Comparative Analysis of Cable Stayed Bridges with CFRP and UHPC Concrete Deck Under Wind Load
Diya Sadath Puthiyaveettil* and Beena BR
Federal Institute of Science and Technology, Angamaly, India
*Corresponding Author: Diya Sadath Puthiyaveettil, Federal Institute of Science and Technology, Angamaly, India.
Published: April 16, 2025
Abstract
Cable-stayed bridges are well-known for their efficient structural design, which utilises cables to support the bridge deck. It consists of one or more towers (or pylons) from which the bridge deck is supported by cables. The compressive force created by the tensile pressure in the cable wires has an impact on the bridge deck in addition to the direct traffic load. The weight of the deck is supported by a series of inclined cables, which are in tension that go directly to one or more vertical towers of a cable-stayed bridge. Towers transmit forces from cables to foundation by axial compression. Normally, cable-stayed bridges are constructed with RCC around 2000m span and beyond which steel bridges are preferred. In this study, the suitability of RCC strengthened with CFRP and UHPC materials as an alternative for RCC in cable-stayed bridges is investigated. The benefits of CFRP, such as high strength-to-weight ratio and flexibility, as well as those of UHPC, such as stronger compressive strength, durability, and low maintenance, make it a preferable choice to RCC. The performance of above bridges under dead and wind loads is evaluated using the finite element analysis software SAP2000. While applying the wind load, crucial parameters such wind speed and its direction are taken into account. The structural responses such as deflection, bending moment and shear force values gives a good comparison among these three bridge deck materials.
Keywords: Cable stayed bridge; UHPC; CFRP; Wind Load
.