The impact of cable spacing on the behavior of cable-stayed bridges

This paper aims to find the optimum cable spacing in terms of vertical deformation and cable stress for static and dynamic analysis. To achieve the objective of this study six models are developed using ABAQUS with six different cable spacing ((8.04 m, 30 cables), (9.42, 25), (11.11, 22), (13.72, 18), (15.56, 16), and (16.67, 15)). Firstly, a non linear static finite-element analysis is performed on the models; then pre-tensioning forces are applied to cables, after that the shape modes for each model are presented. Secondly, a nonlinear dynamic analysis is performed on the models; the results obtained from the finite-element analysis are used in the optimization. The results show that the maximum vertical deflection decreased and the cable stress increased with the increasing of cable spacing for both static and dynamic analysis. As a result, the unsupported length increased with the cable spacing increasing; this will lead to larger deflection and greater stresses in the cables. Finally, the optimum cable spacing is 11.2 m based on static and dynamic deflection and cable stress.