Evaluating the Behavior of Architectural Pylons of Cable-Stayed Bridges

The cable-stayed bridge is considered a bridge with beautiful architecture. In recent years, engineers have researched using nontraditional bridge pylon types or adjusting the cable arrangement on the pylon and girder to enhance the architecture, uniqueness, and attractiveness. Constructing a highly aesthetic bridge pylon requires complex structural solutions and higher material costs. The bridge pylon is a significant compression and bending structure. The traditional resolution is straight-element pylon branches. However, curved pylon branches are increasingly applied to enhance aesthetics. The behavior of the curved pylon branches is much more complicated than that of the straight element, and so is the material cost. This paper studies the behavior of the curved pylon and compares them with the straight pylon in practical applications at Song Hieu cable-stayed bridge in Quang Tri province, Vietnam.