Progressive Spatially Curved Footbridges

The paper deals with the design and development of a new and progressive structural types of footbridges with an external tendon used as a main load bearing member. Main goals of the paper are checking the possibilities of using such structures for many different spatial arrangements and especially identifying the problematic aspects of the design. Using the results of research conducted in previous years, the procedure for finding the optimal shape of the cable was described in detail. For specific examples the process of cable shape optimizations is shown. In the next part the influence of various boundary conditions is discussed. The structures were also checked in terms of ULS and SLS limit states. Particular attention is paid to the buckling analysis of the struts and stress distribution in the deck part. The structures were modeled using FEM software Midas Civil. The models used for basic analysis consist of beam and truss elements. For precise analysis the shell models were used. Finally the dynamic behavior analysis was performed according to SÉTRA methodology. The results and outputs of the research should be used by designers who have to deal with similar structural types and they shall hopefully help to identify the most problematic features.