Case Study on
Sundial Bridge
Presented by: Group 2
CE21B071 - Kiran S
CE21B109 - Rohit S Vijay
CE21B112 - Sameer Surla
CE21B117 - Sathya Suguna Nandakumar
CE21B130 - Yash Suryawanshi
Sundial Bridge - Introduction
Carries : Bicycles and pedestrians
Crosses : Sacramento River
Location : Redding, California
Design : Cantilever spar cable-stayed
Total length : 700 feet (210 m)
Width : 23 feet (7.0 m)
Height of Pylon : 217-foot (66 m)
Clearance below : 26 feet (7.9 m)
Cost : $23.5 million
Opened : July 4, 2004
Pylon Tilt : 42 degrees
Cable Stayed Bridge
No Supports on the river, hence no
impact on salmon spawning
grounds beneath the bridge
Aesthetically Pleasing
Reason - Santiago Calatrava !!!
Santiago Calatrava
Gare do Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal
Montjuïc Communications Puente del Alamillo
Tower, Barcelona Expo 92, Seville, Spain
Cable Stayed Bridge
Greater stiffness
Sleek design
Effective load distribution
No Piers into the water
Foundation
Single Tower Foundation with 14m depth
115 tons of rebar and 1,900 cubic yards of
concrete
Takes the entire load of the bridge,
including the weight of the deck and the
tension forces from the cables
Large diameter concrete cast drilled piles
The inclined pylon supporting the deck transfers 1360 Tonnes of pressure to a
single 36cm ball bearing set atop the foundation
Structural Designs
Conventional vs Sundial
Structural Designs
Calatrava’s ingenious idea was to use the pylon as a huge cantilever producing a
huge moment at its base counteracting moments caused by the deck dead weight.
Load Path
Structural Designs
The deck is permanently attached to the inclined pylon at its base the
appearance is given that the cables are not truly needed as the truss
decking looks ample to span the river
Preventing deflection
3m maximum dead load deflection
Structural Designs
To prevent the pylon from failing vast quantities of concrete and steel
were needed to resist these moments at the base during construction
when the deck was not present.
Deck System
Triangular pipe truss with varying
diameter chords
Thicker (larger diameter) chords are
used where the forces are greater,
such as near the central pylon or the
points of the highest stress, while
thinner (smaller diameter) chords are
used where the forces are less intense
The lower chord is 360mm in diameter
Two top chords are 280mm in diameter
The bridge deck is constructed of tempered glass panels laid over a steel frame,
allowing pedestrians to walk on a transparent surface and view the Sacramento
River below
Cable System
The bridge deck is suspended by 14 cables (varying dimensions)
Radiate from the pylon in a fan-like arrangement.
Connection of cable to bridge girder
Loads
Live Load Deck Cable Pylon Foundation
Lighter live load due to only pedestrians and cyclists
Nominal Pedestrian live loading = 2.26 kN/m2
Dead Load from the incline Pylon and truss deck
Accidental Wheel Loading = 375 kN
Compression in the deck = 139 MN
Wind Loads
The hourly wind speed in the Redding area 10m above the ground is 34m/s
This wind loading for a bridge is relatively low purely because of the open structure
truss system and the open parapet design
Site hourly mean wind speed Vs=25 m/s
Wind Loads
An open parapet d=2.2m (depth of truss) and transverse wind load on bridge is
calculated as (using BS5400)
Wind Loads
Longitudinal Wind Loading
Nominal vertical wind loading
Seismic Loads
Maximum wind load on the system is larger than the seismic loading
Assumed that static wind loading will be the critical loading case on the superstructure
Seismic loads can be ignored as it is safe to assume that neither will act together
Natural Frequency
Fundamental natural frequency using the Raleigh Ritz method . The main span is 128m.
With the natural frequency being less than 75HZ psychological effects
will not affect users of this footbridge.
Bending Moment
The Sundial Bridge has a total length of 213m with a main span of 128m.
The overall system is simplified to a simply supported beam with a pin
connection and a fixed connection to calculate the maximum bending
moment due to live loads. Cable stays are assumed to relive the dead load.
Bending Moment
Torsion within Deck
The 14 cable stays attached to the bridge deck are not centered on the walkway
but instead dissect the bridge into a 2/3rd major and 1/3rd minor path which
creates a torsional affects resulting in the bridge deck wanting to roll.
Asymmetrical truss system below the aqua marine translucent glass used to
reduce the cantilever arm so that the, point center of gravity of the deck
produces a smaller torsional effect.
Buckling
The risk of buckling arises primarily from compression forces acting
along the mast as it supports the majority of the weight of the bridge. An
asymmetrical truss system under the deck and stiffeners are provided to
counter the effects of buckling.
Mast Buckling: Subjected to both axial compression (from the load
transferred by the cables) and bending, it needs to be strong enough to
resist buckling. The design takes into account the slenderness of the mast
and its inclination to prevent any risk of instability under load.
Cable Buckling: The cables themselves, though mainly under tension, can
also experience local buckling if subjected to unexpected compressive
forces
Construction Detailing
Approximately 500 construction drawings were required for the bridge to be
realized, these drawings included:
3D modeling of the original design concept
Mathematical adjustment of the 3D model providing cambering to counteract
loads on the structure
Detailed descriptions of the individual 1200 steel plates along with their fixings
Preparations of several scale models and bridge’s construction sequencing
Construction
Firstly the 66m inclined pylon was erected using
prefabricated sections
The individual manageable segments were lifted into
position by crane and then welded together in position
In some areas, the welding was so complex that many
plates were only being welded from one side and
needed backing bars
In pylon, series of hollow sections were filled with
concrete to provide required mass for bridge system
Construction
Cantilever construction was used to erect the
bridge's 128m main span across the Sacramento River
For each unit, a corresponding cable was attached to
transverse bulkheads in the truss and cantilevered
plate bracket of the pylon
To reduce time, the pylon and decking were built
individually one after the other instead of altogether
On completion of the structural skeleton, the aqua
green opaque glass deck with its granite strips and
smooth mosaic white Spanish tiles was installed
Tolerances
The varying load conditions made the transition from
the equilibrium of a sculpture to the equilibrium of the
full-scale bridge quite challenging
Low tolerances and high precision were required
throughout the construction process, hence off-site
prefabrication was preferred
Items that were prefabricated include:
18 sections of truss deck, each 12 m in length
25 loads of pylon, each 30 to 40 tonnes in weight
Serviceability Checks
The Sundial Bridge has a full electronic analysis
performed continually throughout each day
Tilt monitors are placed over an inclined pylon,
along with smaller piers on the South riverbank
Load transducers are placed over the truss system
Visual inspections are performed also regularly
Durability and Challenges
The Sundial Bridge is expected to carry 100k pairs of feet each year
The cables are galvanized they are protected against corrosion by a physical barrier
All the steel is given a three-coat paint system with a white epoxy final coat except
the stainless steel rods and pipe used for the bridge railing
Many panels have cracked under unknown circumstances leaving sharp glass
splinters protruding that give potential problems to users
To stop these problems arising in the near future it is possible that whole decking
will be changed to some other material enhancing the overall endurance of the deck
Thank You
