Journal of JSCE, Vol.

1, 214-227, 2013

COMPARISON BETWEEN STEEL ARCH BRIDGES

IN CHINA AND JAPAN

Kangming CHEN1, Shozo NAKAMURA2, Baochun CHEN3, Qingxiong WU3

and Takafumi NISHIKAWA4
1Student Member of JSCE, PhD Candidate, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Eng., Nagasaki University
(1-14, Bukyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan)
2Member of JSCE, Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Eng., Nagasaki University
(1-14, Bukyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan)
E-mail: shozo@nagasaki-u.ac.jp
3Professor, College of Civil Eng., University of Fuzhou
(2, Xueyuan Road, Minhou, Fuzhou 350108, China)
4Member of JSCE, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Eng., Nagasaki University
(1-14, Bukyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan)

A review of the current status and progress of steel arch bridges in China and Japan, as well as an outline
of the design vehicle load and design method against global buckling for such bridges, is presented in this
paper. The existing steel arch bridges in China and Japan were analyzed in terms of year of completion, main
span length, structure type, main arch rib form and construction method. It is shown that the steel arch bridge
in China has developed rapidly since 2000, characterized by a long main span, while in Japan it has stepped
into a fast-growing period since 1955, with medium and small bridges holding a great majority. As for the
main span length, most of the bridges have a span from 100m to 250m in China, while majority of bridges
are shorter than 150m in Japan. Over 80% of the bridges in China are through and half-through bridge types,
and the arch ribs are hingeless structures. However, over 88% of bridges in Japan are deck and through
bridge types, and a two-hinged structure was mostly adopted in through and half-through bridges. Sin-
gle-hinged and three-hinged arches were seldom adopted in the two countries. The rise-to-span ratios of the
arches in China and Japan are mainly in the range of 1:6-1:4 and 1:7-1:5, respectively. Most of the arches
both in China and Japan use solid box ribs, and only a small fraction uses truss ribs, in which box sections are
mostly adopted for the truss members. The cantilever method and scaffolding method are the two main
construction methods used in China and Japan, although some other construction methods have also been
developed.

Key Words : steel arch bridge, comparison, design vehicle load, design method, main span, structural
type, arch rib, construction method

1. INTRODUCTION and design capabilities contribute to make the steel

By the material used for the main arch, an arch
bridge can be classified into five categories, i.e.,
stone, concrete, reinforced concrete (RC), concrete
filled steel tube (CFST) and steel arch bridges. Steel
arch bridges have been constructed only since the
late 1800s. Their use began to spread before World
War II and significantly expanded after the war,
when steel became more available. The steel arch is
aesthetically beautiful, highly stiff, efficient in cost,
and can be in multiple structural forms, hence it has
been widely accepted. Improved materials, products
arch bridge one of the main bridge types in the world,
even though many bridge types have become avail-
able in recent years. Lots of world-class achieve-
ments have been witnessed in the field of steel arch
bridge design and construction.
Steel arch bridges have been designed and con-
structed for about 140 years in Japan since the first
cast iron bridge, Shinmachi Bridge, was completed
in 1872. Many steel arch bridges have been con-
structed with various structure types by employing a
variety of construction methods1), 2). A wealth of
experience has been accumulated.

214
 Very few steel arch bridges had been built before
2000 in China, but more and more steel arch bridges
were built later on. Some of them have very long
spans. The present span record of the steel arch
bridge is held in China3), 4), and some new construc-
tion methods have been employed, such as the swing
method.
From a brief review of the history of the steel arch
bridge in China and Japan, it can be seen that it is
beneficial for engineers to learn from the rich ex-
periences of Japan and their techniques for design
and construction. The quick evolution of steel arch
bridges in China is also worth knowing for engineers.
In this context, a large amount of data and litera-
ture about steel arch bridges in China and Japan
constructed before December of 2011 and 2008,
respectively, have been collected, and are analyzed
in terms of their history, main span length, structural
form, construction method and aesthetics. In addition,
a design vehicle load and design method against
global buckling for steel arch bridges are outlined.
2. EVOLUTION OF STEEL ARCH
BRIDGES
The evolution of arch bridges is closely related to
that of construction materials. Such evolution due to
improvement in the technique of steel production is a
common matter all over the industrial field. The
industrialization of iron and steel enabled their initial
use in arch bridges, which was the main long-span
bridge type at that time. The worlds first cast iron
bridge was constructed in the UK (completed in
pletion years of 68 bridges are known. They are
shown in Fig. 1 by markers with some representative
bridges labelled. The red broken line and blue solid
line show the development of the main span and the
number of bridges, respectively. Twenty bridges
with main spans of more than 200m are listed in
Table 1.
It can be seen from Fig. 1 that the development of
steel arch bridges in China can be partitioned roughly
into two stages using the year 2000. Before 2000,
only 10 bridges (13.2%) were built. Compared with
steel arch bridges in other countries and RC and
CFST arch bridges in China8), 9), the construction of
steel arch bridges has obviously lagged behind.
The Dahong Bridge in Tianjin may have been the
first steel arch bridge in China. It was first a wooden
bridge and was reconstructed into a steel arch bridge
in 1887, but was swept away by flood in 1924. Re-
construction of the New Dahong Bridge was planed
again in 1933, and completed in 1937. It is a
through-type steel arch bridge with three spans; the
main span is 57.37m10).
For a long time in China, scarcity of material and
the backwardness of industrialization prevented a
large number of steel bridges from being built. Steel
was only used in key bridges crossing major rivers.
When the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was built in
the 1950s, the steel for its construction was imported
from the former Soviet Union. Afterwards, it became
possible to produce the type 16Mn steel (yield stress:
600 Chaotianmen Bridge 70
550
Lupu Bridge
60
500
450

Number of bridges
Xinguang Bridge
50
1779). Some wrought iron bridges were also built
Main span, m

400 Caiyuanba Bridge

during this period, such as the well-known Garabit 350 40
300 Jiujiang Yangtze
Under Construction

Bridge in Massif, France, with a main span of 165m 250 River Bridge 30
(completed in 1884), and the Maria Pia Bridge in 200 Dukou Bridge
Guandu Bridge
20
Porto, Portugal, with a main span of 160m (com- 150 Midi Bridge
pleted in 1877)3). 100 Yingsuihe Bridge 10
50
The steel arch bridge was first established in the 0
New Dahong Bridge
0
USA (Eads Bridge, completed in 1874). Its success
1935
1940
1945
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015

promoted the booming development of steel arch Completion year

bridges worldwide. A number of steel arch bridges, Fig. 1 Main spans and completion year of steel arch
such as the Hell Gate Bridge built in the USA in 1916 bridges in China.
(main span: 298m), the Sydney Harbor Bridge con-
structed in Australia in 1932 (main span: 503m), the
Bayonne Bridge and the New River Gorge Bridge,
with main spans of 504m and 518.3m, respectively,
in the USA5), were built successively.

(1) Evolution in China

Information on 82 steel arch bridges in China has
been obtained from a website survey and a literature
review6), 7). Among them, the main spans and com- Fig. 2 No. 2 Panzhihua Bridge.

215
343MPa, carbon content: 0.16%, low alloy) to build
the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in the 1970s.
However, this kind of steel showed quick degrada-
tion in strength and ductility with an increase in
thickness. A new type of steel, 15MnVNi (yield
stress: 420MPa, carbon content: 0.15%, main alloy:
manganese, vanadium and nickel) was developed
and used in the Baihe Bridge in 1976. But poor
weldability prevented it from further use except in
the Jiujiang Bridge in 1992. It was really embar-
rassing that no steel other than the 16Mn could be
used in bridge engineering at that time11).
Very few steel highway bridges had been built
before the 1990s. The No. 2 & 3 Panzhihua Bridges
were two representatives from this early time. The
former, shown in Fig. 2, is a steel box arch bridge
with a main span of 180m, completed in 1966. The
latter is a steel truss arch bridge with a main span of
180m, completed in 1969. Surely, the 16Mn steel
type was the only choice12). With the slow devel-
opment in steel arch bridge for almost 26 years, the
Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge, with a main span of
216m, was completed in 1992.
As a result of Chinas Economic Reform and
Opening Up from 1978, the steel industry has de-
veloped rapidly and they are now the top producer in
the world. There are rich types of steel products
available now. At present, steel bridges in China
mainly adopt the Q345q (Q denotes yield stress;
number 345 means yield stress is 345MPa; q denotes
steel type for bridge) and the Q370q types, and more
and more bridges use the Q420q steel. There is a
tendency to use high-performance steel. Therefore,
more and more steel bridges have been constructed
in the last three decades of large-scale infrastructure
construction. Steel arch bridges are becoming more
popular even after many long-span steel cable-stayed
bridges and steel suspension bridges have been built.
In the decade after 2000, 66 bridges were built,
which accounted for 86.8% of the total. Most
long-span bridges were built in this period, 60
bridges with main spans of 100m or longer, the av-
erage main span being 216m. In 2003, a long-span
steel arch bridge, the Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, was
built (shown in Fig. 3). The completion of this bridge
set a new world record for the steel arch span. The
bridge type is a half-through steel tied arch. The main
arch spans 550m, with a rise-to-span ratio of 1:5.5,
and the other two side arches span 100m each. The
steel used for the bridge is the normalized structural
steel S355N, in accordance with the German indus-
trial standard DIN10113-1993 for weldable
fine-grained steel13).
Afterwards, several long-span steel arch bridges
were built successively, such as the Xinguang Bridge
in Guangzhou, with a main span of 428m (steel truss
arch bridge, 2006); the Caiyuanba Yangtze River
Bridge in Chongqing, with a main span of 420m
(steel box arch bridge, 2007); the Chaotianmen
Bridge in Chongqing, with the worlds longest main

Table 1 Long-span steel arch bridges in China (main span200m).

Main Span Structure
Order Bridge Name Completion Year
(m) Type
1 Zhongzhaiwan Bridge in Xiamen 208 Half-through 2004
2 No.2 Mengshuai Bridge in Taiwan 210 Through 1996
3 Jiubao Bridge in Hangzhou 210 Through 2011
4 Xiangjiang Bridge in Changsha 210 Through Under construction
5 Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge 216 Double-deck 1992
6 Rongjiang Railway Bridge in Shantou 220 Half-through 2011
7 Yuantongjinyan Yellow River Bridge in Lanzhou 230 Half-through Under construction
8 Dongpingshuidao Railway Bridge in Guangdong 242 Half-through 2009
9 Dongping Bridge in Foshan 300 Half-through 2006
10 Nanning Bridge in Guangxi 300 Half-through 2009
11 Dashengguan Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing 336 Half-through 2009
12 Wangzhou Yangtze River Railway Bridge in Chong- 360 Half-through 2005
13 No.2 Hengqin Bridge in Zhuhai 360 Half-through Under construction
14 Daninghe Bridge in Chongqing 400 Deck 2010
15 Caiyuanba Yangtze River Bridge in Chongqing 420 Half-through 2007
16 Xinguang Bridge in Guangzhou 428 Half-through 2006
17 Mingzhou Bridge in Ningbo 450 Half-through 2011
18 Xijiang Railway Bridge in Zhaoqing 450 Half-through Under construction
19 Lupu Bridge in Shanghai 550 Half-through 2003
20 Chaotianmen Bridge in Chongqing 552 Half-through 2007

216
span of 552m (steel truss arch bridge, 2007, Fig. 4);
the Daninghe Bridge in Chongqing, with a main span
of 400m (steel truss arch bridge, 2010).
It is expected that the upper limit of the span of the
steel arch bridge is far from being reached. Theo-
retically, with the current construction technology
and material, the span limit of the steel arch bridge
can be 1200m10).
(2) Evolution in Japan
Detailed information on 1509 steel arch bridges
has been obtained from a website survey14) and a

Fig. 3 Lupu Bridge in Shanghai. Fig. 4 Chaotianmen Bridge in Chongqing.

Table 2 Long-span steel arch bridges in Japan (main span200m).

Order Bridge Name Main Span (m) Structure type Completion Year
1 Roppouzawa Bridge 200 Deck 1975
2 Togatani Bridge 200 Deck 1978
3 Miyagasenijinno Bridge 200 Deck 1985
4 Ryuten Bridge 200 Deck 1988
5 Shimminasegawa Bridge 200 Deck 1990
6 Maizuru yuragawa Bridge 200 Half-through 1996
7 Yakatagawa nijino Bridge 202 Deck 2003
8 Kitakami Bridge 208 Through 2002
9 Kitakyushu kuko renraku Bridge 210 Half-through 1999
10 Karematsuzawa Bridge 210 Deck 2006
11 Okususohana Bridge 215 Deck 2003
12 Rokko island Bridge 215.4 Double-deck 1992
13 Saikai Bridge 216 Deck 1955
14 Kobe Bridge 217 Double-Deck 1970
15 Utsumi Bridge 219.6 Through 1988
16 Seiun Bridge 220 Deck 1983
17 Okuaso Bridge 221 Deck 1989
18 Takiyamakyo Bridge 230 Deck 1997
19 Kushimoto Bridge 230 Half-through 1999
20 Shima Bridge 232 Through 2004
21 Otonase Bridge 236 Through 1993
22 Potopia Bridge 250 Through 1979
23 Imariwan Bridge 250 Half-through 2000
24 Nishinomiya kou Bridge 252 Through 1994
25 Shinhamadera Bridge 254 Through 1991
26 Kishiwada Bridge 255 Half-through 1993
27 Jogakura Bridge 255 Deck 1994
28 Chitose Bridge 259.9 Through 2003
29 Saigo Bridge 260 Half-through 1977
30 Ushine Bridge 260.1 Half-through 2007
31 Eto Bridge 275 Half-through 1994
32 Oamigawa Bridge 280 Deck 1999
33 Yumemai Bridge 280 Half-through 1999
34 Omishima Bridge 297 Half-through 1979
35 Shinkizugawa Bridge 305 Half-through 1993
36 Kuko Bridge 380 Deck 2008

217
 1600
literature review. Among them, the main spans and 400 Kuko Bridge
completion years of 1467 bridges are known. They 1400
350 Shinkizugawa Bridge
1200

Number of bridges
are shown in Fig. 5 by markers with some repre- 300

Main span, m
sentative bridges labelled. The red broken line and Omishima Bridge 1000
250 Saikai Bridge
blue solid line show the development of the main 200 800
span and the number of bridges, respectively. Thir- 150 600
Sakuranomiya Bridge
ty-six bridges with main spans of more than 200m 100 400
are listed in Table 2. 50 Shinmachi Bridge 200
It can be seen from Fig. 5 that the number of steel 0 0
arch bridges in Japan had been increasing since 1920,

almost stopped increasing between 1935 and 1955,
increased conspicuously between 1955 and 2004,
and then slowed down from 2004. The evolution of
steel arch bridges in Japan can be partitioned roughly
into two stages using the year 1955.
The Shinmachi Bridge was the first iron arch
bridge constructed from imported cast iron in 1872.
During the period 1883-1885, the Mikohata Bridge
and Habuchi Bridge were constructed. They disin-
tegrated and were reconstructed in parks as precious
heritages. Now, they are the oldest existing cast iron
arch bridges in Japan. The early arch bridges in Ja-
pan were designed and manufactured with Western
technology.
The Yamaga Bridge, with a length of 164.2m and
height of 27m, was established in 1910. It was the
largest two-hinged steel arch bridge and one of the
representative bridges constructed by domestic
technology in the Meiji Era. In 1913, the first
through-type steel arch bridge, with a length of
41.4m, was constructedthe old Yatsuyama Bridge.
Subsequently, some through-type steel arch bridges
were constructed, such as the old Taisho Bridge,
with a relatively larger span of 91.5m (two-hinged,
completed in 1915); Rokugo Bridge, with a main
span of 67m (completed in 1925); Choroku Bridge,
with a main span of 73m (completed in 1927). The
Juso Bridge was the first railway tied steel arch
bridge, with a main span of 64m (completed in 1932).
With the technological development of the steel arch
bridge in Japan, the Arakawa Bridge with three spans
was constructed in 1928. The three-hinged
Sakuranomiya Bridge, with a main span of 104m,
was constructed in 1931. Some combined-system
bridges were also constructed. For example,
Sumidagawa Bridge and Owari Bridge with rigid
girder flexible arch ribs were constructed in 1932
and 1933, respectively1), 2).
Although the technology for steel arch bridges had
kept developing and improving, just a few bridges
were constructed before 1955 due to limited steel
production. From 1872, when the first cast iron
bridge was completed, to 1955, only 112 bridges
(7.6%) were built in this duration of 85 years. Only 4
bridges main spans are 100m or longer. The longest
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Completion year
Fig. 5 Main spans and completion years of steel
arch bridges in Japan.
Fig. 6 Saikai Bridge in Nagasaki.
Fig. 7 Kuko Bridge in Hiroshima.
main span is 110m. Before 1955, the annual pro-
duction of steel for bridges in Japan was 50 thousand
tons, and most of them were employed in con-
structing truss bridges.
After 1955, the steel production for bridges in-
creased with the rapid economic growth, which came
to a peak of 600 thousand tons in 1971. Although the
steel production for bridges decreased to 350 thou-
sand tons in 1975 because of the oil crisis, it re-
bounded to 550 thousand tons in 1980, and has kept
the output at more than 550 thousand tons for two
decades2).With the developments in theory and in
material, steel arch bridges of various structural
types and with large spans and attractive appearances
were constructed. In the decades after 1955, 1355
bridges were constructed, which accounted for
92.4% of the total. There are 531 bridges with a main
span of 100m or longer, and the average main span is
98.5m. Saikai Bridge, with a main span of 216m
(steel truss arch bridge, 1955, Fig. 6); Mitou Bridge,
with a main span of 131.2m (first steel box arch
bridge with X-shape, 1969); Kobe Bridge, with a
main span of 217m (first steel box arch bridge with

218
double-deck, 1970); Omishima Bridge, with a main 120
70 130 60 120 70 130 70 130
span of 297m (steel box arch bridge, 1979);
Yumemai Bridge, with a main span of 280m (mov-
able steel arch bridge, 1999); Kuko Bridge, with a 4m 15m
15m 4m 15m 4m 10m 4m 15m
main span of 380m (the largest steel truss arch bridge
1.4m
in Japan, 2008, Fig. 7), are the representative ex-
(a) Vehicle-20 (unit: kN)
amples.
120 140
70 130 70 130 30 120 140 70 130 70 130

3. DESIGN TRAFFIC LOAD

15m 4m 15m 4m 10m 3m 7m 10m 4m 15m 4m 15m
(1) Chinese code 1.4m 1.4m
For designing highway bridges in China, loads are (b) Vehicle-over 20
specified in the General Code for Design of High- Fig. 8 Truck - train load of Vehicle-20 and Vehicle-over
way Bridges and Culverts15), 16). The up-to-date code 20 in JTJ 021-89 (unit: kN).
JTG D60-200415) was published to supersede the
primary code JTJ 021-8916). In JTJ 021-89, four Pk
qk
classes of truck-train loads, i.e., Vehicle-over 20,
Vehicle-20, Vehicle-15 and Vehicle-10, were used
as the standard traffic live loads. The number in the Fig. 9 Lane load in JTG D60-2004.
class name indicates the gross weight of a truck, e.g.,
the truck weight is approximately 20t (200 kN) in Uniform load P1
Vehicle-20. Fig. 8 shows the truck-train load of Uniform load P2
Vehicle-over 20 and Vehicle-20 in JTJ 021-89. In
JTG D60-2004, the system of truck-train loading is
Applied length D
superseded by equivalent lane loading, which con-

P 2/2
P1/2

Uniform load P1

Uniform load P 2
Lateral direction

sists of a uniform load accompanied by a concen- P2/2 (P1+P2)/2 P2/2

trated load, as shown in Fig. 9. Two equivalent lane

P1

P2
P2 P1+P2 P2
loadings, Highway-I and Highway-II, are adopted to

replace Vehicle-over 20, Vehicle-20 and Vehicle-15,
while Vehicle-10 is abolished. Most of the steel arch
bridges in China mentioned in this paper were de-
signed according to Highway-I and Highway-II of
the JTG D60-2004. The uniform load qk for High-
way-I is 10.5 kN/m, and concentrated load Pk is 180
kN and 360 kN when the main span of the bridge is
shorter than 5m and longer than 50m, respectively.
When the main span falls from 5m to 50m, Pk can be
interpolated in a linear manner. The loadings for
Highway-II are 0.75 times those for Highway-I. The
vehicle lane is determined according to the width of
the bridge.
Pedestrian loads are 3.0 kN/m2 and 2.5 kN/m2
when the main spans are shorter than 50m and longer
than 150m, respectively. For the main span from 50m
to 150m, the pedestrian load may be interpolated in a
linear manner.
(2) Japanese code
The L-load is provided in specifications for
highway bridges for the design of the main compo-
nents of the steel arch bridge 17). The L-load consists
of two kinds of uniform loads, p1 and p2. The dis-
tribution and values of p1 and p2 are provided in Fig.
10 and Table 3, respectively. The width (lateral
P 2/2
P1/2
P2/2 (P1+P2)/2 P2/2
Longitudinal direction
Fig. 10 L-load in Japanese code.
direction) subjected to uniform loads p1 and p2 is
5.5m maximum, and the remaining portion is sub-
jected to half-values of p1 and p2.
The same uniform load as p2 is specified as the
pedestrian loads.
4. DESIGN METHODS AGAINST GLOBAL
BUCKLING
(1) Chinese code18)
In-plane stability of the arch should be checked
under the following assumptions: The arch rib is a
member subjected to axial compressive load, the
length of the member relates to the span of the bridge,
and no favorable effects of suspenders and tie bars
exist. The effective length is determined by the
rise-to-span ratio and the structural style, since the
critical load of steel arch bridges is significantly
affected by those two parameters.
The critical flexure force Ncr of the arch for

219
 Table 3 L-load.
Uniform load P1 Uniform load P2
Vehicle Vehicle load (kN/m2) Vehicle load (kN/m2)
load Applied
length D For calculating For calculating
L80 80<L130 130<L
moment shear force
A-class 6m
10 12 3.5 4.3-0.01L 3
B-class 10m

Table 4 Value of K.
f/L 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.0
Fixed arch 60.7 101.0 115.0 111.0 97.4 83.8 59.1 43.7
Two-hinged arch 28.5 45.5 46.5 43.9 38.4 30.5 20.0 14.1
Three-hinged arch 22.5 39.6 46.5 43.9 38.4 30.5 20.0 14.1

in-plane buckling is expressed by

2 EI x
N cr = (1)
L20
where E is the Youngs modulus of the arch rib, Ix is
the geometrical moment of inertia of the arch rib and
L0 is the effective length of the arch rib, which can be
obtained by the following equation:
L0 = 8 f / KL L (2) Fig. 11 Loading state to be used for verifying
where L is the span length of the bridge, f is the arch out-of-plane buckling.
rise and K is a parameter determined by the structural
style and rise-to-span ratio of the arch rib. The value Table 5 Value of z.
of K is given in Table 4. When the rise-to-span ratio Rise-to-span ratio f / L
Section
comes between the values shown in Table 4, it may 0.05 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40
be calculated through linear interpolation. IZ=constant 0.50 0.54 0.65 0.82 1.07
The Chinese code specifies that the arch rib can be IZ=IZC / cosx 0.50 0.52 0.59 0.71 0.86
treated as a Vierendeel truss with length equal to the
arch axis for approximate checking of out-of-plane
stability, and the truss is subjected to longitudinal Ib is the geometrical moment of inertia of the trans-
force N on the quarter point of the arch rib. N is de- verse bracing around the vertical axis and Iy is the
termined by the following equation: out-of-plane geometrical moment of inertia of the
N = H / cos m (3) arch rib. The -value can be obtained using equation
(6):
where H is the horizontal thrust and m is the angle of
N cr a 2
the arch axis to the horizontal direction on the = (6)
quarter point. The critical axial force Ncr is calcu- 2 2 EI y
lated by
2 EI (2) Japanese code17)
N cr = 0 (4)
The entire structural system of a steel arch bridge,
S2
which is a narrow, long-span structure, has a ten-
where I is the geometrical moment of inertia of two
dency to buckle laterally away from the arch plane,
chords around the common axis (central longitudinal
so the Japanese code establishes rules and regula-
axis of the bridge) and S is the length of the arch axis.
tions for verification of out-of-plane buckling. If the
The variable 0 is calculated as follows:
arch axis forms a symmetrical parabola in the verti-
1 (5)
0 = cal plane, and if lateral bracing and sway bracing are
EI ab
2
a 1 installed in accordance with the provisions, the
1+ +
S 2 12 EI b 26 EI y 1 verification of out-of-plane buckling may be per-
formed using the following equation:
where a is the panel length, b is the arch rib spacing,
H / Ag 0.85 ca (7)

220
where H is the horizontal component of the axial 30
28

Number of steel arch bridges

force acting on the members of one side arch under 26 Double-deck
24 Deck
the loading shown in Fig. 11, Ag is the mean value of 22
20 Half-through
18 Through
the gross cross-sectional area of the members of one 16
14
side arch, and ca is the allowable axial compressive 12
10
stress at the L/4 point of one side arch. In this regard 8
6
the effective buckling length and radius of gyration is 4
2
to be calculated as follows: 0
0 50 60 70 80 90 100150200250300350400450500550600
Main span, m
2

l = z L , r = I z + Ag b / Ag (8) Fig. 12 Span distribution of steel arch bridges in China.
2

Number of steel arch bridges

400
where Iz is the mean value of the geometrical moment 350
Un-known
Double-deck
of inertia around the vertical axis of the members of 300 Deck
one side arch, b is the arch rib spacing and z takes 250 Half-through
200 Through
the values shown in Table 5. When the value of f/L
150
falls between the values given in Table 5, z may be 100
interpolated in a linear manner. Values of are 50
specified as follows: for a through stiffened arch, = 0
1-0.35k; for an upper-deck stiffened arch, = 0 50 60 70 80 90 100150200250300350400450500550600
Main span, m
1+0.45k; and for a mid-height-deck stiffened arch, Fig. 13 Span distribution of steel arch bridges in Japan.
= 1. Here, k is the ratio of the load shared by the
hangers or shoring to the total load in the loading
Number of steel arch bridges in China

Number of steel arch bridges in Japan

42
39 650
state shown in Fig. 11. In this regard, when the arch Bridge in China
600
36 Bridge in Japan
and stiffening girder in an upper-deck stiffened arch 33 550
30 500
are not rigidly linked at the arch crown, the value of k 450
27
is set at 1. 24 400
21 350
18 300
15 250
5. DISTRIBUTION OF MAIN SPAN 12 200
9 150
LENGTH 6 100
3 50
0 0
Figs. 12 and 13 show the distribution of main span Deck Half-through Through Double-deck
length in China and Japan, respectively. The main Overall structure type
span of steel arch bridges in China is mostly from Fig. 14 Number of steel arch bridges classified by structure type.
100m to 250m, for around 48 out of 76 (63.2%). The
average main span length of the steel arch bridge in arch bridge can be the most economical bridge type
China is 172m. Meanwhile, more than 10 steel arch in the span range of 100 to 200 m in China7) and 90 to
bridges with a main span of 300m or more have been 150 m in Japan19).
constructed. There are some great rivers in China, i.e.,
the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. In order to
cross such rivers using one span with a high 6. STRUCTURE TYPE
stiff-weight ratio, an arch bridge is employed in some
railway and rail-cum-road bridges. Some highway (1) Deck, half-through, through and double-deck
steel arch bridges with a large main span are con- steel arch bridges
structed focusing on the pursuit of a novel and There are many forms of steel arch bridges. With
graceful appearance. Most steel arch bridges in Ja- respect to the relative position of the bridge deck and
pan have short and medium main span lengths. The the arch rib, steel arch bridges can be categorized
average main span length is 95m. Although the his- into deck, half-through and through types. Although
tory and distribution of main span length of steel arch most of the bridges have only one deck, there are
bridges in China and Japan are different, the main some bridges of double-deck type. As shown in Fig.
span of majority of steel arch bridges in both coun- 14, in the 80 steel arch bridges of China with deck
tries are from 100 to 150m, accounting for 36.8% and relative location known, there are 9 (11.3%) deck
26.7%, respectively. It means that the steel arch bridges, 32 (40.0%) half-through bridges, 35 (43.7%)
bridge is competitive from 100 to 150m since the through bridges and 4 (5.0%) double-deck bridges.

221
 Three-hinged
In the 1165 steel arch bridges of Japan with deck Two-hinged
relative location known, there are 369 (31.7%) deck 67.59% Single-hinged
bridges, 129 (11.1%) half-through bridges, 662 Hingeless
(56.8%) through bridges and 5 (0.4%) double-deck
bridges.
The through and half-through types of steel arch
0.77% 0.11%
bridges are generally suitable for plain and urban
areas. Deck-type steel arch bridges consist of an arch 31.53%
Fig. 15 Articulation of main arch in Japan.
rib and a spandrel structure. It is ideal for crossing a
valley with sound rock walls. In order to match the 14 450

Number of bridges in Japan

Number of bridges in China
lightweight but strong characteristics of the arch, the 12
Bridge in China 400
spandrel structure of the bridge is usually con- Bridge in Japan 350
10
structed with steel, accompanied by a steel-concrete 300
8 250
composite decking system.
6 200
Fig. 12 shows that the through and half-through 150
type steel arch bridges are employed mainly when 4
100
the main span is longer than 80m in China. There 2 50
exist only several deck-type steel arch bridges since 0 0

1/5-1/4

1/4-1/3
1/6

1/6-1/5
1/9-1/8

1/7-1/6

1/5
1/8
1/8-1/7

1/4
they are generally uneconomic in mountainous areas
compared to RC and CFST arch bridges, if there are Rise-to-span ratio
no navigation and traffic requirements in site and Fig. 16 Rise-to-span ratios of steel arch bridges.
construction time is sufficient. Fig. 13 shows that the
through-type steel arch bridges in Japan are em-
ployed mainly when the main span is shorter than 1/2
200m. Furthermore, Japan is a hilly, mountainous Steel arch bridges in Chian
Rise-to-span ratio

and earthquake-prone country. Consequently, deck Steel arch bridges in Japan

types are commonly adopted. 1/3

1/4
(2) Three-hinged, two-hinged, single-hinged and
1/5
hingeless steel arch bridges 1/6
1/7
With respect to the articulation of the main arch, 1/8
1/10
they can be classified into four categories, i.e.,
three-hinged, two-hinged, single-hinged and hinge- 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600
less (or fixed) steel arch bridges. Main span, m
For single-hinged and three-hinged arch bridges, Fig. 17 Relationship between rise-to-span ratio and main span.
the existence of a hinge in the arch crown increases
the tendency of suffering damage from heavy impact
loads, and the maintenance of the hinge is difficult.
Volume of steel

.0
=5

Therefore, there are very few single-hinged and

.0
g/p

=2

three-hinged arch bridges worldwide. The

g/p

two-hinged and fixed steel arch bridges are fre-

quently employed, and mainly the two-hinged form g:Dead load
was adopted in early times. p:Live load
All steel arch bridges in China are hingeless since
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
most of them were built in the last decade, and traffic Rise-to-span ratio f/l
in China is much heavier than in Japan. The articu- Fig. 18 Relationship between steel volume and rise-to-span ratio.
lation of the steel arch bridge in Japan is shown in
Fig. 15. Only one bridge, Sakuranomiya Bridge, is Parabola
three-hinged, and 7 bridges are single-hinged. 67.65% Catenary
However, they are different from the traditional Others
one-hinged bridge having a hinge in the arch crown.
They are asymmetrical, and the elevation of the two
springings is different from each other. The higher 11.76%
springing is fixed, while the lower one is hinged, as
20.59%
in the Shibichari Bridge, completed in 1989 with a
Fig. 19 Arch axes of steel arch bridges in China.

222
main span of 138.3m. Two-hinged forms were
adopted in the majority of deck and half-through
steel arch bridges, and there are 286 two-hinged
bridges in total.
(3) Rise-to-span ratio
The rise-to-span ratio is an important parameter of
steel arch bridges. The distribution of rise-to-span
ratios used in existing steel arch bridges in China and
Japan are illustrated in Fig. 16. It shows that the
rise-to-span ratios of steel arch bridges in China are
in the range of 1:2 to 1:8, mostly from 1:4 to 1:6,
while the rise-to-span ratios of steel arch bridges in
Japan are in the range of 1:9 to 1:3, commonly be-
tween 1:7 and 1:5. Other ratios such as beyond
1:8-1:3 and 1:9-1:3 are usually employed in
short-span bridges. The rise-to-span ratio of steel
arch bridges in China is slightly greater than Japans.
In addition, as shown in Fig. 17, there is no direct
correlation between the rise-to-span ratio and the
main span of steel arch bridges in China and Japan.
For parabolic arches, the relationship between
steel volume, f/l and g/p, where g and p are the dead
load and the live load acting on the arch rib, and f/l is
the rise-to-span ratio, has been derived by the varia-
tion method in Reference 19), as given in Fig. 18.
Fig. 18 shows that the most materialsaving struc-
ture is when the f/l varies in the range of 1/6-1/5. In
addition, the ratio of g/p has a significant influence
on the amount of steel used. The larger traffic vol-
ume in China than in Japan possibly causes the larger
rise-to-span ratios of steel arch bridges in China. But
the rationality of rise-to-span ratios commonly used
in China and Japan still requires further study.
(4) Arch axes
Since data about arch axes of steel arch bridges in
Japan have not been collected, arch axes of steel arch
bridges in China are analyzed in this section.
To maximize the compressive resistance of the
arch rib, the arch axis is expected to be close to the
compression line of the dead load. Among the se-
lected 82 steel arch bridges, the arch axes of 34
bridges (excluded were peculiarly shaped bridges or
those with unknown shape) are shown in Fig. 19. It
can be seen from Fig. 19 that 23 (67.6%), 7 (20.6%)
and 4 (11.8%) bridges adopt the parabola, catenary
and other curves (such as ellipse, circle, combination
of parabola and catenary), respectively. It is obvious
that the parabola is the most popular arch axis in steel
arch bridges because of the approximately uniform
spanwise distribution of its dead loads.
(5) Section of arch rib
The sections of arch ribs can be classified into
solid type and truss type. There are 76 bridges in
China and 912 bridges in Japan with known section
types. They are selected for analysis here, as shown
in Table 6. In China, solid ribs are used in 57 (75.0%)
bridges and truss ribs are used in the remaining 19
bridges (25.0%). In Japan, solid ribs and truss ribs
are employed in 900 bridges (98.6%) and in 13
bridges (1.4%), respectively. Therefore, mainly solid
ribs are adopted in steel arch bridges in China and
Japan.
The solid rib is usually adopted in short steel arch

Table 6 Section of arch rib.

Bridge in China Bridge in Japan
Type Shape
Number Percentage Number Percentage
Rectangle 53 69.7% 870 95.3%
Circle 0 0.0% 29 3.2%
Ellipse 2 2.7% 0 0.0%
Solid
Octagon 1 1.3% 0 0.0%
L-shape 1 1.3% 0 0.0%
I-shape 0 0.0% 1 0.1%
Rectangle 19 25.0% 11 1.2%
Truss
Circle 0 0.0% 2 0.2%

Table 7 Construction methods for steel arch bridges.

Steel arch bridge in China Steel arch bridge in Japan
Construction method
Number Percentage (%) Number Percentage (%)
Cantilever method 18 36.7 231 50
Scaffolding method 21 42.9 198 42.9
Swing method 3 6.1 1 0.2
Launching method 2 4.1 0 0
Large block method 5 10.2 32 6.9

223
bridges, and its section can be I- or L-shaped, a cir-
cular tube or box-shaped, etc. The I- or L-shaped
sections are used in a few short-span steel arch
bridges in some countries. In China, the L-shaped
section is adopted in a very small steel arch bridge. In
Japan, the I-shaped section is employed in Sa-
kuranomiya Bridge. Circular tubes adopted as arch
ribs are usually filled with concrete in China, while
mainly hollow circular tubes are employed in Japan.
The box shape is the main section of steel arch
bridges in China and Japan. Meanwhile, for the sake
of an elegant appearance, some unfamiliar box sec-
tions such as octagon-shaped (the No. 1 Bridge
crossing the Chanba River in Xian) and elliptical (the
Yangtze River Bridge in Zhongsan and the Liuwu
Bridge in Lasa) are occasionally used in China. For
some long-span bridges, a single box section with
double cells is used in China, such as in the Lupu
Bridge in Shanghai (main span: 550m) and the
Mingzhou Bridge in Ningbo (main span: 450m).
Truss ribs can be more effective and are preferred
when the arch span exceeds 200m. Members in truss
ribs are smaller and lighter than those in solid section
ribs; therefore, they facilitate delivery and erection.
However, truss ribs are more difficult to fabricate in
Fig. 20 Construction of Dashengguan Bridge.
Fig. 22 Construction of Dongping Bridge by swinging horizontally.
Fig. 24 Construction of 2nd Ondo Bridge.
member connection and the complexity sometimes
affects their beauty. Because steel arch bridges have
larger stiffness than cable-stayed bridges and sus-
pension bridges, many have been used as high-speed
railway bridges, which need very rigid structures.
The sections employed in solid ribs may also be used
in truss members of steel arches, such as I- or
H-shaped, circular tube and box sections. However,
mostly box section members are used in China and
Japan for their great stiffness and simple configura-
tion in long-span steel arch bridges. Other section
members are rarely used.
7. CONSTRUCTION METHOD
Similar to RC and CFST arch bridges8), 9), the
scaffolding method, cantilever method and swing
method are used for steel arch bridge construction. In
addition, the lightweight quality and high stiffness of
steel arch bridges enable the use of launching and
large block methods for the whole superstructure or
large segments of the structure. The known con-
struction methods used in selected steel arch bridges
are shown in Table 7.
Fig. 21 Construction of Dongping Bridge by swinging vertically.
Fig. 23 Construction of Xinguang Bridge.
Fig. 25 Construction of Xiangjiang Bridge.
224
 600
China
Main span length, m 500 Japan

400

300

200

100

Cantilever Large block Scaffolding Swing Launching

Construction method
Fig. 26 Relationship between construction method and main
span length. Fig. 27 Dagu Bridge in Tianjing.

Table 7 shows that about 36.7% and 50.0% of the

steel arch bridges in China and Japan, respectively,
were constructed using the cantilever method. This
method can be used in long-span bridges. Besides the
cable-stayed cantilever method, which is also mostly
used for RC and CFST arch bridges, the free canti-
lever method can also be used in steel arch bridge
construction. The cable-stayed cantilever method
requires complicated temporary structures such as Fig. 28 Jiubao Bridge in Hangzhou.
pylons, cables and anchoring, whose design and
construction are sometimes much more challenging
and difficult than the bridge itself. The free cantile-
ver method is the favorable choice for a steel truss
arch rib because the rib has a great stiffness and
load-carrying capacity; therefore the need for auxil-
iary structures is minimized. This method was
adopted in the construction of the Dashengguan
Bridge (high-speed railway bridge, spans:
108+192+336+336+192+108), completed in August
2009 in China. As shown in Fig. 20, each side arch Fig. 29 Fenghua Bridge in Tianjing.
was erected using the free cantilever method via a
short pylon and a pair of cables. The two central
arches were erected by horizontal cables in three
levels anchored back-to-back to each other. The deck
truss was installed synchronously with arch ribs.
Quite a number of steel arch bridges (accounting
for 42.9% in both countries) are constructed using
the scaffolding method in China and Japan. When
the river is shallow with little navigation, the scaf-
folding method is appropriate. This method is also
Fig. 30 New Nishigawara Bridge in Ibaraki.
used for bridges with a flexible arch and a rigid
girder, in which the arch ribs are erected through
scaffolds on the rigid girder previously constructed.
The swing method is specially used for arch
bridges in China. Approximately 6.1% of steel arch
bridges are constructed using this method, even for
some bridges with a large span. As shown in Figs. 21
and 22, the Dongping Bridge in Foshan city,
Guangzhou province, with a main span of 300m, was
constructed by swinging vertically and horizontally.
In Japan, the swing method was employed only in Fig. 31 Forest Bridge in Aichi.

225
Ogatayama Bridge in the Yamanashi Maglev Test
Line.
The large block method is a method in which the
whole superstructure or large segments of the
structure are hoisted by a floating crane or winch.
This method was seldom employed in China. It was
used in the construction of the Xinguang Bridge in
Guangzhou of China, shown in Fig. 23. The arch rib
was hoisted and assembled from three large seg-
ments. The heaviest one, weighing 3078t, was
hoisted to 85.6m high by 16 synchronous hydraulic
jacks. In Japan, the large block method employing a
floating crane, such as in the 2nd Ondo Bridge shown
in Fig. 24, was relatively common.
The launching method was used for the Jiubao
Bridge in Hangzhou and the Xiangjiang Bridge in
Changsha of China. The construction of Xiangjiang
Bridge is shown in Fig. 25. This method has not been
adopted in Japan.
The cantilever method and scaffolding method are
the main construction methods. Of the selected steel
arch bridges in China and Japan, 79.6% and 92.9%
employed these methods, respectively. The rela-
tionship between construction method and main span
length is illustrated in Fig. 26. The cantilever method
can be adopted not only for small bridges but also for
large bridges. Other methods are usually employed
for bridges with spans shorter than 250m. Owing to
the lightweight quality and high stiffness of the steel
arch rib, it is possible to develop better construction
methods to promote technological progress in con-
struction.
8. AESTHETICS
There is no doubt that the arch bridge is a beautiful,
functional, and expressive structural form. The
lightweight but strong characteristics of the steel
arch coincide with the architects vision on structural
forms; therefore, there has been a trend to pursue the
aesthetic appearance of steel arch bridges in China in
recent years. The main approaches are done by 1)
adopting outer-inclined arch ribs, such as the Dagu
Bridge, with a main span of 106m, shown in Fig. 27;
2) spatial composition of arch ribs of various scales,
such as the Jiubao Bridge in Hangzhou, with a main
span of 210m, shown in Fig. 28; 3) deformed arch
axial line, such as the Fenghua Bridge in Tianjing,
with a main span of 138m, shown in Fig. 29.
In Japan, a few girder bridges are stiffened by a
single arch rib or a couple of arch ribs without
bracing. A few irregular steel arch bridges are found
in highway and railway systems, such as the New
Nishigawara Bridge in Ibaraki, which is a combined
226
high-low arch bridge with a main span of 78.8m (see
Fig. 30)20). With regard to pedestrian bridges, lots of
forms have been designed, including tilting arches
and butterfly arches. An example is the Forest Bridge
in Kenkounomori Park in Aichi prefecture21) (see Fig.
31).
It can be seen that the irregular steel arch bridges
were constructed in China with not only small but
also larger main spans, while they were only em-
ployed in small highway and pedestrian bridges in
Japan. If the appearance and aesthetics of a bridge
are presumably very important and the increased
costs are limited and acceptable, various arches may
be considered. But they should not be excessively
used for long spans or for heavily loaded bridges,
because the likely result would be very expensive but
not exactly beautiful bridges.
9. LAST REMARKS
The results of a comprehensive survey of steel
arch bridges in China and Japan with respect to
history, steel material, design traffic load, design
method against global buckling, main span, struc-
tural form and construction method have been re-
ported in this paper. Statistical comparison of steel
arch bridges in China and in Japan has also been
briefly addressed.
Steel arch bridges have a long history in Japan.
The experience and technique of design and con-
struction of steel arch bridges in Japan provide a
good reference for engineers worldwide. Steel arch
bridges have been used relatively late and still on a
small scale today in China. However, rapid progress
has been made in recent years. The development of
steel arch bridges in China has improved steel arch
bridge engineering technologies in the fields of de-
sign, fabrication and erection for long-span bridges.
Steel arch bridges remain popular structure types
that are frequently adopted for modern bridges, even
though designers now have many other structural
types to choose from. Many steel arch bridges will be
built for their elegant appearance and favored by
designers and owners for highway and city roads. At
the same time, this bridge type is strongly competi-
tive in long-span high-speed railway bridges with a
high requirement for stiffness. Therefore, the steel
arch bridge still has a prosperous future in this era of
large-scale transportation infrastructure construction
in developing counties. The survey of steel arch
bridges in China and Japan in this paper is expected
to provide base data and a reference for its future
research and construction.
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(Received September 18, 2012)