Steel Suspension Bridge
Steel Suspension Bridge
(OP)
Somebody posted a picture of this suspension bridge over in the Earth retention Forum. I was looking at the anchorage in horror. Went looking on the internet, and found the following http://delsurnewsonline.com/san-juan-del-sur-foot-...
Sadly, not too surprising
Sadly, not too surprising






RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
Who actually thought this was a good idea? It has stress concentration and work hardening /fatigue written all over it. Not to mention what seems like a very small radius at the top of the main tower - Do the wires go over a flat plate???
Seems to be a miracle it lasted at all.
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RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
This one is in Canada:
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/4...
If you intend to walk across it, I recommend you do NOT look at the anchors when you get to the other side. Ignorance is bliss. It's a lonnnnnng walk back to town from the opposite side of the river.
You would think that in Alberta, they'd know not to "saddle a dead horse".
STF
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
The cut end is referred to as the "dead end", while the remaining portion would be the "live" end that carries load.
A wire rope clip is composed of a U-bolt, a saddle, and the nuts. The piece of wire rope up against the bare U-bolt will tend to crimp/bend when the clip is tightened, while the saddle is shaped with radii to prevent crimping. This crimping would locally reduce the strength of the wire rope.
Therefore, never saddle a dead horse -- because the saddle should be on the live end of the rope to prevent losing strength.
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
so basically you're saying the clip in the photo sparweb attached is the wrong way around? Sparwebs photo makes it look like a splice though rather than an end connection.
Does more than one clip actually make a difference or do people do it just to make it look good / provide a bit of redundancy?
Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
You're right, wire rope clips can be used to make a splice, and that may be what's going on in that photo. It's typically preferred to connect two end loops (either threading one through the other or using a shackle, depending on permanence) rather than a straight splice though. In the case of a straight splice, you'd switch the orientation of the clips halfway through the connection to keep the saddles on the live ends (assuming all load transfer at the midpoint of the splice).
Typically it requires several wire rope clips to make a full strength connection -- varying based on wire rope diameter. Crosby at least has a table specifying the quantity and spacing of clips required. On the topic of straight splices, I believe Crosby also advises you to double the number of clips (part of why the double end loop connection is preferred).
RE: Steel Suspension Bridge
STF