Recent Application of and Research on Concrete Arch Bridges in China

Recently, China has made good progress in the construction of concrete arch bridges, which can provide development and experience for bridge engineers worldwide. Data from 313 concrete arch bridges with span lengths of no less than 100 m are studied. The investigation and analysis results indicate that both the number and the span lengths of these concrete arch bridges increased after 2007. Railway bridge applications have been increasing rapidly, while lightweight concrete arch bridges were not built anymore. The material strength of main arches has continuously improved. Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a cementitious composite material composed of an optimized gradation of granular constituents, a water-to-cementitious materials ratio less than 0.25, and a high percentage of discontinuous internal fiber reinforcement. Some UHPC arch bridges with small span lengths have been built. The cantilever method continues to be the main erection method used. The innovation-involving introduction of the Concrete-Filled Steel Tube (CFST) trussed arch into the Melan method enables construction economically, and it significantly reduces the required steps in casting of the main concrete arch. This approach has been used for all arch bridges with span lengths greater than 250 m after 2007. The core concrete is generally of higher strength grade than that of the concrete encasing the CFST. Finally, two concrete arch bridges are introduced as case studies, one has the current span record and the other would have the new span record when completed.