Research by BUILD-OPT researchers Helen Fairclough, Matthew Gilbert and Andy Tyas, together with collaborators from Brunel University London and engineering consultants COWI has shown that new bridge forms incorporating “split pylons” consume much less material than conventional cable supported bridges incorporating vertical pylons. This may enable cable supported bridges to span further in the future.
The research made use of the layout optimization technique being developed as part of the BUILD-OPT project and has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (open access).
To mark publication of the work, the kit bridge used by the University of Sheffield for school outreach purposes was modified to include a “split-pylon”.
