J. Construct. Steel Res. Vol. 39, No. 1, pp.

69-84, 1996
Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
P n : S0143-974X(96)00026-0 0143-974X/96 $15.00 + 0.00
ELSEVIER

Cable..supported Steel Bridges: Design Problems and

Solutions

Manabu Ito
University of Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT

The state-of-the-art of modern cable-supported bridges in steel is presented.

For both suspension and cable-stayed types, design problems associated with
the overall structure and their components such as cables, towers and gir-
ders, are discussed. Referring to Japanese experiences, measures for earth-
quake and wind proof as well as rail traffic are also illustrated. Copyright
© 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

1 INTRODUCTION

Since structural cables sustaining only tension force are the most effective use
of high stre,ngth steel, cable-supported bridges can advantageously span very
long distances (cf. Fig. 1), although low stiffness of the structures results in
various design problems including dynamic behaviours.
Although cable-supported bridges are classified into suspension and stayed
types and the structural principles of these two are different, as seen in Fig. 2,
they are common in consisting of cables, towers and girder. It is also notable
that the combination of these two systems has been occasionally attempted
or proposed, x'z The history of cable-supported bridges is very long because
the concept of supporting a bridge deck by cables might be easily thought of.
However, construction of reliable structures of these sorts had to wait until
the age of the industrial revolution when strong and homogeneous wrought
iron, and later steels, were manufactured.
Techniques of suspension bridge construction have made steady progress
despite frequent accidents, whereas early attempts to construct bridges as
cable-stayed systems were not successful probably due to lack of technical
and analytical understanding. The construction of modem cable-stayed bridges
was led by German engineers after the Second World War.

69
70 M. Ito

2000 l .................. .....................

in T h e 2 0 t h C e n t u r y

1500
suspension
E V !

J=

10001
I
•antilever truss steel stayed---~ i
R
I P

V ,~,-~ , .~,
500, ="" I;
steelAarch ~J.......
simpleiruss,, co ncr, etey.arch -- - - _-_
~" . ......I ,f..;~.:..
,, ............... i:
;. . . . . . . . . . . . ..: . . . . . . . . . . . . . ! .". .~j .:, ; j . .. ... .. ..... . . . . J ~--~" ............ I ...... ";
: ....... ~I~.~" ". ' PC girder:
............... ~" .......
'
J |Hi,=.,,.,,o....H,,n°=,i==,...Hn,,m
-- ~,:'41PC stayed '

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Year
Fig. 1. Maximum span length of bridges.

The state-of-the-art in modem cable-supported steel bridges, their design

problems and solutions will be reviewed in this paper. Because a large number
of these types of structures have been or are being built in Japan these days3-5
and the writer has been deeply involved in most of them, Japanese experiences
are largely referred to.

2 GENERAL FEATURES

2.1 Suspension bridge

It is accepted that for spanning 1 km or more the exclusive bridge type used
is the suspension bridge. Because almost all dead loads are carried by high-
Cable-supported steel bridges 71
SUSPENSION

P -Hpp
Hw+Hp~___.__~,~ ~' ~' t ~ ~ ~ .~ ~ ~ ~ ~ '~ '~ '~ ~ '~ '~k ~ Hw+Hp

CABLE-STAYED

Pl
., im

Fig. 2. Concept of cable-supported bridges.

strength cable, the cable profile can be assumed to be a parabola, the sag-span
ratio of which is usually between 1/8 and 1/12 from the economical viewpoint.
The number of spans is usually decided by geological conditions, but three-
span is mo~,;t popular for long span suspension bridges. Two or more than
four span cases are very rare because the longitudinal displacement of the
cable at the tower top significantly increases and the design of the overall
structure becomes difficult. One of the design solutions for a multi-span sus-
pension bridge is to make the intermediate towers rigid so as to anchor the
cable at their top. The stiffening girder of modem long span suspension
bridges is either truss or box-girder in steel, considering the aerodynamic stab-
ility. Unlike a cable-stayed bridge, prestressed concrete girders are rarely used.
72 M. Ito

Main cables of modern long span suspension bridges consist of parallel

wire strands having higher strength and higher modulus of elasticity than
twisted rope, which is only used for main cables of short span bridge and
hangers. The ends of a main cable are usually anchored to the anchor frame
embedded in gravity-type concrete block or tunnel. A self-anchored type
bridge where a main cable is anchored to the stiffening girder is only used
for short spans up to 300 m.
Towers are made of either steel or concrete, but those of long span bridges
in seismic areas are usually steel structures. Although rigid or rocking types
are seen in short span bridges, most suspension bridge towers are the flex-
ible type.

2.2 Cable-stayed bridge

The wide design possibility is available in cable-stayed bridges because of a

variety of alternatives for configuration, structural type and stiffness of each
element. A designer must determine, therefore, the most favourable structural
system, and in turn this is the reason that cable-stayed bridges can be applied
to not only long spans but also short spans such as pedestrian bridges in which
aesthetic preference is another motivation.
In contrast to a suspension bridge, unsymmetric layouts of spans are widely
acceptable in a cable-stayed bridge. Topographical conditions and longitudinal
clearance requirement at the site often call for the two-span bridge with
unequal span lengths. Peculiar design considerations are naturally required in
this case. Multi-span stayed bridges are also possible, although only a few in
prestressed concrete were built in the early days.
Combination of steel and concrete in a girder has been another feature
of some cable-stayed bridges. The use of the composite cross-section or the
continuous connection of the steel girder and prestressed concrete girder on
or near the intermediate support, respectively, is a recent trend in cable-
stayed bridges.

3 CABLES

3.1 Materials

Parallel wire cable has taken precedence over twisted wire rope on a main
cable of long span suspension bridges due to surpassed mechanical properties.
To form the parallel wire cable, the prefabricated strand (PPWS) method is
prevailing in Japan due to such advantages as considerable time savings at
the bridge site. PPWS is also frequently used on Japanese cable-stayed
Cable-supported steel bridges 73

bridges, while locked coil rope and spiral rope have been favoured in Germany
and the UK, respectively.
As far as the tensile strength of the wire is concerned, it took more than
half a century to increase from 1100 to 1600 N/mm 2 as seen in Fig. 3. Since
the ratio of cable weight to the total weight of the suspended structure
increases with span length, it is advantageous to use material with higher
tensile strength on the main cable. Thus, a further step to 1800 N/mm 2 was
made for the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge now under construction in Japan. In this
case of approximately a 2 km span length, the design of the connections
between cables and the stiffening truss could also be simplified by the use of
such high sl:rength cables.
PPWS of cable-stayed bridges is mostly protected by polyethylene tubes,
in which grouting cables have been standard practice until recently, when a
process for bonding the polyethylene casing directly to the wires was
developed. Although the colour of polyethylene for tubes is black, an
additional outer coating in coloured resin and a new paint capable of adhering
to polyethylene are now available to adapt to the aesthetic requirement of
the structure.

200'

Akashi
180 ................... ,~................. ! .................. i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "-'P-"

! [ i Kanmon /
/
i i G.Washin~6n -------=:~o o~-........
~-~160
M :a ~ : " ~ -New Port! Seto

~..0140 . . . . " - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
120'

110

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Year
Tensile Strength of Zn-galvanized Steel Wire for
Suspension Bridge Cable
F i g . 3. T e n s i l e s t r e n g t h o f steel w i r e for b r i d g e cable.
74 M. Ito

3.2 Cable layout

The inclined hanger system expected to raise the overall stiffness of a suspen-
sion bridge was adopted on a few British designs (Severn, Humber and the
first Bosporus), but has not yet gained ground elsewhere. It is frequent instead
to transmit a part of the deck loads along the bridge axis to the main cables
by means of center-tie or inclined central stays connecting the main cables
and the stiffening frame. Inclined stays are sometimes installed also at the
end of the stiffening girder. For the heavier suspension bridge, necked portions
are provided in the inclined stays to allow rupture of the connection at a centre
stay to carry the force associated with maximum bridge axis load.
The cable layout of cable-stayed bridges may be selected among a variety
of alternatives, and prestressing stay cables appropriately arranged allows the
peak bending moments in the girder to reduce. The use of a small number of
stay cable(s) with large diameter has shifted to a multi-stay suspension system
since the end of the 1960s. Although the fan arrangements are popular because
of the advantages in proportioning cable-stayed bridges, the harp-type cable
systems are still employed in some long span cases for either pleasing appear-
ance or smaller longitudinal displacement of the bridge deck.
In principle, a double-plane cable system should be used on very long span
cable-stayed bridges to ensure the torsional stiffness of the entire structure,
but the Tsurumi Bridge uses a single-plane cable system for the long span of
510 m to avoid the visual confusion of stay cables, as another identical bridge
is expected to be built closely parallel in the future.

3.3 Suppressing cable vibrations

With the increase in multi-stay types, a variety of wind-induced vibrations of

stay cables have been reported. Many of the cable-stayed bridges recently
built are therefore provided with some preventive measures. Examples are
cross-ties between cables, oil dampers or visco-elastic dampers attached to
the lower part of stay cables (Fig. 4), and so forth. The use of the Stockbridge-
type damper is not preferred from the aesthetic viewpoint. For aerodynamic
means, a polyethylene tube with a notched surface (Fig. 5) was developed on
the Higashi-Kobe Bridge.

4 TOWERS

4.1 Form of towers

The tower form of cable-supported bridges may represent the identity of the
bridge itself. Although there is not a wide choice in the tower shape of a
Cable-supported steel bridges 75

Fig. 4. Damper for stay cable.

suspension bridge because the tower basically consists of two shafts, designers
have modified tower shapes by the addition and position of horizontal struts,
bracings and ornaments, or recently by rounding the comers of a shaft and
reducing bolted joints.
On the other hand, wider choice is available on the tower form of a cable-
stayed bridge. Development of bending moments in pylons was prevented in
earlier bridges by the use of rocker or sliding saddles and pinned tower feet,
but those of recent bridges except for very short spans are mostly made inte-
gral with the girder or the pier. An inverse Y-shape tower is advantageous to
give higher 1Lorsional stiffness to the bridge deck. The tower forms of cable-
stayed bridges in general have distinctive characters, attaining increasing lev-
els of refinement and rationality as time passes.
76 M. Ito

Fig. 5. Stay cable for the Higashi-Kobe Bridge.

4.2 Suppression of wind-induced vibrations

With increasing slenderness of the pylons, some of them have been found
susceptible to wind-induced vibrations even after the completion of the bridge.
In particular, the possibility of vortex excitation or galloping in the plane
perpendicular to the bridge axis may exist due to very weak constraints of
stay cables in this direction. Accordingly, the tuned mass damper devices
equipped inside the tower shafts are left as permanent fixtures on some
bridges, and the aerodynamic means are fitted to towers (e.g. Fig. 6) in some
other cases.
Although the stiffness of suspension bridge towers after cable erection is
more rigid, the mechanical dampers will be installed in the towers of the
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge because of its unusual height of 283 m.

5 GIRDERS

5.1 Cross sections

Design of the stiffening girder of a suspension bridge is mainly governed by

stiffness and traffic requirement as well as by aerodynamic stability. The
Cable-supported steel bridges 77

Fig. 6. Tower of the Katsushika Harp Bridge.

required stiffness is provided with not only the rigidities of the stiffening
frame itself but also the cable tension due to dead load. 6 The increase in
torsional stiffness is very effective at augmenting the critical wind speed of
divergent-amplitude flutter which often dominates the design of long span
suspension bridges. Therefore, selecting an aerodynamically stable cross sec-
tion usually brings about the most economic design. Use of either streamlined
box sectio~L or the section with openings such as a latticed truss will meet
these requirements. Furthermore, it is intended that the deck-type stiffening
truss of a long span suspension bridge is usually provided with openings on
the roadway including open gratings as well as both upper and lower lateral
bracings to constitute closed box effects structurally.
In the case of cable-stayed bridges, the solid-web girders precede the truss
girders exc,ept for double deck designs for both structural and aesthetic
reasons. These girders are subjected to not only shear forces, bending and
torsional moments but also axial forces. However, the closer spacing of cables
in a multi-stay system allows a more slender bridge deck. Although the stab-
ility of the girder as a beam-column is generally not a serious problem owing
to elastic and almost continuous support by stay cables in this case, it must
be checked for very long span bridges. 7
As for the solid-web cross sections of cable-stayed bridge girders, there
seems to be two ways at the moment. One is single or double boxes as seen
78 M. Ito

in many long span cases. Orthotropic steel plate deck is incorporated with the
girder, and the cross sectional shape is usually trapezoidal or hexagonal,
mainly for aerodynamic reasons. Another way is the use of shallow-plated
edge girders connected with cross girders. The thrust forces from stay cables
can be taken mainly by the slab. For wider bridges and longer span lengths
than 500 m, Leonhardt & Zeller 8 suggest the use of similar cross sections of
all steel structures with an orthotropic steel deck, and that no box girder is
needed and simple edge beams are sufficient.
The use of a composite girder on cable-stayed bridges in North America
and China may be categorized into the latter. Prefabricated or in-situ concrete
slabs are connected with longitudinal edge girders and cross beams in steel
by studs. The Yangpu Bridge in Shanghai, with a long main span of 602 m,
is provided with double-web edge girders. However, a box girder with high
torsional rigidity should be used when the stay cables are arranged in a single
plane along the centre line of the bridge deck.
When the ratio of side span to main span length is small, the use of steel
girders in the main span and continuously extended concrete girders in the
side spans is one of the solutions. If the situation allows, it is advantageous
to provide intermediate supports for the side span girders in this case.
Most of the truss girders for cable-stayed bridges are employed in double-
deck cases, as exemplified in recent Japanese designs. Among them, Hitsuishi-
jima and Iwakurojima bridges (Fig. 7) were designed to carry four lanes of

Fig. 7. The Hitsuishijimaand Iwakurojimabridges.

Cable-supported steel bridges 79

roadway traffic on the upper deck and ordinary type railway tracks as well
as double Shinkansen rail tracks on the lower deck. Yokohama Bay Bridge
which will carry six lanes of roadway traffic on the respective decks (Fig. 8)
is unique in that the upper chord of its truss is a shallow box section stiffening
the girder system and concealing power and communication cables. The truss
girder of tlae Higashi-Kobe Bridge is shallow and of Warren type without
vertical members, so it appears slender for double-deck trusses.

5.2 Vertical supports of girder

The design of vertical supports of the girder of a cable-supported bridge is

made in connection with the effects of earthquake and temperature change
and the resultant movement of the girder. On long span suspension bridges,
the tower link in tension is usually used to allow the girder to move freely

Fig. 8. Truss girder of the Yokohama Bay Bridge.

80 M. Ito

in the longitudinal direction, although the compression rocker-type supports

are employed on the early bridges or on the bridge end of side spans.
On the other hand, a variety of supporting conditions have been adopted
in modern cable-stayed bridges 9 because the selection of the supporting con-
ditions for longitudinal movement is rather adaptable owing to the existence
of stay cables and flexible towers. Less constraint in the bridge axis direction
yields longer natural periods of the corresponding motion, and thus reduces
the seismic inertia forces. However, less constraint on the longitudinal move-
ment of the girder may cause larger bending moment in the towers and larger
displacement of the girder. The effect of temperature change should be also
taken into consideration. Figure 9 illustrates the potential combinations of sup-
porting conditions for three span cases which are most prevalent in long span
cable-stayed bridges. The advantages and limitations of the respective types
are discussed in the following.
Types (a) or (e), where one support is made as a fixed hinge and all other
supports are longitudinally movable, have been widely used for bridges with
medium or short span length because temperature effects are released and the
seismic force applied to the substructure is relatively small. With increasing
span length, design and construction of the pier fixed to the girder become
difficult due to the increase of seismic reaction. The supporting condition (e)
has been preferred to (a) in Japanese bridges because the expansion of the
girder end under temperature change is smaller and the size of the tower
foundation is relatively large for reasons other than earthquake effect. The
supporting condition (a) may, however, be preferable when the height of the
tower below the bridge deck is large and the end support is on the abutment.
When large clearance height is required, the bridge deck is often provided
with fixed hinges at both flexible towers as in (c) or is rigidly connected to
these towers. Temperature stresses can be released owing to the flexibility of
the towers, and seismic reactions can be sustained by both tower piers. Some
difficulties may arise, however, in giving the towers both the flexibility to
absorb deformation of the girder due to temperature change and the stiffness
to cope with seismic effects. The additional thrust induced in the girder should
be also borne in mind in this case.
Recently, prevalent in long span cable-stayed steel bridges in Japan are the
various devices connecting the girder elastically with towers or abutments
[(b), (d) or (h) in Fig. 9]. On Meikoh-Nishi and some other bridges, elastic
restraint was provided by attaching horizontal cables between the girder and
the tower, while large belleville springs were fitted to the rocker bearings at
each end pier of the Hitsuishijima and Iwakurojima bridges. The purpose of
these devices is to reduce and distribute seismic forces, to control the longi-
tudinal movement of the girder and also to find a compromise with tempera-
ture effect.
Cable-supported steel bridges 81

Type of
supporting
condition

(a) Fixed at one end

of girder

(b) Elastlcally fixed

at each end of
girder

(c) Fixed at tower

piers

(d) Elastlcally fixed

at tower piers

(e) Fixed at one

tower p i e r

(r) Hovable at all

supports

(g) Floating

(h)
¥1oatlng but
elastlea1.1y
constrained at
t o w e r piers

(i)
(Elastlcally)fixed
at a l l supports

(J) ~ ~ - - Fixed outside

Fig. 9. Examplesof different supporting conditions.

82 M. Ito

The advantage of all movable support types, (f) and (g) in Fig. 9, is to
reduce the seismic inertia force of the girder by attaining very long natural
periods of longitudinal sway motion. The so-called floating type (g) where
vertical support at the tower is omitted leads to a noticeable reduction of the
bending moment in the girder at the towers. However, care should be given
to excessive displacement of the girder and proneness of instability of the
towers. On Higashi-Kobe Bridge, newly developed vane-type dampers
(Fig. 10) were installed on the end piers as stopping and damping devices
against unexpectedly severe earthquakes. The use of short tower links in the
Yokohama Bay Bridge or thick rubber shoes on the side span of the Ikuchi
Bridge was also aimed at optimizing seismic design under the given con-
ditions.

Direction ol movemenl
Jl IL
o
p,.

I
-T-

II I

Reverse slop valve

Oillevelgauge Vane section 8,o.
Seal

Low-viscosity oil
Chrilice
t/)

I)1

1,520
8
!.850

Fig. 10. Vane-type damper.

Cable-supported steel bridges 83

5.3 Aerodynamic appendages

In addition to the consideration of the basic cross-sectional shape of bridge

decks mentioned in Section 5.1, various aerodynamic appendages have been
used on tile girders of cable-supported bridges when the substantial change
of the basic cross-sectional type is not allowed for design reasons. ~° Most
of these aerodynamic appendages are categorized as unidirectional nearwake
stabilizers,, which prevent interaction of entrainment layers and affect separ-
ation lines and/or separated shear flows. Examples are fairings (triangular or
semicircular), splitter plates, flaps, corner deflectors and so forth. Sometimes
the intermittent arrangement of the appendages is effective because of the
reduction of the spanwise correlation of the exciting force.
Aerodynamic appendages are used even on trussed girders. Triangular fair-
ings were attached to the side faces of the shallow upper box chord in Yoko-
hama Bay Bridge, as seen in Fig. 8. On Ohnaruto and Akashi-Kaikyo suspen-
sion bridges, vertical baffle plates are fitted into the upper part of the stiffening
truss along the central axis of the bridge.
When the aerodynamic appendages are contemplated, attention must be paid
to the trade-off with the possibility of increasing cross-wind turbulence
response and spoiling the appearance of the structure. It should be also borne
in mind that the existence of solid handrails, thick curb stones or rails for
inspections may affect the aerodynamic stability of the structure.

5.4 Structures for rail traffic

The design of flexible cable-supported bridges for rail traffic should be made
to satisfy the safety and serviceability of train operation on these rather
deformable structures as well as the durability of the structure subjected to
repeated heavy loading. Accordingly, some new techniques were developed
on the Seto Bridges in Japan. Firstly, an innovative track structure system
was placed between the tracks on the stiffening truss and those on the fixed
abutment. This system aims to allow for expansion and contraction, as well
as inclination change due to live loading, which occurs at the end of the
stiffening .girder. A set of the systems consists of four small beams with differ-
ent functions. Similar track systems were later employed on the Tsin Ma
suspension bridge in Hong Kong.
Secondly, fatigue design for high strength steels used in the stiffening truss
was established on the basis of large-scale fatigue tests, and careful controls
on welding procedures were carried out. Finally, the dynamic magnification
due to high speed running of trains was incorporated in the appropriate impact
factor specified in the design code.
84 M. Ito

6 FUTURE OF CABLE-SUSPENDED BRIDGES

As mentioned earlier, cable-suspended bridges are the most feasible when a

very long span length is required, and they are still developing. Suspension
bridges longer than the Akashi are being planned in Europe and Japan.
The theoretical limit of a suspension span is less than the length at which
main cables can sustain only their own weight. It would be roughly 4 km
even if steel wire with higher strength was developed. When some composite
materials whose strength to weight ratio is higher can be applied, this length
limit may be extended. It is considered, however, that the practical span limit
will be dominated by the wind resistance, the feasibility of erection and, of
course, economical feasibility.

REFERENCES

1. Dischinger, F., H~ingebrticken ftir schwerste Verkerlasten. Der Bauingenieur,

24 (1949).
2. Gimsing, N. J., Cable-supported Bridges--Concept and Design. John Wiley &
Sons, 1983, Chapters 1 and 3.
3. Burden, A. R., Modem Japanese suspension bridge design. Proc. ICE, Part 1,
90 (1991) 157-177.
4. Burden, A. R., Japanese cable-stayed bridge design. Proc. ICE, Part 1, 90 (1991)
1021-1051.
5. Ito, M., Long span steel bridges in Japan. Symp. Rep. on Bridges: Interaction
between Construction Technology and Design. IABSE, 1991, pp. 405--416.
6. Yoneda, M. & Ito, M., Effects of dead weight on aerodynamic stability of long-
span suspension bridges. Struct. Engng/Earthquake Engng, JSCE, 3-1 (1986)
123-133.
7. Guidelines for the Design of Cable-Stayed Bridges. ASCE, 1992, Chapter 3.
8. Leonhardt, F. & Zeller, W., Past, present and future of cable-stayed bridges. In
Cable-stayed Bridge--Recent Developments and their Future, eds M. Ito et al.
Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991, pp. 1-34.
9. Ito, M., Supporting devices of long span cable-stayed bridge girder. In Innovative
Large Span Structures, eds N.K. Srivastava et al. CSCE, Montreal, 1992, Vol.
1, pp. 255-266.
10. Ito, M., Measures against wind-induced vibrations of steel bridges. In Bridges
and Transmission Line Structures ed. L. Tall. ASCE, New York, 1987,
pp. 1029-1139.