A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 19th century.Chakzampa Thangtong Gyalpo – Architect, Philosopher, and Iron Chain Bridge Builder by Manfred Gerner. Thimphu: Center for Bhutan Studies 2007. Lhasa and Its Mysteries by Lawrence Austine Waddell, 1905, p.313 Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical suspenders, have a long history in many mountainous regions worldwide.

Besides the bridge type most commonly called suspension bridges, covered in this article, there are other types of suspension bridges. The type covered here has cables suspended between towers, with vertical suspender cables that transfer the live and dead loads of the deck below, upon which traffic crosses. This arrangement allows the deck to be level or to arc upward for additional clearance. Like other suspension bridge types, this type often is constructed without the use of falsework.

The suspension cables must be anchored at each end of the bridge, since any load applied to the bridge is transformed into tension in these main cables. The main cables continue beyond the pillars to deck-level supports, and further continue to connections with anchors in the ground. The roadway is supported by vertical suspender cables or rods, called hangers. In some circumstances, the towers may sit on a bluff or canyon edge where the road may proceed directly to the main span. Otherwise, the bridge will typically have two smaller spans, running between either pair of pillars and the highway, which may be supported by suspender cables or their own trusswork. In cases where trusswork supports the spans, there will be very little arc in the outboard main cables.

History

The earliest suspension bridges were ropes slung across a chasm, with a deck possibly at the same level or hung below the ropes such that the rope had a catenary shape.

Precursors

The Tibetan siddha and bridge-builder Thangtong Gyalpo originated the use of iron chains in his version of simple suspension bridges. In 1433, Gyalpo built eight bridges in eastern Bhutan. The last surviving chain-linked bridge of Gyalpo's was the Thangtong Gyalpo Bridge in Duksum en route to Trashi Yangtse, which was finally washed away in 2004. Gyalpo's iron chain bridges did not include a suspended-deck bridge, which is the standard on all modern suspension bridges today. Instead, both the railing and the walking layer of Gyalpo's bridges used wires. The stress points that carried the screed were reinforced by the iron chains. Before the use of iron chains it is thought that Gyalpo used ropes from twisted willows or yak skins. He may have also used tightly bound cloth.

The Inca used rope bridges, documented as early as 1615. It is not known when they were first made. Queshuachaca is considered the last remaining Inca rope bridge and is rebuilt annually.

Chain bridges

The first iron chain suspension bridge in the Western world was the Jacob's Creek Bridge (1801) in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, designed by inventor James Finley. Finley's bridge was the first to incorporate all of the necessary components of a modern suspension bridge, including a suspended deck which hung by trusses. Finley patented his design in 1808, and published it in the Philadelphia journal, The Port Folio, in 1810.

Early British chain bridges included the Dryburgh Abbey Bridge (1817) and 137 m Union Bridge (1820), with spans rapidly increasing to 176 m with the Menai Bridge (1826), "the first important modern suspension bridge". The first chain bridge on the German speaking territories was the Chain Bridge in Nuremberg. The Sagar Iron Suspension Bridge with a 200 feet span (also termed Beose Bridge) was constructed near Sagar, India during 1828–1830 by Duncan Presgrave, Mint and Assay Master.The Sagar Iron Suspension Bridge Mechanics Magazine Volume 2, 1836 p. 49-53 The Clifton Suspension Bridge (designed in 1831, completed in 1864 with a 214 m central span), is similar to the Sagar bridge. It is one of the longest of the parabolic arc chain type. The current Marlow suspension bridge was designed by William Tierney Clark and was built between 1829 and 1832, replacing a wooden bridge further downstream which collapsed in 1828. It is the only suspension bridge across the non-tidal Thames. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge, (designed in 1840, opened in 1849), spanning the River Danube in Budapest, was also designed by William Clark and it is a larger-scale version of Marlow Bridge."Marlow Suspension Bridge". Retrieved 11 December 2008. Cove-Smith, Chris (2006). The River Thames Book. Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. . One variation is the Thornewill and Warham's Ferry Bridge in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire (1889), where the chains are not attached to abutments as is usual, but instead are attached to the main girders, which are thus in compression. Here, the chains are made from flat wrought iron plates, eight inches (203 mm) wide by an inch and a half (38 mm) thick, rivetted together.

Wire-cable The first wire-cable suspension bridge was the Spider Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill (1816), a modest and temporary footbridge built following the collapse of James Finley's nearby Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill (1808). The footbridge's span was 124 m, although its deck was only 0.45 m wide.

Development of wire-cable suspension bridges dates to the temporary simple suspension bridge at Annonay built by Marc Seguin and his brothers in 1822. It spanned only 18 m. The first permanent wire cable suspension bridge was Guillaume Henri Dufour's Saint Antoine Bridge in Geneva of 1823, with two 40 m spans. The first with cables assembled in mid-air in the modern method was Joseph Chaley's Grand Pont Suspendu in Fribourg, in 1834.

In the United States, the first major wire-cable suspension bridge was the Wire Bridge at Fairmount in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Designed by Charles Ellet Jr. and completed in 1842, it had a span of 109 m. Ellet's Niagara Falls suspension bridge (1847–48) was abandoned before completion. It was used as scaffolding for John A. Roebling's double decker railroad and carriage bridge (1855).

The Otto Beit Bridge (1938–1939) was the first modern suspension bridge outside the United States built with parallel wire cables.Cleveland Bridge Company (UK) Web site Retrieved 21 February 2007, includes image of the bridge.

Structure Bridge main components

Two towers/pillars, two suspension cables, four suspension cable anchors, multiple suspender cables, the bridge deck.diagram

Structural analysis

The main cables of a suspension bridge will form a catenary when hanging under their own weight only. When supporting the deck, the cables will instead form a parabola, assuming the weight of the cables is small compared to the weight of the deck. One can see the shape from the constant increase of the gradient of the cable with linear (deck) distance, this increase in gradient at each connection with the deck providing a net upward support force. Combined with the relatively simple constraints placed upon the actual deck, that makes the suspension bridge much simpler to design and analyze than a cable-stayed bridge in which the deck is in compression.

Comparison with cable-stayed bridge Cable-stayed bridges and suspension bridges may appear to be similar, but are quite different in principle and in their construction.

In suspension bridges, large main cables (normally two) hang between the towers and are anchored at each end to the ground. The main cables, which are free to move on bearings in the towers, bear the load of the bridge deck. Before the deck is installed, the cables are under tension from their own weight. Along the main cables smaller cables or rods connect to the bridge deck, which is lifted in sections. As this is done, the tension in the cables increases, as it does with the live load of traffic crossing the bridge. The tension on the main cables is transferred to the ground at the anchorages and by downwards compression on the towers.

In cable-stayed bridges, the towers are the primary load-bearing structures that transmit the bridge loads to the ground. A cantilever approach is often used to support the bridge deck near the towers, but lengths further from them are supported by cables running directly to the towers. By design, all static horizontal forces of the cable-stayed bridge are balanced so that the supporting towers do not tend to tilt or slide and so must only resist horizontal forces from the live loads.

Advantages

Longer main spans are achievable than with any other type of bridge. Less material may be required than other bridge types, even at spans they can achieve, leading to a reduced construction cost. Except for installation of the initial temporary cables, little or no access from below is required during construction and so a waterway can remain open while the bridge is built above. They may be better able to withstand earthquake movements than heavier and more rigid bridges. Bridge decks can have deck sections replaced in order to widen traffic lanes for larger vehicles or add additional width for separated cycling/pedestrian paths.

Disadvantages Considerable stiffness or aerodynamic profiling may be required to prevent the bridge deck from vibrating under high winds. The relatively low deck stiffness compared to other (non-suspension) types of bridges makes it more difficult to carry heavy rail traffic in which high concentrated live loads occur. Some access below may be required during construction to lift the initial cables or to lift deck units. That access can often be avoided in cable-stayed bridge construction.

Variations Underspanned In an underspanned suspension bridge, also called under-deck cable-stayed bridge, the main cables hang entirely below the bridge deck, but are still anchored into the ground in a similar way to the conventional type. Very few bridges of this nature have been built, as the deck is inherently less stable than when suspended below the cables. Examples include the Pont des Bergues of 1834 designed by Guillaume Henri Dufour; James Smith's Micklewood Bridge; and a proposal by Robert Stevenson for a bridge over the River Almond near Edinburgh.

Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct (begun 1847) consists of three sections supported by cables. The timber structure essentially hides the cables; and from a quick view, it is not immediately apparent that it is even a suspension bridge.

Suspension cable types

The main suspension cables in older bridges were often made from a chain or linked bars, but modern bridge cables are made from multiple strands of wire rope. This not only adds strength but improves reliability (often called redundancy in engineering terms) because the failure of a few flawed strands in the hundreds used pose very little threat of failure, whereas a single bad link or eyebar can cause failure of an entire bridge. (The failure of a single eyebar was found to be the cause of the collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River.) Another reason is that as spans increased, engineers were unable to lift larger chains into position, whereas wire strand cables can be formulated one by one in mid-air from a temporary walkway.

Suspender-cable terminations Poured sockets are used to make a high strength, permanent cable termination. They are created by inserting the suspender wire rope (at the bridge deck supports) into the narrow end of a conical cavity that is oriented in-line with the intended direction of strain. The individual wires are splayed out inside the cone or capel, and the cone is then filled with molten lead-antimony-tin (Pb80Sb15Sn5) solder.T R Barnard (1959). "Winding Ropes and Guide Ropes:" Mechanical Engineering. Coal Mining Series (2nd ed.). London: Virtue. pp. 374–375.

Deck structure types