STRESS RIBBON BRIDGE

SEMINAR REPORT

In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree

Of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

ABSTRACT
A stress ribbon bridge is a tension structure,similar in many ways
to a simple suspension bridge.The stress ribbon design is rare.
Few people including bridge engineers are familiar with this
form and fewer than 50 have been built worldwide.The
suspension cables are embedded in the deck which follows a
catenary arc between supports.Unlike the simple span the ribbon
is stressed in compression which adds to the stiffness of the
structure.Such bridges are typically made from concrete
reinforced by steel tensioning cables.They are used mainly for
pedestrian and cycling traffic.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
GENERAL
A stressed ribbon bridge (also stress-ribbon Bridge) is a tension
structure (similar in many ways to a simple suspension bridge).
The suspension cables are embedded in the deck which follows a
catenary are between supports. Unlike the simple span the ribbon
is stressed in compression. which adds to the stiffness of the
structure (simple suspension spans tend to sway and bounce).
The supports in turn support upward thrusting arcs that allow
the grade to be changed between spans (where multiple spans are
used). Such bridges are typically made from concrete reinforced
by steel tensioning cables. Where such bridges carry vehicle
traffic a certain degree of stiffness is required to prevent
excessive flexure of the structure, obtained by stressing the
concrete in compression.
Stress Ribbon Bridges Philosophers, thinkers, intellectuals all
appeal, please build bridges and not walls between different
communities, nationalities, countries, languages etc, to achieve
universal brotherhood. This can be achieved by constructing
stress ribbon bridges. Stress ribbon bridges are very economical,
aesthetic and almost maintenance free structure. They require
minimal quantity of materials. They are erected independently
from the existing terrain and therefore they have minimum
impact upon the environment during construction. Stress ribbon
bridge is the term used to describe structures formed by a very
slender concrete deck in the shape of a catenary. They can be
designed with one or more spans and are characterized by
successive and complementary smooth curves. These curves
blend in to natural environment and their forms, the most simple
and basic of structural solutions.Stress ribbon bridges looks at
how slender concrete deck are used in the design of suspension
and cable stayed structures. It looks at their characteristic
feature; their rigidity, which is mainly given by the tension
stiffness of prestressed concrete decking so much so that
movement caused by pedestrians or wind does not register as
discomfort by users. As opposed to suspension bridges, where the
cables carry the load, in stress ribbon, by tensioning the cables
and the deck between the abutments, the deck shares the axial
tension forces. Anchorage forces are unusually large since the
structure is tightly tensioned.

FORM OF A STRESS RIBBON BRIDGE

SUPERSTRUCTURE:
A typical stress ribbon bridge deck consists of precast
concrete planks with bearing tendons to support them during
construction and separate prestressing tendons which are
tensioned to create the final designed geometric form. The joints
between the planks are most often sealed with in situ concrete
before stressing the deck. The prestressing tendons transfer
horizontal forces in to the abutments and then to the ground most
often using ground anchors. The tendons are encased in ducts
which are generally grouted after tensioning in order to lock in
the stress and protect them from corrosion. Since the bending in
the deck is low, the depth can be minimized and results in
reduction in dead load and horizontal forces in abutments.

SUBSTRUCTURE:
The abutments are designed to transfer the horizontal
forces from the deck cables into the ground via ground
anchors. Pedestrians, wind and temperature loads can
cause large changes in the bending moments in the deck
close to the abutments and accordingly crack widths and
fatigue in reinforcement must be considered. The ground
anchors are normally tensioned in 2 stages, the first step is
tensioned before the deck is erected and the rest, after the
deck is complete. If stressed in one stage only, there will
be a large out of balance force to be resisted by the
abutments in the temporary case. The soil pressure,
overturning and sliding has to be checked for construction
as well as permanent condition.
GROUND CONDITION:
 The ideal ground condition for resisting large horizontal
forces from the ribbon is a rock base. This occurs rarely but
suitable foundations can be devised even if competent soils are
only found at some depth below the abutments. In some cases
where soil conditions do not permit the use of anchors, piles can
also be used. Horizontal deformations can be significant and are
considered in the design. It is also possible to use a combination
of anchors and drilled shafts. Battered micro piling is another
alternative which can resist the load from the ribbon because of
its compression and tension capacity.
 COMPARISON WITH A SAMPLE SUSPENSION
BRIDGE
A stress ribbon bridge is a tension structure similar in many ways
to a simple suspension bridge. The suspension cables are
embedded in the deck which follows a catenary are between the
supports. As opposed to suspension bridges, where the cables
carry the load, in stress ribbon, by tensioning the cables and the
deck between abutments, the deck shares axial tension forces.
Unlike the simple span the ribbon is stressed in compression,
which adds to the stiffness of the structure. A simple suspension
span tends to sway and bounce. The supports in turn support
upward thrusting arcs that allow the grade to be changed
between spans, where multiple spans are used. Such bridges are
typically made from concrete reinforced by steel tensioning
cables. Where such bridges carry vehicle traffic a certain degree
of stiffness is required to prevent excessive flexure of the
structure, obtained by stressing the concrete in compression.
Anchorage forces are unusually large since the structure is tightly
tensioned.
 CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
The construction of the bridge is relatively straight forward.
The abutments and piers are built first. Next the bearing cables
were stretched from abutment to abutment and draped over steel
saddles that rested atop the piers. The bearing tendons generally
support the structure during construction, and only rarely is
additional false work used. Once the bearing cables were
tensioned to the specified design force, precast panels were
suspended via support rods located at the four corners of each
panel. At this point the bridge sagged into its catenary shape. The
next step was to place post tensioning ducts in the bridge. The
ducts were placed directly above the bearing cables and support
rods, which are all located in two longitudinal troughs that run
the length of the bridge. After the ducts were in place, the cast-in
place concrete was placed in the longitudinal troughs in small
transverse closure joints. Concrete is poured in the joints between
the planks and allowed to harden before the final tensioning is
carried out. Retarding admixtures may be used in the concrete
mix to allow all the concrete to be placed before hardening occurs.
Once the final tension has been jacked into the tendons and the
deflected shape is verified, the ducts containing the tendons are
grouted. After allowing the cast in place concrete to cure and
achieve its full strength, the bridge was post tensioned. The post
tensioning lifts each span, closes the gap between the panels, puts
the entire bridge in to compression and transforms the bridge in
to continuous ribbon of prestressed concrete.
 STATIC AND DYNAMIC LODING TEST
 The design assumptions and quality of workmanship of the
author's first stress ribbon structure built in the Czech
Republic and of the first stress ribbon bridge built in United
States were checked by measuring the deformations of the
superstructure at the time of prestressing and during
loading tests. Dynamic tests were also performed on these
structures. Only a few key results of a typical structure are
given here. Since the shape of a stress ribbon structure is
extremely sensitive to temperature change, the temperature
of the bridge was carefully recorded at all times.




 The pedestrian bridge in Prague-Troja was tested by 38
vehicles weighing between 2.8 and 8.4 tons (Figure.4.4).
First, the vehicles were placed along the entire length of the
structure, and then they were placed on each span. During
the test only the deformations in the middle of the spans and
the horizontal displacements of all supports were
measured.ADVANTGES AND APPLICATION:
 Stress ribbon pedestrian bridges are very economical,
aesthetical and almost maintenance free structure.

 They are erected independently from existing terrain and

therefore they have a minimum impact upon the
environment during condition.

 They quick and convenient to construct if it given

appropriate conditions, without false


 work.

 A stress ribbon bridges allows for long span with a minimum

number of piers and the


 piers can be shorter than required for cable stayed or
suspension bridge.