Strain gauge measurements on stay cable strands in anchorage

This article is written as a result of one year of research dealing with stress measurements on stay cable. The impetus for these investigations was given by the uncertainty about the influence of bending of the strands near the stay cable anchorage, at the time the Zaltbommel Bridge was erected. Central questions were  the order of magnitude of the appearing bending stresses, and how they could be calculated. Quite a lot of positive experience was acquired in calculating bending stresses using a theoretical model, which was developed by Wiek (1973). The heart of this model is formed by a formula giving the relation between the curvature of a wire with respect to a strand and the curvature of a strand with respect to a rope. The unknown factor in this calculation was the bending stiffness of the stay cable strand, in case of free bending. Using the model the other way round it is possible to determine the strand's bending stiffness. Whether this method leads to reliable results or not, when dealing with this type of single strand rope, was not known.

 Author(s): van Eerd, V.F.J.