# Proposed New Analytical Method of Tower Load in Large-Span Arch Bridge Cable Lifting Construction
###### Abstract  
The cable lifting construction method is the most widely used construction method for large-span arch bridges. The correct calculation and analysis of cable lifting construction is essential to ensure the safety and linearity in the construction of arch bridges. The existing research mainly focuses on the construction scheme and finite element analysis of cable lifting for large-span arch bridges. There is relatively little research on calculation theory, and there is no analytical method for cable lifting construction of arch bridges. To calculate and analyze cable lifting construction more quickly and accurately, based on the deformation coordination principle and suspension cable theory, a practical calculation method is proposed to calculate the load of the tower acting by a cable system in the cable lifting construction of arch bridges. A large-span arch bridge under construction was used as a case study, and the correctness of the calculation method was verified by measuring the displacements of the tower top. A brief description of the structure, verification method, and verification process is presented. The displacement results are calculated by the numerical calculation software SAP2000, the actual measured displacement data are discussed and comparatively analyzed, and the correctness and calculation accuracy of the proposed calculation method are also evaluated. The results show that the calculation method has sufficient accuracy. The tower load calculation is mainly undertaken to prepare for the analysis of the tower mechanical properties; therefore, the calculation method is applied to towers of the case engineering, and the stability, load carrying capacity, and deformation of the tower are analyzed to verify whether its mechanical properties meet the engineering requirements. The results show that steel pipe columns of the buckle tower are prone to twisting instability. The normal stress of the tower's part of the pressurized rod or pressurized bending rod is larger. Wind cable load calculation models and tower design-related recommendations are presented in this tower analysis. The tower load calculation method and tower mechanics analysis method in this study can provide guidance for the calculation and analysis of the cable lifting construction of large-span arch bridges. arch bridge construction; cable lifting; tower load; calculation method; applied mechanics; engineering verification; displacement; numerical analysis; buckling +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
method has high adaptability to the terrain on which bridges are located [10]. Most existing large-span arch bridges and shaped-arch bridges with novel structures are constructed by cable lifting methods, such as the Pingnan Third Bridge [11] with a span of 575 m and the Jinghe Bridge [12] with a span of 284 m, which is a main and secondary arch collaborative Y-shaped steel box arch bridge. Figure 1a [13] and Figure 1b show the cable lifting construction of the Pingnan Third Bridge and the Jinghe Bridge, respectively. The internal structure of the cable lifting system [14] is quite complicated, in which the main load carrying structure is a tower [15] that bears loads transferred from the cable system. Therefore, the correct calculation of the load acting on the tower by the cable system is crucial to the tower mechanical analysis. To be able to design and calculate arch bridge cable lifting construction more accurately and quickly, researchers have conducted a lot of theoretical [16; 17; 18] and practical engineering [19; 20; 21] studies. [PERSON] et al. [22] established a method for correcting tower deflection, proposed an active control theory, and thoroughly studied the active control technology of tower deflection for the cable lifting construction of large-span arch bridges. [PERSON] et al. [23] studied the method of controlling the arch ring shape during the cable lifting construction of a concrete arch bridge by using buckle cables. [PERSON] et al.