Suspension Bridge Deck

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Steel Deck Design Standards Eurocodes

EN 1991-1-1: Actions on Structures - General Actions
EN 1991-1-4: Actions on Structures - Wind Actions
EN 1991-1-5: Actions on Structures - Thermal Actions
EN 1991-1-7: Actions on Structures - Accidental Actions
EN 1991-2: Actions on Structures - Traffic Loads on Bridges
EN 1993-1-1: Design of Steel Structures - General Rules
EN 1993-1-5: Design of Steel Structures - Plated structures without transverse loading
EN 1993-1-7: Design of Steel Structures - Plated structures with out-of-plane loading
EN 1993-1-8: Design of Steel Structures - Joints
EN 1993-1-9: Design of Steel Structures - Fatigue
EN 1993-1-10: Design of Steel Structures - Material toughness
EN 1993-1-11: Design of Steel Structures - Tension members
EN 1993-2: Design of Steel Structures - Bridges
Each document is accompanied by a National Annex

British Standards

BS 499: Welding terms and symbols
BS 4395: Specification for high strength friction grip bolts and associated nuts and washers for structural engineering metric series
BS 5400 Part 2: Specification for Loads
BS 5400 Part 3: Code of Practice for the Design of Steel Bridges
BS 5400 Part 10: Code of Practice for Fatigue
BS EN 10025 Parts 1 to 6: Hot rolled products of structural steels

Design Manual for Roads and Bridges

BA9: Use of BS5400 Part 10
BD13: Design of Steel Bridges
BD37: Loads for Highway Bridges
BA53: Bracing Systems for the Use of U-Frames in Steel Highway Bridges

Suspension Bridges

Suspension bridges are used for bridge spans in excess of 350m.

Some of the world's longest bridge main spans are:

Bridge Name (Country)

Main Span

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (Japan)

1990m

Xihoumen Bridge (China)

1650m

Great Belt Bridge (Denmark)

1624m

Runyang Bridge (China)

1490m

Humber Bridge (UK)

1410m

Jiangyin Suspension Bridge (China)

1385m

Tsing Ma (Hong Kong)

1377m

Verrazano Narrows (USA)

1298m

Golden Gate (USA)

1280m

Mackinac (USA)

1158m

Bosporus (Turkey)

1074m

George Washington (USA)

1067m

Salazar (Portugal)

1013m

Forth (UK)

1006m

Severn (UK)

988m

Tacoma Narrows (USA)

853m

Plans had been approved to build a 3300m span suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, but the scheme was mothballed. However the Government, under Silvio Berlusconi, indicated that they wanted to resurrect the project; feasility studies are ongoing.

A number of early suspension bridges were designed without the appreciation of wind effects. Large deflections were developed in the flexible decks and wind loading created unstable oscillations. The problem was largely solved by using inclined hangers.
The suspension bridge is essentially a catenary cable prestressed by dead weight. The cables are guided over the support towers to ground anchors. The stiffened deck is supported mainly by vertical or inclined hangers.

Bridge Components | Choice of Deck