ABSTRACT
A typical three-span suspension bridge, as shown in Figure 12.1, consists of main cables, two pylons, stiffened girder, and hangers. The weight and vehicular loads from the deck are transferred to the main cables by vertical hangers or suspenders. Unlike cables in a cable-stayed bridge that are anchored on the deck on both sides of a pylon at an angle, hangers of a suspension bridge are perpendicular to the deck and will not create any horizontal force on the deck. Except in the self-anchored suspension bridges, the main cables carry and transfer loads to anchorages that are separated from the bridge. For this respect, cable-stayed bridges are selfanchored systems, whereas most of the suspension bridges are externally anchored systems. As horizontal forces in cables are transferred to ground rather than to the girder, the stiffened girder will not have the P-Delta effects as in cable-stayed bridges and therefore the spanning capacity is much increased.
