Integral Lifting Project of the Qifeng Bridge

Abstract

To fulfill the navigation development plan of the Hu-Jia-Shen Channel located on the eastern coast of China, it is necessary to upgrade its width and clearance height. The Qifeng Bridge, an arch bridge over the channel, is required to be raised by 2.5 m using the integral lifting method. In this paper, the operation principles of the hydraulic jack system, the composition of the supporting structures, and the lifting process of the bridge are presented. To verify the proposed procedures adopted in this project, a 3-dimensional finite-element method (FEM) model, incorporating a bridge-capping beam of main span and a supporting girder, is established to analyze the contact behavior and stress distribution characteristics between the beam and supporting girder. The induced stresses in the superstructure and supporting structures are also monitored and analyzed.