Brighter Future for Stay Cables

by Rita Robison, Assoc. Ed.; Civil Engineering, New York, NY 10017,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1988, Vol. 58, Issue 10, Pg. 46-46


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Corrosion problems on cable stayed bridges can be prevented, according to several engineers who responsed to Cables in Trouble, a Civil Engineering article that appeared in the April 1988 issue. Blair Birdsall, New York City, said the problem is to achieve minimum life cycle cost of maintenance. He advocates use of galvanized wire, prohibits use of cement grout, and insists that the final assembly be accessible for inspection. Morris Shupack of South Norwalk, Conn. is against use of polyethylene sheaths for stay cables, citing tests his firm has made in which voids and water were impossible to eliminate. Recent advancements in cable design include a prefabricated design by West German engineers Jorg Sclaich and Rudolf Bergermann. A two-component polyurethane applied with a special machine fills the twisted wire bundle and also coats the outside. In Japan, the Yokohama Rubber Co. fabricates cables inside a high density polyethylene pipe filled with a polybutadiene polyurethane. Galvanized wire alone is enough, according to Alaskan engineers Peratrovich, Nottinghamd & Drage. They responsed to the April artible by reinspecting two cable stayed bridges that had been built in 1972 (the first in the U.S.) and 1976. Both were rated like new in 1988.

Subject Headings: Cables | Cable stayed bridges | Synthetic materials | Polyurethane | Polyethylene | Voids | Pipes

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