engleski

Construction of steel arch bridges

We are recently witnessing steel arch bridges revival, most prominently in China with the completion of the Chaotianmen Yangtze River Bridge of 552 m span and the Lu Pu Bridge of 550 m span, setting new world records. In the last few decades the rediscovery of steel arch bridges is also evident in Europe in a wide variety of architectural forms and structural solutions. They have become very popular and have been built in railway lines, on roads and highways and for footbridges. The main reasons for that are modern steel fabrication, assembly and erection methods, but the influence of architects cannot be disregarded. The structural advantages of steel arches include their high strength, durability, and smaller weight, hence smaller foundations and lower erection costs. Steel arch bridges are indispensable for railway crossings, because of their inherent stiffness, much larger than that of cable-stayed bridges. Recently built railway steel arch bridges in Europe are predominantly of the through tied type, because of their location across large rivers in low terrain. The other major application is for footbridges, in which advantages of steel as structural material may be effectively applied to design unique and aesthetically most pleasing structures. The mostly applied construction procedure for steel arch bridges is cantilevering, used in various alternatives since 19th century, with the development basically only in auxiliary structures and erection equipment. Recent European through tied arches across rivers have predominantly been assembled on the shore and erected by utilizing floating platforms. Some interesting examples of construction of steel arch bridges, built in the last ninety years, are described in detail in the paper.

arch bridge; structural steel; world-record spans; construction methods

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