Since December 2021, a network arch bridge of 124-meter span is in operation for the Public City Train Operator in Stuttgart (Fig. 1). The train line connects the main station with the airport and the bridge crosses ten lanes of the highway A8. The fatigue life requirements for the inclined hangers of this type of bridge are very high. The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) for all hangers allows a reduction of the cross section of the hangers to one fourth of an equivalent steel cross section. Furthermore, the Eigen frequencies of the CFRP hangers increase significantly due to the relatively high pre-stress and the small dead load. This helps to reduce wind induced vibrations. Finally, the use of CFRP for the hangers is less expensive and more sustainable than of steel and it gives more freedom for an aesthetic arrangement of the network. This paper will describe in detail the design, production, life cycle analyses and installation of the CFRP hangers [1].

Reference

[1] Urs O. Meier, Andreas U. Winistörfer, Lorenz Haspel, SAMPE Journal, 2021, 57, 22-30.