Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Bloomstine, M.L.
• Melén, J.F.
• Mahmoud, Khaled M.

Titel

Optimizing main cable dehumidification systems

Ist Teil von

• Risk-based Bridge Engineering, 2019, p.34-46

Auflage

1

Ort / Verlag

CRC Press

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Corrosion protection of main cables by dehumidification on suspension bridges has been applied for 21 years and is currently virtually a worldwide best practice. New suspension bridges are born with a main cable dehumidification system incorporated in the design and bridge owners around the world are retrofitting their existing bridges with dehumidification systems. While dehumidification is the optimal method to protect main cables from corrosion, the design of the system should be optimized and suited for each bridge. The purpose of the optimization is to achieve a reliable and durable system that provides the necessary corrosion protection at the lowest life cycle cost possible, i.e. the lowest sum of construction, operation and maintenance costs. Maintenance “friendliness” should also be incorporated in the design, e.g. all components that require maintenance should be easily accessible and easy to repair/replace. This paper presents recommendations for design optimization and optimization of systems in service, as well as recommendations for follow-up and inspection of systems in service. The main focus of the paper is retrofit design, but all the recommendations for design optimization can also be applied to systems for new bridges.