Thermal Effects on Main Girders During Construction of Composite Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data

Luo, Hua; Wu, Wan; She, Qincong; Li, Bin; Yang, Chen; Pan, Yahua

doi:10.3390/buildings15172990

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Effects on Main Girders During Construction of Composite Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data

by

Hua Luo

¹,

Wan Wu

²,

Qincong She

¹,

Bin Li

^1,*,

Chen Yang

³ and

Yahua Pan

³

¹

College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414000, China

²

Yueyang Transportation Quality and Safety Supervision Station, Yueyang 414000, China

³

Nanhu College, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414000, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Buildings 2025, 15(17), 2990; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15172990

Submission received: 12 July 2025 / Revised: 13 August 2025 / Accepted: 20 August 2025 / Published: 22 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development and Application of Concrete Materials and Related Building Materials)

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Abstract

Thermal effects critically influence the design and construction of steel-concrete composite cable-stayed bridges, where material thermal mismatch complicates structural responses. Current code-specified temperature gradient models inadequately address long-span bridges. This study employs in-situ monitoring of the Chibi Yangtze River Bridge to propose a refined vertical temperature gradient model, utilizing an exponential function for the concrete deck and a linear function for the steel web. Finite element analysis across six construction stages reveals: (1) Under negative temperature gradients, the concrete deck develops tensile stresses (2.439–2.591 MPa), approximately 30% lower than code-predicted values (3.613–3.715 MPa), highlighting risks of longitudinal cracking. (2) At the maximum double-cantilever stage, transverse stress distributions show pronounced shear lag effects, positive shear lag in deck sections connected to crossbeams and negative shear lag in non-connected sections. The proposed model reduces tensile stress conservatism in codes by 30–33%, enhancing prediction accuracy for composite girders. This work provides critical insights for thermal effect management in long-span bridge construction.

Keywords: cable-stayed bridge; steel-concrete composite girde; construction phase; temperature gradient; stress distribution

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MDPI and ACS Style

Luo, H.; Wu, W.; She, Q.; Li, B.; Yang, C.; Pan, Y. Thermal Effects on Main Girders During Construction of Composite Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data. Buildings 2025, 15, 2990. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15172990

AMA Style

Luo H, Wu W, She Q, Li B, Yang C, Pan Y. Thermal Effects on Main Girders During Construction of Composite Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data. Buildings. 2025; 15(17):2990. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15172990

Chicago/Turabian Style

Luo, Hua, Wan Wu, Qincong She, Bin Li, Chen Yang, and Yahua Pan. 2025. "Thermal Effects on Main Girders During Construction of Composite Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data" Buildings 15, no. 17: 2990. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15172990

APA Style

Luo, H., Wu, W., She, Q., Li, B., Yang, C., & Pan, Y. (2025). Thermal Effects on Main Girders During Construction of Composite Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data. Buildings, 15(17), 2990. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15172990

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Thermal Effects on Main Girders During Construction of Composite Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data

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