Contrastive Analysis on Limitation Span between Suspension Bridge using steel and CFRP Cable

Bridge constructions of crossing wider sea straits allowed the span of suspension bridge to move forward unceasingly, but the self-weight stress of the traditional high-strength steel as the material of main cable accounted for the ratio of allowable stress would be increasing with the growth of main span. That would limit the main span and load-carrying efficiency. Due to its high tensile strength, small mass density, excellent corrosion and fatigue resistant ability, the carbon fiber reinforced polymer(CFRP) was the ideal material for the main cable of suspension bridge. In this paper the limitation spans of two suspension bridge systems were studied by the static analysis and the theoretical formula derived from the ultimate strength of the main cable.