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Tiedarchbridges
FromSteelconstruction.info
Masonryarchbridges,whichhaveaverylonghistory,andmorerecentlandmarkbridges,suchasSydneyHarbourBridge
inAustraliaandtheTyneBridgeinEngland,areallthrustarchesandrelyonhorizontalrestraintfromthefoundations.In
manycases,suchexternalrestraintisnotfeasibleorpracticalbutitcanbereplacedbyatiebetweentheendsofthearch,
thuscreatingatiedarch.Thisarticledescribesthefeaturesandbehaviouroftiedarchstructures.

Contents
1Howatiedarchworks
1.1Overallstructural
behaviour
1.2Articulation
2Relatedstructuralforms
3SpanRange
4Aesthetics
5Componentsandchoiceof
materials
6Globaldesign
6.1ArchShape
6.2Influencelines
7Loading
8Analysis
9DetailDesign
9.1Arch/tieconnection
9.2Hangers
9.3Splices
9.4Concretedeck
9.5DurableDesignand
Maintenance
10FabricationandErection
10.1Precamber
10.2Fabrication
10.3Erection
11Casestudies
12References
13Resources
14Seealso

Uskbridge,Newport(http://www.steelconstruction.org/resources/design
awards/2005/award/riveruskcrossingnewportsoutherndistributorroad.html)
(ImagecourtesyofMabeyBridgeLtd.)

Howatiedarchworks
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Thrustarchesrelyonhorizontalrestraintfromthe
foundations,asshownright.Theverticalandhorizontal
reactionsresolveintoaforcealongthearchmembers
thehorizontalcomponentisofsignificantmagnitude.
Thiswillbethemostsatisfactorysolutionwhenthe
archbearsontogoodfoundationmaterialsuchas
competentrock.Theendsofthearchesarenormally
pinned.However,rockisnotalwaysavailableandsoa
thrustarchwillnotbethemosteconomicsolutionat
theselocations,asthehorizontalreactionsleadtoheavy
uneconomicfoundations.

Reactionsforathrustarchbridge

Thetiedarchoffersasolutionwhenitcanbearranged
thatthedeckisatsuchalevelthatitcancarrythe
horizontalforceasatiemember,asshownbelow.
Thetiedarchissometimesreferredtoasabowstring
arch.
Bytakingthearchthrustthroughthetiemember,the
primaryrequirementforthesubstructurereducesto
Tiedarch
onlycarryingverticalloads.Itcanbeseenthatoneend
willstillrequirealongitudinalrestrainttocarrywind,
braking,accelerationandskiddingforces,andthattheotherendispermittedtomovelongitudinally.

Overallstructuralbehaviour
Lookingatthediagramabove,itcanbeseenthatatiedarchisreallyjustasimplysupportedbeam.Thearchisheld
longitudinallyatoneend,withtheotherendfreetoexpandorcontractundervaryingtemperatures.
Ifaloadisplacedonthedeck,itistransferredtothearchviathehangers,astheglobalstiffnessofthearchisgreaterthan
thebendingstiffnessofthedeck.Thiscreatesthrustinthearch,whichisbalancedbytensioninthetiebeam.Thearchwill
deformdownwards,anditwilltrytospreaditsfeet,butthisislimitedbyhavingtostretchthetiebeam.Hencetherewill
beanoutwardmovementatthefreeend.

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Structuralbehaviouroftiedarch

Articulation
Thedeckisconventionallyarticulatedusingtheprinciplesmentionedabove.Anexampleisgiveninthefigurebelow.In
thiscasegloballongitudinalloadsonthebridgearesharedbetweenbothbearingsatthefixedend.

Articulationforatiedarchbridge
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Relatedstructuralforms
Mosttiedarchbridgeshaveverticalhangers,althoughinsomebridgesthehangersarearrangedtocrisscross.Inthiscase,
aswiththetiedarchwithverticalhangers,thehangerscanonlyactintension,butthecrisscrossedhangerswilltransfer
someglobalshearalongthespan.Ifthehangersareincreasedinsize,andaretriangulated,thenthetiedarchbecomesa
bowstringtruss.Thereisfullsheartransferthroughthetriangulatedwebmembers.

Tiedarchwithcrosshangers

Bowstringtruss

SpanRange
Asaroughguide,typicalspansfortiedarchescarryinghighwaysisintherange75mto250m.Forrailways,therange
wouldbe50mto200m.Asalways,thereareexceptionstotheserules.

Aesthetics
Thetiedarchformisonethatisopentomanyinterpretations,andwithcarefulconceptualimaginationandattentionto
detailingcanproducestunningandbeautifulstructures.Tiedarchbridgescanbecreatedwithasinglearchmember,two
independentarchesortwoarchesbracedtogether,Inthelattercase,amoregracefulbridgecanoftenbecreatedbyleaning
thearchestowardseachotherandthishasthestructuraladvantageofreducingthespanoftheinterarchbracing.

Singlearchmember
Barquetta,Seville

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Independentarches
ToomeBypass,NorthernIreland

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Bracedtiedarches

Withinclinedarchesforroadbridges,careneedstobetakentoensurethatthereissufficientheadroombetweenthe
carriagewayandthearchandthismayleadtoaslightlywiderstructure.

Inclinedarches
KoickBridge,Bratislava

Crosssectionthroughtiedarchwithinclinedarchplanes

ThelimitsforclearancegaugearedefinedbythehighwayauthorityforhighwaybridgesthisisgiveninTD27/05[1].
Additionally,wheretheclearanceislessthanagivenlimit,accidentalactionsduetovehicularcollisionmayneedtobe
consideredindesign,AccordingtotheNationalAnnextoBSEN199117[2],impactforcemustbeconsideredifthe
clearanceislessthan5.7m.Above5.7m,noimpactforcesneedbeconsidered.
Notethathismeasurednormaltotheroadsurface.
However,giventhelackofredundancy,thedesignershouldalsoconsidertherobustnessofthedesignintheeventofa
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vehicleimpact,butthisislikelytobeimportantforsmallerspanswherethearchribwillbeofsmallproportions.
Forlongerspans(orwherethearchesaretall)itmaybefeasiblefortheleanofthearchestobesuchthattheymergeinto
oneelement.

Componentsandchoiceofmaterials
Thearchisprimarilyacompression
memberandsoaclosedboxsectionwill
bethemostefficient.Thereisachoice
ofwhetherthearchshouldbestiffened
longitudinallyornot.Thebalancetobe
consideredisonebetweenthelossof
efficiencywhenusingthinplates(b/t
>24),andtheadditionalfabricationcost
ofstiffenedpanels.
Tominimisefutureinternal
maintenance,archesarefrequently
fabricatedfromweatheringsteel,
paintingtheexterior,butleavingthe
interiorunpainted.
Comparisonofstiffenedandunstiffenedarchsections

Bracingbetweenthearchescantakea
numberofforms,andcanevenbe
omittedinsmalltomediumspans.Tubesarecommonlyused,andaregenerallytoosmallformanaccess.Theycaneither
besealed,orventedintothearchboxeswithprovisionfordrainage.Notethathotrolledhollowsectionsarenotavailable
inweatheringsteel.
Formsofarchbracing

Xbraced

Rigidlyconnectedcross
beam

Kbraced

Unbracedarches

Thetieisprimarilyintension,andsocanbeavarietyofshapes.OftenanIsectionischosenasbeingmosteconomic,
butthiscomplicatestheconnectionwiththebaseofthearch.Anormalcarbonsteelwouldusuallybeselectedforthetie
beam.
Tiebeams

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Isectiontiebeam

TiedarchbridgesSteelconstruction.info

Boxsectiontiebeam(forbridgewithinclinedhanger
planes)

Thereisawidechoiceforhangers.Thesimplestistheroundbar,suchastheMacalloysystem.Barsareavailableupto
100mmdiameter.However,althoughtheyaremadefromaqualitysteel,thisisofamuchlowerstrengththanthecable
options,andsohangersmustbeprovidedatclosercentres.Themostcompactchoiceistouseeitherrope,spiralstrandor
lockedcoilstrand.Otherwisethereareanumberofproprietarysystemsthatareusedforcablestayedbridgesthatcanbe
readilyadaptedforarches.
Thebridgedeckcanbeasteelorthotropicdeckorconcrete.Generallythesimplestmeansofsupportfortheseisaladder
deckwithcrossgirders.Themainissuewithconcreteistheproblemofitinteractingwiththetensiondevelopedinthetie
beams.Thisisdiscussedfurtherbelow.

Orthotropicsteeldeckforatiedarch
bridge

Orthotropicsteeldeckforatiedarch
bridge

Concretedeck(precastunitsonladder
deck,beforeinsituconcreting)

Globaldesign
ArchShape
Aparabolicarchisthebestshapeforstructuralefficiencybecause,underuniformloadthereshouldjustbeaxialforcesin
thearchmembers.However,thepresenceofthetiebeamcontributesstiffnesstothesystemandthismeansmeansthat
therearesomemoments,especiallyaroundthearchspringings.Acirculararchwillalwayshavegreaterbendingmoments
inthearchmembers.

Influencelines
Althoughthetiedarchisessentiallyjustasimplespan,theinfluencelinesofsomeoftheelementsareworthexamining.It
isobviousthatmaximumaxialforcesaregeneratedwhenthewholespanisloaded.However,maximumbendingwill
occurwithjustpartofthespanloaded.Atypicalinfluencelineforbendinginthearchisgivenbelowleft.Notethatthere
arebothpositiveandnegativeparts.Theinfluencelineforaverticalhangerusuallycomprisesasinglepositivepeakas
shownbelowright.
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Influencelines

Influencelineforaxialforceinarchmember

Influencelineforforceinahanger

Loading
Deadloadeffectswillnormallycomprisealargeproportionofthedesignstressesformainelements,anditbecomesvery
importanttoallowfullyfortheerectionmethod.Thisparticularlyappliestobendinginthearchforthetiebeam,the
lockedinbendingmomentcanbecontrolledbyadjustingthehangerlengths.
Theapplicationoftrafficloadisstraightforward,buttherewillbeavarietyofloadedlengthsandpositionsoftandemaxles
andspecialvehiclesmustbechosentosuittheinfluencelines.
Windloadingonthearchisasignificanteffectandisusuallycriticalfordesignoftheinterarchbracing.Aerodynamic
instabilitiesareunlikelytobeaproblemduetotheinherentstiffnessandhighnaturalfrequencyofthearch.However,for
longerspansandwhenindoubt,windtunneltestsshouldbeconsidered.
Dependingonthetypeandnatureofbarriersbetweenthehighwayandhangers,itmaybenecessarytodesignthebridge
fortheaccidentallossofahanger.Thecriterionistopreventprogressivecollapseofthewholespan.Thisisanaccidental
designsituationandthusisnormallyconsideredwithcharacteristicvaluesofpermanentandvariableloads.However,it
willbenecessarytoallowfortheroutinereplacementofhangers.Asthiswillbeaplannedaction,itisusuallypossibleto
reducetrafficloadforthistransientdesignsituationthroughtrafficmanagement(e.g.noabnormalloads,contraflowon
oppositecarriageway).

Analysis
Ingeneral,alinearelasticanalysisissufficientforallthedesign,withthepossibleexceptionoftheresistanceofthearchto
lateralbuckling.Ifthearchesarefullybracedtogether,thentherulesforbucklingresistanceofmembersbetweenrestraints
canbeappliedisastraightforwardmanner.Ifalesscompletesystemisenvisaged,thenageometricnonlinearbucklingor
eigenvalueanalysiswillberequiredtoestablishelasticcriticalbucklingvaluesandmodes.Rulesfordetermining
slendernesstooutofplanebucklingaregiveninAnnexDofBSEN19932[3].

DetailDesign
Arch/tieconnection
Thisislikelytobethemostcomplexareaforfabrication,particularlyifthearchisinclined.Thearrangementofplatingis
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generallyintuitiveandconfirmedbysomelocalfiniteelementmodelling.Inadditiontodealingwithforceandmoment
transfer,carefulconsiderationmustbegiventohowthepiecescanbefabricated,soastoachieveanefficient,butcost
effectivesolution.

Hangers
DesignrulesfortensioncomponentsaregiveninBSEN1993111[4].Asaruleofthumb,itisconvenienttosizethe
cablesunderSLSloading,limitingtensilestressesto45%ofbreakingload.Proprietarysystemmanufacturerscanprovide
dataonvariousformsofrope,strandandbar.
Underaccidentallossofahanger,adjacentremaininghangersarepermittedtoworkathigherstresslevels.Cable
anchorages(socketsetc)andtheirfixingsareusuallysizedsuchthattheirstrengthexceedsthebreakingloadofthecable.
Localsteelworkdetailsshouldbedesignedwithrobustnessinmind.
Fatigueloadingwillneedtobeconsideredusingdatafrommanufacturerstests.
Hangerscanbeeitherterminatedinsidethearchorbelowit.Thisisapreferencedecisionasthereareprosandconsfor
both.Internalconnectionswillbeneatest,butrequiresinstallationandsubsequentinspectionandmaintenanceinsidea
confinedspace(assumingitislargeenoughtoenter).Externalconnectionswillrequirespecialistaccessequipmentsuchas
cherrypickers,useofwhichmayinvolveunacceptabledisruptiontotraffic.
Hangersmustbeadjustabletoallowforgeometricaltolerancesbetweenarchandtie,andforinitialstressingand
subsequentadjustment.Allowancemayneedtobemadeforspacetoaccommodate,andreactionsfrom,jacking
equipment.
Hangerconnection(internal)

Hangerconnection(external)

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Splices
Splicesinthearchmayofcoursebemadebyeitherboltingorwelding.IntheUKboltingisfavouredforsitesplicesin
normalbridgework.However,weldingshouldalsobeconsideredonvisualgroundsforarchsplices.Forthetiebeam,
weldingisefficientintermsofdesignasthereisnolossinsectionfromboltholes.
Boltedsplicesinarchmembers

Concretedeck
Intheadditiontotheusualrequirementsfordesigningaconcretedeck,itisalsonecessarytoconsiderthepotentialhigh
tensileforces(andassociatedhightensilestrains)inthetiebeamandtheconcretedeck.Theissuesthatariseare:
Hightensilestrainsleadingtocrackingofconcrete
Needforhighlevelofshearconnectionbetweensteelandconcrete
Uncertaintyofloadsharingoftieforcebetweentiebeamandconcrete/reinforcement
Someusefulguidanceonthissubjectisavailable[5].Theconstructionsequenceofthewholebridgeandespeciallythe
concretedeckneedscarefulconsiderationtoensurecompatibilitywithdesignassumptions.Aconcretedeckmayneedto
becastinlongitudinalstripstoavoidcriticalhalfspanloadingcases.Tominimisetheabovedifficultiesprecastconcrete
panelsmaybeused,stitchingthemtogetheroncetheyhaveallbeeninstalled.Nevertheless,carefuldetailingwillbe
requiredtoproduceatroublefreedesign.

DurableDesignandMaintenance
Modernpaintsystemsareverydurableandcanhavealonglife.Withlargeareasofsteellocatedabovethedeck,thought
mustbegivenastohowrainfallwillrunoffandwhereitmaycollect.Forexample,rainwillrundownhangersandmay
collectatsocketmouths.Evenifneoprenegaitersareprovidedtokeepwaterout,drainagepathsmustbeprovidedto
preventaccumulationofwater.
Theuseofweatheringsteelforboxelementsisausefulmeasure,withbenefitsforhealthandsafety,asnopaintingwillbe
requiredinternally.Ifboxelementsarelargeenoughtopermitaccess,thenmanholesmustbeprovided.Theseneedtobe
sizedtopermitevacuationofsomeoneonastretcherthoseusedforpotholingrescuearethemostcompact.
Accesswithinanarchcanbeproblematicduetotheconstantlychangingangle,internalstiffeners,andpossiblyhanger
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terminations.Optionsavailableincludestepirons,grabrails,highfrictionwalkingsurfaceandfallarrestlines.

FabricationandErection
Precamber
Inanormalbeamandslabbridge,precamber(allowanceforpermanentdeformation)isappliedtothesteelbeamstoshape
themsuchthatwhenfulldeadloadisappliedtheirdeflectedshapeistheintendedprofile.Thisisachievedbycuttingthe
webplateaccordinglytodealwiththesebendingeffects.
Thesituationislikelytobemorecomplicatedinatiedarch.Forexample,theelasticstretchofthetiebeamduring
constructionneedstobeaccountedforthiscanbeachievedbyfabricatingitshortbytheappropriateamount.Ina200m
spanbridgethismayamounttosome125mm.However,asitispossiblethroughhangeradjustmenttominimisedeadload
moments,itisnotnecessarytoapplyanyprecamberagainstdeadloadmoments.
Thearchmaypresentmanymorechallenges,whichwillbestronglyinfluencedbytheerectionprocedure.Ifsizeable
lengthsareliftedandjoinedtoothersections,theirselfweightdeflectionmaybesignificant.The60mlongcentralsection
oftheUskBridgedeflectedabout250mmwhenitwasliftedandsupportedforsplicingbyitsends.Alsoitsendskicked
outbysome40mm.Otherpartsoftheerectionsequencewillcontributedeflectionstothewholearch,suchasinstallation
ofhangers,deckconcrete,finishesetc.Ifthearchisinclined,theninplaneandoutofplanecomponentswillneedtobe
resolved.Finally,overalllengthcompatibilitymustbemaintainedtocorrespondwiththetiebeamextension.

Fabrication
Inmostcases,thedeckwillcompriseIsections,whichcanbereadily
fabricatedusingT&Imachines.Thetiebeamtoarchjointcanoften
beacomplexfabricationwiththerequirementforlargebuttweldsif
thickplatesarebeingused.Ifindoubtadviceshouldbesoughtfroma
fabricator.Itmaybenecessarytospecifyplatewithimprovedthrough
thicknesspropertieswherelargecruciformweldsarerequired.
Anarchboxisusuallyasimplefabricationcomprisingfourplates
joinedalongtheiredges.Asshearsaregenerallyquitelowinthearch,
therequiredsizeoftheseweldsissmall.Itisnormaltohaveaninternal
filletweldplusanexternalpartpenetrationweld.
Typicalcornerweldsinaboxchord

Tomaintainsquareness,thefabricatormaywishtoaddringframesat
theendsofthefabricatedsections.Buttweldsmayberequiredtojoin
archandtiebeamunitstogether.Whenusedinthearchcarefuldesignandweldingsequencemayberequiredasthereis
oftenhighrestraintleadingtothepossibilityofweldcracking.Again,advicemaybesoughtfromafabricator.

Erection
Erectionmethodologieswilldependonmanyfactorsincludingbridgesize,type,obstacletobecrossedandothersite
conditions.Issuestobeconsideredmayinclude:
Availabilityofsitearepossessionsrequiredforrail,roadornavigablewaterway?
Availablecraneageandlocationofcranesforlifts.Thiswilldeterminetheweightandsizesofthepiecestobelifted.
Doesthebridgehavetobebuiltinitsfinalposition,oradjacentandthenlifted,floated,orlaunchedintoposition?
Availability/feasibilityoftemporarysupports.Asatiedarchisasinglespan,intermediatesupportswillberequired
ifnotbuiltinonepiece.

Casestudies

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RiverUskCrossing

References
1. ^TD27/05Crosssectionsandheadroom,TheDesignManualforRoadsandBridges(DMRB).TheHighways
Agency(http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/dmrb/vol6/section1/td2705.pdf)
2. ^NAtoBSEN199117:2006.UKNationalAnnextoEurocode1.Actionsonstructures.Accidentalactions.BSI
3. ^BSEN19932:2006,Eurocode3.Designofsteelstructures.Steelbridges,BSI
4. ^BSEN1993111:2006.Eurocode3.Designofsteelstructures.Designofstructureswithtensioncomponents.BSI
5. ^Johnson,R.P.(2003)Analysesofacompositebowstringtrusswithtensionstiffening.Proceedingsofthe
InstitutionofCivilEngineers.BridgeEngineeringVol156,IssueBE2

Resources
Hendy,C.R.Iles,D.C.(2010)SteelBridgeGroup:GuidanceNotesonbestpracticeinsteelbridgeconstruction(5th
Issue).(P185).SCI
GuidanceNote4.03,Allowanceforpermanentdeformations

Seealso
Ladderdeckcompositebridges
Materialselectionandproductspecification
Weatheringsteel
Shearconnectionincompositebridgebeams
Fatiguedesignofbridges
Bracingsystems
Stiffeners
Connectionsinbridges
Bridgearticulationandbearingspecification
Designforsteelbridgeconstruction
Corrosionprotection
Welding
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