respectively. All
stiffeners of the pylon adopt bulb cross-section, with thickness
40 mm and 48 mm. The diaphragm spacing of the pylon shaft is
3 m or 2?5 m. The ordinary diaphragm is 20 mm thick.
The pylon shaft was divided into 13 segments, 10?775 m to
20?000 m long. The segment T0, which connected with the
concrete cap of the caisson and embedded in concrete, was the
 Bridge Engineering Design and static analysis of the
Volume 168 Issue BE1 Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang

17 400 17 400 6600

Material Number
T28

20 000
20 000

Segment Length: m Weight: t

T27
D12 20.000 445.1
T26

Q370qD
T25 D11 18.000 327.4

17 000 18 000 18 000

17 000 18 000 18 000

T24
D10 18.000 418.4
T23
T22 D9 17.000 412.3
T21 15.000
D8 407.0
T20
T19 D7 15.000 426.4
T18 438.5
D6 15.000
T17
T16 D5 15.000 495.1
T15
T14 D4 10.775 450.8
315 000

315 000

191 540
T13 15.000 255.0
194 000

D3
T12
Q420qD

T11 D2 15.000 216.4

T10
T9 D1 15.000 216.4
T8
D0 3.485 147.2
10 775 15 000

T7
10 77515 000

T6
T5
T4

T3
43 656
43 656

T2
Q370qD

1
4
T1
2500
41 082

4108

T0
21 290 21 290 17 375 17 375

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 3. General layout of middle pylon (unit: mm): (a) front view;
(b) side view; (c) segment length and weight

40 500
60
5000

5000

44
48 500
40 500

50 60
Cross-section of upper pylon shaft

48 500
60
5000

5000

48 500
48 500

60 6000 60

Cross-section of transition pylon shaft Cross-section of lower pylon shaft

Figure 4. The cross-section of middle pylon shaft (unit: mm)

55

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 Bridge Engineering Design and static analysis of the
Volume 168 Issue BE1 Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang

exception. The site splices between the pylon shaft segments use
high-strength bolts and the direct contact method. The ends of all
segments were carefully milled so that 50% compression force was
carried directly; the other 50% compression force, all tension force
and shear force were carried directly by high-strength bolts.
bored pile foundation were listed in Table 1. According to
Table 1, the caisson foundation was accepted by the client. The
pile foundation consists of 118 no. friction piles of diameter 2?8 m
and of 106?0 m depth; the rectangle caisson with chamber had a
plan dimension of 58?2 m 6 44?1 m and a depth of 76?00 m.

The pylon shafts were fixed to the cap of the concrete caisson by
anchorage bolts and bearing plates. A 150 mm thick bearing
plate was welded to the pylon shaft bottom, so the compression
force was transformed from the pylon shafts to the concrete
bearing surface evenly. Large-diameter bolts were also utilised
around the perimeter of the pylon shafts, as shown in Figure 5.
The compression forces were transferred by the steel bearing
plate, whereas the tension forces were transferred by high-
strength bolts. The pre-tension force of the bolts was determined
by zero tension stress at the pylon shaft bottom under the
unfavourable load case. According to these principles, 34 no. of
bolts with a diameter of 130 mm were used. The pre-tension
force of each bolt was 3500 kN under the construction stage.
The total steel weight of the middle pylon was 13 737?1 t.
Alternatives of the caisson and bored pile foundation for the
middle pylon were studied in the preliminary design stage. The
material quantities and construction duration of caisson and
According to the construction duration and the cost, the open
suction caisson foundation was approved by the client. This was
fitted with a cutting bottom edge facilitating sinking through
sands by suction the sand in the honeycomb of large pipes. The
open caisson used a rectangle cross-section with a plan
dimension of 44 m and 60 m in the transverse and longitudinal
direction, respectively. The total depth of the caisson was 76 m,
including 32 m concrete caisson and 44 m steel-shelled concrete
caisson. The sub-sealing concrete was 8 m deep, as shown in
Figure 6. The total quantity of steel, concrete and reinforcement
of the middle pylon caisson foundation was 4400 t, 94 934?0 m3
and 3666?4 t, respectively.
4.2.2 Side pylon and foundation
Both side pylons used a conventional reinforced concrete
portal frame structure, and the foundation of the side pylons
adopted a bored friction pile foundation. The pylon founda-
tion at Taizhou side consisted of 46 no. piles with a diameter of

600
600
1200 600
12000
1200
150 300 1200
950
0 50

460
0
2000

460
150 145

0
950 3
1000

00 1
50
Top p
700 late
800
6
2484 .

6000
Bear
ing p
late
800
700
6750

Pile cap
540

7300

Figure 5. The connection between middle steel pylon shaft and

concrete caisson cap (unit: mm)

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 Bridge Engineering Design and static analysis of the
Volume 168 Issue BE1 Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang

Alternatives Open suction caisson Bored pile

Bill of quantities Concrete: m3 100 725 155 972

Rebar: t 3929 23 037
Steel: t 5376 19 880
Construction duration: month 28 27

Table 1. Bill of material quantities and construction duration of

middle pylon foundation alternatives

2?8 m and a depth of 103?00 m, whereas the pylon foundation only the bottom segment of the caisson adopted a steel-shelled
at the Yangzhong side consisted of 46 no. piles with a diameter concrete caisson, whereas the other segments adopted a
of 2?8 m and a depth of 98?00 m. Both side pylons were reinforced concrete caisson. The construction method was
175?7 m high. The concrete used for side pylon was required to similar to the middle pylon caisson foundation.
have a minimum 50 MPa cube compressive strength. The total
concrete volume of each pylon was 13 715?6 m3. The anchorage block used a mass reinforced concrete structure and
the front leg of the anchorage block adopted a box cross-section.
4.3 Anchorage The splay chamber was 24 m long, in which the main cable strands
Both anchorages, consisting of foundation and anchorage were scattered one by one, so each strand could be anchored with
block, used gravity type owing to the poor geological condition. the concrete block. The main cable anchorage system was located
Both foundations used conventional concrete caisson, with a in the concrete block with an anchorage length of 20 m.
plan dimension of 44 m and 60 m in the transverse and
longitudinal direction, respectively. The total depth of the A dehumidification system was installed for the front anchor
caisson at the Taizhou and Yangzhong side was 57 m and 41 m, chamber and splay saddle chamber. Each dehumidification
respectively. Because both anchorages were located on the bank, system comprised a dehumidifier, mixed pressure fan, connecting

1/2 Elevation 1/2 AA

6440/2 6440/2
Caisson cape Anticollision equipment
+8.075
200

25

+6.00 +5.92 m maximum navigational level

1/2 55 (1/2 66)
220

440

0.19 m minimum navigational level

3200 concrete caisson

160

220 160 1280 120 1280 120 1280 120 1280 160
220
7 7
centre
260 1280 120 640 640 120 1280 160

100 line 160 100 15.4 River bed level . R30

R8
R6

15 40 00
19.27
40

6
4400/2

6 General scour level

Fine sand

100 100
7600

33.05
clay
35.75 A 150150 A
3600 steel caisson

Fine sand
40.95
4600/2

5 5
Fine sand R900 R640
40 40
20

55.15
Subsedling concrete
20

200 200
145 655 600

59.57
560

20 Medium sand
61.15
20

Local scour level 260 1280 120 1280 120 1280 120 1280 260
11000

60 40 180
800

120 Course sand

6000
70.00 69.05
50 100 145 25 Fine sand 1/2 77
75.25

Figure 6. General layout of caisson foundation of middle pylon

(unit: cm except level in m)

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 Bridge Engineering
Volume 168 Issue BE1
duct and electrical central control panel and humidity control
devices. The force of the main cable strand was transferred to the
concrete block by post-tension tendons.
4.4 Steel box girder
The steel box girder was 39?1 m wide and 3?5 m deep, adopting
a flat streamlined box with good aerodynamic configuration
(Figure 7). The double crossfall was 2%. The double inner and
outer inclined webs divided the steel box into three cells.
Allowing for the transportation capacity, the main girder was
divided into 136 segments including 128 no. of standard
segments and eight particular segments. The standard segment
was 16?0 m long. The total weight of the standard segment was
215 t and maximum weight of the segment was 230 t. The top
plate and bottom plate thickness of the standard segment was
16 mm and 10 mm, respectively.
In order to enhance the fatigue life of the steel orthotropic deck
and improve the service performance of the deck pavement, the
steel deck beneath the heavy carriageway in each direction was
made of 16 mm thick plate and stiffened by 8 mm thick
trapezoidal stiffener, whereas the rest of the steel deck plate
was 14 mm thick and stiffened by 6 mm thick trapezoidal
stiffener.
The bottom and top plate stiffener adopted a trapezoidal
stiffener. The height and spacing of the top flange longitudinal
stiffener were 280 mm and 600 mm, respectively. The structural
Main cable
1200 950 800
3000
Maintenance gantry
1280
1853
2950 5975
8925
19 550
Figure 7. Typical cross-section of standard segment of steel box
girder (unit: mm)
58
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Design and static analysis of the
Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang
detail of the orthotropic deck including the dimensions of the
top plate and longitudinal stiffener, minimum stiffness of
longitudinal stiffeners, the connection of stiffener to deck plate
and to the cross-beam, met all requirements of BS EN 1993-2
with the German national annex (Sedlacek et al., 2004).
The height, spacing and thickness of the bottom flange
longitudinal stiffener were 250 mm, 1000 mm and 6 mm
respectively. The spacing of the cross beams was 3?2 m. Both
inclined top and bottom webs were 10 mm thick with flat
stiffeners. The maintenance walk was located on the cantilever.
The site splices of the steel box girder were welded. The total
weight of the steel box girder was 33 681?9 t with unit weight of
414 kg/m2. The grade Q345qD was adopted for the steel box
girder, which was required to have a yield strength of
345 MPa. The grade Q370qD was adopted for the hanger
connection with the steel box girder anchorage, which was
required to have a yield strength of 370 MPa. Both Q345qD
and Q370qD were required to have 41 J impact test energy at a
temperature of 220 C.
The steel orthotropic deck system was analysed by the Peklian
Esslinger method (Wolchuk, 1963). The stresses of the deck
system are presented in Table 2.
The hanger was connected with the box girder by a pin. The
local stresses of anchorage zone were analysed by the finite-
element model.
C.L.
17 400
16 600
3 3750 = 11 250 750 1000
2% 5.5 com pavement
3500
Maintenance gantry
10 625
 Bridge Engineering
Volume 168 Issue BE1
Steel deck plate
Item location Support Middle span Support
Stress: MPa +4?3 236?0
Note Tension stress is +
Table 2. Stresses of steel orthotropic deck
4.5 Main cable, hanger and cable band
The main bridge had two main cables, which used prefabri-
cated parallel wire strand (PPWS). Each strand consisted of 91
no. of steel wire with a diameter of 5?20 mm and a minimum
ultimate tensile strength of 1670 MPa. Each main cable had
169 steel strands. The length and weight of each strand was
approximately 3100 m and 47 t, respectively. The main cables
were protected with S-wire wrapping and a cable dehumidifi-
cation protection system.
The S-wire consisted of flat, interlocking wire for the outer
transverse wrapping of main cables. The S-wire wrapping had
a S-shaped cross-section of 7 6 3?0 mm (Figure 8), and was
wrapped around a cable in a spiral format. The interlocking
mechanism of the S-wire minimised the gaps between
successive loops of the wrapping wire. Therefore this method
could minimise the amount of moisture penetrating into the
cable after construction.
The cross-section area of the main cable was 0?3266 m2. The
main spacing ratio, based on both home and abroad long-span
suspension bridges, was 18% at the cable band and 20%
elsewhere; the associated diameter of the main cable was
712 mm and 721 mm, respectively.
All hangers were considered for the hanger replacement load
case. The objective of hanger replacement is to satisfy the client
Coating
Wrapping wire
7.0 mm
4.5 mm
3.0 mm
Figure 8. Interlocking wrapping S-wire (unit: mm)
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Design and static analysis of the
Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang
Bottom of stiffener Middle span of cross beam
Middle span Top flange Bottom flange
234?2 +105?0 246?9 +45?0
that any such future scenario could be undertaken under
sustainable conditions involving limited traffic disruption and
without the need for full closures. The total weight of the main
cable, hanger was 15 929 t and 447?2 t, respectively.
The hanger used a prefabricated parallel wire strand, which
included two types: (a) the particular hanger, located adjacent
to the centre pylon with three prefabricated parallel wire
strands and (b) the common hangers, located at the other
locations, with double parallel wire strands. Each prefabricated
parallel wire strand consisted of 87 no. of steel wires with a
diameter of 5?20 mm. The minimum ultimate tensile strength
of hanger steel wire was 1670 MPa.
The hanger connected with the steel box girder and cable band
through fork plate and pin. The cable band consisted of upper
and lower mating pairs, and the two halves were connected
with high-strength waisted bolts to avoid the bolt breaking at
the thread. The two halves were sealed with waterproof
rubber strips. The cable band were made of ZG20SiMn cast
steel, with wall thickness varying from 35 mm to 45 mm. The
configuration of hanger and cable band are shown in
Figure 9.
4.6 Main saddle and splay saddle
The main saddle and splay saddle were made of cast and
welded steel structure. The head of the saddle was made of cast
Paste
Main cable steel wires
59
 Bridge Engineering Design and static analysis of the
Volume 168 Issue BE1 Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang

C CC steel owing to the complex configuration, and the body of

Main cable saddle was made of welded steel plates. A stainless sliding plate
was embedded on the pylon head, to provide sliding during the
cable and steel box girder installation stages.
Cable clamp
To facilitate the fabrication and installation of the main saddle,
Hanger socket
it was divided into two parts in the longitudinal direction,
Hanger cross-section which were fabricated and installed separately. The site splice
was connected by high-strength bolts, as shown in Figure 10.
1215.0 mm
76.7 In order to increase the friction force between the main cable
Hanger strands and saddle trough, vertical plates were provided to
form channels in the saddle. After installation and adjustment
PE tube of the main cable, the gaps between the plates were filled with
Hanger damping
zinc blocks, and then the side wall of the saddle trough was
compressed against the cable through high-strength bolts. The
weight of the middle pylon and side pylon saddle was about
94?8 t and 132?8 t, respectively.
Hanger socket
The splay saddle used a hinge at the bottom so it could rotate
Ear plate
Steel girder
around the hinge. The head trough was made of cast steel, and
the saddle body was made of welded steel plates. The weight of
the splay saddle was 102?7 t.

5. Global static analysis

C 5.1 Global static analysis
A three-dimensional non-linear finite-element model was
Figure 9. Configuration of hanger adopted in the global static and dynamic analysis. The pylon
and steel box girder were modelled as six-degree freedom beam

22
2
52 295 270 900 270
29 2
150

60 5 48
330
330
350 383 533

Tangent point
3000

le
cab
main
. of
1530

C.L Adjustment plate

60 60
80
R69 32 .5
R5917 5

2000
83

Cover plate
R63

2
R68

2500
00

2690 2690
C.
3957

L.

Centre of the saddle circle

Figure 10. General configuration of main saddle on middle pylon

(unit: mm)

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 Bridge Engineering Design and static analysis of the
Volume 168 Issue BE1 Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang

elements, and the main cable and hanger were modelled as
three-degree freedom bar elements. The traffic live load
adopted eight lanes of Chinese highway bridge design load.
The design live load included a uniformly distributed load and
a concentrate load. The magnitude of the uniformly distributed
load and concentrate load was 39?06 kN/m and 1339 kN,
respectively.
The bending moment of steel box girder under traffic load is
shown in Figure 11. As shown in Figure 11, the maximum
vertical deflection was 4?37 m. The ratio of maximum
deflection to main span was 1/253?5, which indicated that the
bridge was rigid. The limitation of the ratio of maximum
deflection to main span in CSHSB was 1/250.
One group was tested by 10 strands, and the other group was
tested by a single strand. A photograph of 10 strands is shown
in Figure 12.
The three specimens of the 10 strands test result are 0?521, 0?535
and 0?535, respectively. The three specimens of single strand test
result are 0?302, 0?326 and 0?391, respectively. The friction
factor tested by multiple strands was much bigger than those of
the single strand because the top strands compress the bottom
strands. The bridge was the first triple-pylon suspension bridge
with a main span larger than 1000 m. The coefficient adopted in
the design was 0?2. So the slipping resistance factor of the main
cable strands on the middle pylon saddle was calculated by the
EulerEytelwein formula (Gross et al., 2009)

With the combination of dead load, traffic load and the lower m|as 0:20|0:871
temperature, the maximum main cable force was 210 909 kN, K~  ~   ~2:897
FEd1 202 232:6
which was located at both sides of the middle pylon. CSHSB ln ln
FEd2 190 325:8
adopted an allowable stress method; the cable-related safety
factor was 2?5 and 3?0 for the hanger. The factor for the main
In which FEd1 and FEd2 are the design values of the maximum
cable adopted in BS EN 1993-1-11 (CEN, 2006) was about 2?2,
and minimum cable force on either side of the middle pylon; m
which took into consideration the live load and dead load with
is the frictional factor between main cable and saddle trough;
the combination factor of about 1?35 to 1?45. This was about
as is the angle in radians of the cable passing over the main
15% smaller than the Chinese code. The safety factor of main
saddle, as 5 2 6 25?18330 5 0?879 rad. The minimum slipping
cable according to CSHSB is shown in Table 3.
resistance factor K in CSHSB and BS EN 1993-1-11 was 2?0
and 1?65, respectively. As shown in the preceding formula, the
5.2 Slip resistance stability of the main cable on the
minimum slipping resistance factor K met the requirement of
middle pylon saddle
CSHSB and BS EN 1993-1-11 (CEN, 2006).
The friction factor between the middle pylon cable saddle
groove and the main cable is not described in the Chinese
bridge design code and BS EN 1993-1-11 (CEN, 2006). In 6. Construction introduction of the main
order to ensure the safety of the bridge, the friction factor was bridge
tested by Southwest Jiaotong University, China. The test The side pylons were located on the bank, so the pile
included two groups, each group included three specimens. foundation was constructed with a rotated bored machine

+1.430105 max +1.429105

+8.300104 min +1.141105
+2.300104
3.700104
9.700104
1.570105
+39 945
+16 386
+34 401
+42 354
+44 824
+44 919
+44 031
+43 024
+42 071
+41 247
+40 559
+40 041
+39 733
+39 681
+40 538
+41 270
+42 033
+42 578
+42 969
+43 289
+43 564
+43 820
+44 129
+44 508
+44 940
+45 444
+45 970
+46 441
+46 624
+46 056
+45 127
+61 428
+111 145 89 873
+138 503 113 144
+142 928 108 022
+93 493
+54 744
+44 768
+46 173
+46 544
+46 265
+45 767
+45 239
+44 746
+44 324
+43 957
+43 657
+43 392
+43 090
+42 734
+42 287
+41 672
+40 870
+40 178
+39 676
+39 505
+39 634
+40 008
+40 581
+41 314
+42 179
+43 168
+44 230
+44 928
+44 270
+40 498
+29 810
+7053.8
41 676
67 186
73 909
75 047
74 363
72 967
71 737
70 783
70 054
69 542
69 246
69 172
69 322
69 681
70 238
70 995
71 888
72 679
73 150
73 336
73 403
73 480
73 616
73 842
74 164
74 564
74 984
75 237
74 792
72 464
66 905
67 444

82 556
66 874
69 700
74 834
76 602
76 820
76 502
76 078
75 694
75 394
75 190
75 068
74 988
74 885
74 606
74 009
73 139
72 256
71 552
71 054
70 757
70 670
70 807
71 162
71 737
72 529
73 551
74 904
76 166
76 521
74 431
64 607
26 765

Figure 11. The bending moment of steel girder under traffic load
unit (kN m)

61

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 Bridge Engineering Design and static analysis of the
Volume 168 Issue BE1 Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang

Location and item (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Axial force: kN 203 846 207 872 207 889 191 027 210 909 210 909 191 027 207 889 207 872 203 846
Safety factor 2?68 2?62 2?62 2?86 2?59 2?59 2?86 2?62 2?62 2?68
(5) (6) (8) (9)
(2) (3)

Location (1)
(4) (7)
(10)
description

Table 3. Safety factor of main cable

directly with slurry. The steel shell caisson of the middle pylon
foundation was fabricated in the workshop, transported to the
site, and installed by a floating crane. The concrete was then
cast in situ between the double wall of steel shells. A water-jet
was used to wash the soil of the riverbed, so the caisson could
penetrate in the sand by its self-weight (Figure 13). The depth
of the caisson was extended segment by segment and then sunk
down under the water step by step, until the caisson reached its
design level. Then the bottom was sealed with concrete
deposited underwater. Then the concrete filling was casted
under water.
The concrete was supplied from both river banks. Two batch
concrete plants were set up on both sides. The side pylon was
constructed by a hydraulic self-climbing formwork in which a
typical segment was 6 m long, and an ordinary cycle was
achieved in 7 days.
The segments T0 to T7 and T8 to T28 of middle pylon were
constructed by a floating crane and pylon crane, respectively.
The longitudinal and transverse segments must be perpendi-
cular to within an allowance of 1/10 000.
The main cable was constructed by a catwalk and traction
system. The catwalk system consists upstream catwalk, down-
stream catwalk and several transverse path walk. The catwalk
was located beneath the associated main cable, and the cable
strand traction system adopted a double-way system. The sag
of each cable strand was adjusted between 0 and 3 am in the
morning, because the temperature is very steady in this period.
The erection sequence of steel box girder was installed from the
middle of the double middle span to the middle pylon and side
pylons symmetrically. Two enclosure segments were set near
the side pylons and middle pylon, respectively. Four main
cable-supported cranes were used for the installation of the
segments of the steel box girder, which can crawl along the
middle span main cables. For each segment erection and site
welding, the quickest cycle was achieved in 7 days. The
Taizhou and Yangzhong side pylon main saddle was preset
with a longitudinal deviation distance of 2?465 m and 2?410 m
towards the bank, respectively. The splay saddle of Taizhou
and Yangzhong side were also preset with an angle of 0?0591
and 0?0562 towards the bank, respectively.
The cable and deck construction was continuously monitored
by the on-site technical team to ensure that the required final
design vertical and horizontal profiles were achieved. The
segment erection level was continuously adjusted to take into
account the difference between theoretical analysis deflection
and site measurements.

Figure 12. Slipping resistance test Figure 13. Caisson sunk by suction of the sand and soft clay

62

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 Bridge Engineering
Volume 168 Issue BE1
Figure 14. Photograph of nearly completed main bridge
The construction of the bridge commenced on 26 December
2007. The construction duration of the middle pylon foundation
and pylon shaft was 15 months and 14 months, respectively. The
construction duration of main cable and steel box girder
erection wass 4 months and 8 months, respectively.
7. Conclusions
The bridge was opened to traffic on 25 November 2012. The
nearly completed bridge is shown in Figure 14. The design and
construction of the bridge were completed on time and on budget
as a result of the excellent cooperation between the client, designer,
contractors, sub-contractors and site supervision consultants.
The fast progress of the construction of the project benefited
from a viable design concept and solutions, which changed
very little during the construction. The considerable investment
made by the contractor in additional ground investigation and
scientific research and test enabled the development of a safe
and efficient substructure and superstructure design.
Downloaded by [] on [19/07/17]. Copyright ICE Publishing, all rights reserved.
Design and static analysis of the
Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,
China
Zhang, Wan and Wang
The bridge has been well recognised by Jiangsu Province
government and Ministry of Communication of China, who
regard the construction of the first major triple-pylon large-
span suspension bridge in the world as a symbol of bridge
technology progress.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Mr Jin
Yang, Chinese National Design Master, and Jianhchi Zhong,
the site director of Jiangsu Provincial Yangtze River Highway
Bridge Construction Commanding Department, and collea-
gues of the design teams, independent checking teams and
construction teams and site construction supervision teams.
REFERENCES
CEN (Comite Europe en de Normalisation) (2005) EN 1993-2:
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures. Part 2: Steel bridges.
Comite Europe en de Normalisation, Brussels, Belgium.
CEN (2006) EN 1993-1-11: Eurocode 3: Design of steel
structures. Part 1-11: Design of structures with tension
components. Comite Europe en de Normalisation,
Brussels, Belgium.
DIN (2003) Fachbericht 103. Stahlbrucken. Deutsches Instituft
fur Normung, Beuth Verlag, Berlin, Germany (in German).
Gross D, Werner Hauger W, Schroder J et al. (2012) Engineering
Mechanics 1: Statics. Springer, Berlin.
Sedlacek G, Eisel H, Kuhn W and Paschen B (2004) Leitfaden zum
DIN Fachbericht 103 Stahlbrucken (March, 2003). Ernst &
Sohn.
Wolchuk R (1963) Design Manual for Orthotropic Steel Plate
Deck Bridges. American Institute of Steel Construction,
Chicago, IL, USA.
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