Study of super long span cable-stayed bridges with CFRP components

This paper introduces new types of cable-stayed bridges with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) stay cables and/or a CFRP bridge deck. For each of the two CFRP components, namely, CFRP stay cables and CFRP bridge deck, the key design parameters and design strategies were determined and the appropriate value of each key design parameter was suggested. Using the suggested parameter values, six types of cable-stayed bridges with a main span length of 1400 m were selected and modeled with the finite element method, through which the procedures of designing composite cable-stayed bridges with CFRP components were presented in details. From a mechanical-behavior viewpoint (static and dynamic) a comparative study of composite cable-stayed bridges with different CFRP components was performed through numerical simulations. The economical behavior of each type of cable-stayed bridges was also comparatively studied considering the varying material price. With the high strength-to-weight ratio and other advantages of CFRP materials, it was proven in this study that the use of CFRP stay cables and CFRP bridge decks in super long span cable-stayed bridges is feasible and these types of composite cable-stayed bridges could become an excellent alternative to steel cable-stayed bridges where super long spans are desired.