A seminar presentation on behavior of

bowstring steel arch bridge

Under the guidance of By

Prof. Akhil Upadhyay Ashutosh S. Aparaj
15523008
 How tied arch bridges work
Thrust arches rely on horizontal restraint from the foundations. The vertical
and horizontal reactions resolve into a force along the arch members the
horizontal component is of significant magnitude.
This will be the most satisfactory solution when the arch bears onto good
foundation material such as competent rock.

Reactions for a thrust arch bridge

 Tied arch bridges are distinguished from other forms of arch bridges by the
presence of a tie chord.
The tied-arch offers a solution when it can be arranged such that the deck is at a
level that it carries the horizontal force as a tie member. The tied-arch is
sometimes referred to as a bowstring arch.
By taking the arch thrust through the tie member, the primary requirement for the
substructure reduces to only carrying vertical loads.
Tied arches are ideally suited for sites where ,foundation conditions will not permit
an economical substructure, which could carry the thrust of a conventional arch.
Appropriate when long span crossing a river where a navigation clearance envelope
must be provided.

Reactions for tied(bowstring) arch

 For tied arches, the ribs and tie girders are linked together with a system of
hangers.
Traditionally, the hangers have been installed vertically between panel points
of the ribs and ties. The hangers forces both components to participate in
carrying moments induced in the system.
In a tied arch, the thrust is carried by the tie, but the moment is divided
between the arch and the tie, somewhat in proportion to the stiffness of the
two members.
Effects of various parameters upon
tied arch behavior
Various parameters affecting behavior of a tied arch are :
Ratio of moments of inertia of rib and tie.
Ratio of areas of rib and tie.
Hanger spacing.
Rise to span ratio.

Some other parameters also include

Type of joint at connection of rib and tie.
Tie depth to span ratio.
Curved rib versus segmental rib.
Following are some values of the typical parameters used

Arch rise to span ratio typically lies within 1/5 and 1/6.5.
Ratio of moments of inertia of rib to tie for rib and tie bridges typically lies
within 1/20 and 25/1.
Ratio of areas of rib to tie for solid rib and tie bridges typically lies within 0.6
and 1.5.
Ratio of span to hanger spacing typically lies within 10 and 20.
 General observations regarding various
parameters
Increasing the stiffness of the tie girders affects the bending moment in the
arch ribs.
Varying the rise-to-span ratio will affect the internal forces in the arch ribs.
There is an optimum rise-to-span ratio at which the thrust line is close to the
neutral axis of the arch, resulting in low bending moments in the arch ribs.
An increase of rise decreases arch thrust, reducing the axial stress from dead
and live load and the bending stress from temperature change.
With increase in number of hangers, compression increases in the arches,
while the hangers axial efforts decreases.
Bending moment decreases with the increasing number of hangers, and this
difference is remarkable when the number of hangers is lower and the bending
moments in the arch grow rapidly.
 Moment influence lines for
Ar/At = 0.6 , Ir/It = 1/20 , 16 panels
Rib moment influence lines Tie moment influence lines

With stiffer tie the moments carried by the ties are expectedly greater.
Also the pointed peaks show that the Tie moments tend to concentrate at panel points.
 Moment influence lines for
Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 16 panels
Rib moment influence lines Tie moment influence lines

With same stiffness moments carried

The flatten peaks show that the Rib by the ties are marginally greater.
the tie moments show more sharper moments distribute to adjacent panels whereas
peaks than in previous case.
 Moment influence lines for
Ar/At = 1.5 , Ir/It = 20 , 16 panels
Rib moment influence lines Tie moment influence lines

With stiffer rib moments carried by

More sharper peaks can be seen for the ribs are much greater than ties.
still most of moment is concentrated Tie moments, even though magnitude is low
at the panel point.
 GRAPH OF RIB MOMENT INFLUENCE LINES FOR
16 PANELS

(a) Ar/At = 0.6 , Ir/It = 1/20 , 16 panels

(b) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 16 panels

(c) Ar/At = 1.5 , Ir/It = 20 , 16 panels

 GRAPH OF TIE MOMENT INFLUENCE LINES FOR
16 PANELS

(a) Ar/At = 0.6 , Ir/It = 1/20 , 16 panels

(b) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 16 panels

(c) Ar/At = 1.5 , Ir/It = 20 , 16 panels

 GRAPH OF RIB MOMENT INFLUENCE LINES FOR
DIFFERENT HANGER SPACING

(a) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 10 panels

(b) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 20 panels

(c) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 24 panels

 GRAPH OF TIE MOMENT INFLUENCE LINES FOR
DIFFERENT HANGER SPACING

(a) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 10 panels

(b) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 20 panels

(c) Ar/At = 1.0 , Ir/It = 1.0 , 24 panels

 CONCLUSION

Figures 11 through 16 show the graphs of the rib and tie moment influence lines for three of
the 16 panel cases,
In all cases the rib moment influence lines tend to be more rounded near the peaks. This
indicates distribution of moment to adjacent panels, as the rib deforms.
The tie moment influence lines show much sharper peaks, especially when Ir/It becomes
large. This indicates more localized bending at the point of load application. All curves
indicate the same shape of moment envelopes, although the amplitudes vary.

Figures 17 through 22 show the graphs of the rib and tie moment influence lines for three of
the Ir/It = 1/10 cases, for different hanger spacings,
The results indicate that the live load moment envelope does not change significantly for
different hanger spacings.
 REFERENCES

William Edward Beyer , Preliminary analysis and hanger adjustment of tied

arch bridges
Chandrangsu; Sirilakn; and Sparkes; Stanley R. "A Study of the Bowstring Arch
having Extensible Suspension Rods and Different Ratios of Tie-Beam to Arch-
Rib Stiffness" Proceedings, Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) Vol. 4,
Part 3, August, 1954
Godden, William G., and Thompson, J.C. "Experimental Study of Model Tied-
Arch Bridge" Proceedings, Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) Vol. 14,
Paper No. 6391, December, 1959
Richardson, George S. "Arch Bridges" In Structural Steel Designers' Handbook,
Section 13, Frederick S. Merritt. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970