Failure Investigation and Replacement Implementation of Short Suspenders in a Suspension Bridge

Abstract

Among components of a suspension bridge, suspenders transmit wind or live loads on the deck to the main cable, which are then transmitted to the pylons, and finally to the earth. Suspenders are vulnerable to corrosion caused by harsh environments and fatigue due to live loads, and they often have a shorter life span than that of other components. In this paper, premature failure of short suspenders in a suspension bridge is investigated with monitoring data and finite-element (FE) simulation, and a replacement method is proposed and implemented on the bridge. The investigation and discussion in the paper is fourfold. First, premature failure of the short suspenders in a suspension bridge is investigated, with the most severe damage found to be in the cylindrical bushing of the pin connection between the suspenders and the deck. Second, monitoring data analysis and FE simulation are conducted to find out the reasons for the premature damage of the short suspenders. Third, a replacement method using temporary suspenders was proposed, and field implementation of suspender replacement was performed. Finally, conclusions are drawn that could shed light on the maintenance and replacement of short suspenders in suspension bridges.