Unstrained Installation of Hangers and Optimal Calculation of Self-Anchored Suspension Bridge

Sanchaji Bridge over Xiangjiang River, located in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, is a self-anchored suspension bridge. The hangers of Sanchaji Bridge are installed in an unstrained state that is quite different from the traditional construction method. With the tension-compression and bending strain energy of stiffening girder and pylons as the objective function, the mechanical state of self-anchored suspension bridge are calculated with the optimization method. A model test with the scale 1:28 is carried out to validate the process of construction and calculation method. The calculation is basically consistent with the experimental data. The cable force, main girder stress and bearing reaction are changed gently during the construction and the structure transformation process is completed successfully. The results indicate that optimization theory can be used effectively in self-anchored suspension bridge calculation. The unstrained installing of hangers meets the requirement of mechanics during the construction, and the work efficiency is improved.