Numerical and Experimental Study on the Construction Process of the Pedestrian Bridge with a Curved Beam and Inclined Arch

This paper investigates the stress and geometry shape of a pedestrian bridge with a curved beam and an inclined arch during the construction process using numerical simulation and field testing. The results reveal that the stress and geometry of the arch ribs and the main beam would vary noticeably as a result of the initial development of the beam-arch combination system after the cable is tensioned, which may result in a significant safety risk. During the whole construction process, the measured stress and geometry of the bridge show a good agreement with the numerical results by means of the finite element (FE) method, and are subjected to the requirements in the design, which indicates that the construction control of the bridge is reasonable. The output of this study can provide important scientific insights as well as practical applications for similar bridges.