December 27, 2024
The main bridge of the Nanchong County Jialing River Third Bridge in Sichuan adopts a low-tower cable-stayed continuous girder structure with a tower-beam consolidation system. It features spans of 117.5+230×2+117.5 meters, a 38-meter-high cable-stayed tower, and a width of 41 meters, accommodating eight lanes for two-way traffic. Notably, the bridge boasts the widest deck of its kind in Asia.
Technical Challenges:
· The bridge employs bearings with exceptionally high design loads. The largest single bearing has a vertical load capacity of 140,000 kN (14,000 tons), with nine such bearings installed across the structure.
· These bearings require a 120-year lifecycle design due to their significant load and difficulty in replacement.
· To meet modern engineering demands, the bearings are equipped with real-time force measurement capabilities for continuous monitoring.
IEC’s technical team collaborated with leading experts in bridge structures, bearings, and high-performance materials to refine the design in the summer of 2019. Following rigorous discussions and optimizations, the Smartbearing design and manufacturing plan was approved by a panel of stakeholders, including project owners, designers, constructors, supervisors, and invited specialists.
This project represents another breakthrough in IEC’s history of delivering ultra-large capacity (10,000-ton-class) bearings. The successful implementation of this project will fill a global gap in force-measurement functionality for ultra-large bearings.It will also enhance IEC’s comprehensive strength, particularly in R&D and technical problem-solving, earning significant recognition from stakeholders.
