CEE 262
III. Cables:
The George Washington Bridge
www.nwa.nl
Figure 1: The George Washington Bridge, New York City
The George Washington Bridge crosses
the Hudson River between New York
City and New Jersey. Built in 1931 and
designed by Othmar Ammann, the
bridge was the longest span in the world
when it was completed. The length
between its two towers is 3,500 ft.
Classified as a suspension bridge, the
bridge was built with one deck. In 1961
a second deck was added below the
original to increase its capacity.i Both
decks are still in service today.
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Spring 2008
What is a Suspension Bridge?
A suspension bridge is one in which the
bridge deck is supported with cables that
are suspended between two large towers.
Attaching the deck to the cables are
suspenders. The suspenders transmit the
loads from the deck to the cables.
Because of the great number of
suspenders, we can approximate the
gravity loads: the dead load of the bridge
deck and the live load from the traffic
carried by the bridge, as a uniformly
distributed load, q (lb/ft or k/ft) on the
cable. Gravity loads are the dominant
load in this structure. Wind loads will
not be considered in this study.
CEE 262
Tower Reactions
Loads are transmitted from the cables to
the towers. The applied gravity loads on
the cable are acting downward; therefore
the towers need to resist these forces
with upward reactions. The vertical
reaction, V (lbs or k) at each tower is:
q*L
V =
2 Bridge
where q is the uniformly distributed load
applied to the bridge (lbs/ft or k/ft) and
L (ft) is the length of the main span of
the bridge.
In addition, the loads on the bridge act to
pull the tower tops toward each other;
therefore the towers need to resist these
forces with reactions that act to keep the
towers vertical. The horizontal reaction,
H (lbs or k) at each tower is:
q * L2
H =
8*d
where d is the sag of the cable (ft) at
midspan. Sag at a location is the vertical
distance from the top of the towers to the
cable. At midspan, the sag is greatest.
Once again q is the distributed load and
L is the length of the main span. See
Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Loaded Cable with Reactions
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Example: Reactions at the Towers of
the George Washington Bridge
Figure 3: Elevation of the George Washington
Determine: The vertical and horizontal
reactions at each tower of the George
Washington Bridge. See Figure 3.
Given:ii
The dead load of the bridge, qDL =
39 k/ft
Ammann’s estimate for the live load on
the bridge = qLL = 8 k/ft.iii
The main span, L = 3,500 ft.
The sag of the cable, d = 325 ft.
Solution:
Step 1 -- Calculate the total load acting
on the bridge:
q = q DL + q LL = 39 k/ft + 8k/ft = 47 k/ft
Step 2 -- Calculate the vertical reaction
at each tower:
q * L 47 k/ft * 3,500 ft
V = = = 82 ,300 k
2 2
Step 3 -- Calculate the horizontal
reaction at each tower:
q * L2 47 k/ft * (3,500 ft ) 2
H = = = 221 ,400 k
8*d 8 * 325
What is a Cable?
CEE 262
A cable is a flexible structural element
that resists applied loads in tension.
Because a cable is only able to take axial
tensile forces, it adjusts its form in
accordance with the applied loads to
achieve this behavior. For example a
cable that has a single point load, Q
applied at midspan takes on the shape
shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Cable Shape Under a Point Load
Figure 5 shows the form (a parabola)
that a cable takes on under a uniformly
distributed load, q, like that of a
suspension bridge.
Figure 5: Cable Shape Under a Uniformly
Distributed Load
Other forms can be created by altering
the loads applied to the cable.
Tensile Stress
Recall from the first structural study: “I.
Columns: The Washington Monument,”
that an axial load is directed along the
main axis of the structural element. For
columns the loads were compressive.
For cables the loads are tensile. The
resulting stresses are also tensile and
we’ll refer to them as tensile stresses, ft.
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If a cable takes on a form like that
shown in Figure 5, and the tensile forces
are in line with the main axis of the
cable, then the direction of the tensile
force is constantly changing. The tensile
force increases as the slope of the cable
increases and therefore is greatest at the
supports. For our purposes we’ll
consider the tensile force at the midspan
as an approximation for the force in the
cable at any location.iv At the midspan of
the bridge the cable is horizontal and
therefore the tensile force is in the
horizontal direction. This tensile force is
equal (in magnitude and direction) to the
horizontal reaction, H at the tower. We
will use this tensile force to calculate the
tensile stress, ft in the cable. See Figure
6:
H
ft =
A
Figure 6: Cable Under Tension
Example: Stress in the Cables of the
George Washington Bridge
Determine: The stress in the cable of the
main span of the George Washington
Bridge and the efficiency of the cable.
Given: There are four cables each with
an area, A= 800 in.
Recall that the horizontal reaction, H =
221,400k
Ammann used an allowable stress, fallow
of 82 ksi for steel cable.
CEE 262 Spring 2008

Solution:
-A: cross-sectional area [in2]
Step 1: Calculate the total cross- -d: sag [ft]
sectional area of the cables -ft: tensile stress, [psi] or [ksi]
-H: horizontal reaction at tower and
A = number of cables * Aonecable tensile force in cable, [lbs] or [k]
-L: main span length [ft]
A = 4 * 800in2 = 3,200in2 -q: distributed load, [lbs/ft] or [k/ft]
-qDL: distributed dead load, [lbs/ft] or
Step 2: Calculate the tensile stress in the [k/ft]
cables:v -qLL: distributed live load, [lbs/ft] or
[k/ft]
H 221 ,400 k -V: vertical reaction at tower, [lbs] or [k]
ft = = = 69 .2ksi
A 3,200 in 2
Summary of Equations
Step 3: Calculate the efficiency of the
cables: Vertical Reaction at Tower:

ft 69 .2ksi q*L
Efficiency = = = 0.84 V =
f allow 82 ksi 2

The Form of a Suspension Bridge Horizontal Reaction at Tower:

2
q*L
H = is the main equation for a q * L2
8*d H =
suspension bridge. It represents the 8*d
transformation of vertical forces into
horizontal reactions and is dependent on Tensile Stress:
the chosen form. The load applied to the
bridge is defined by q*L while the form H
ft =
of the bridge is defined by the ratio of A
the main span to the sag, L/d.vi While
the equation permits you to calculate the Notes
tensile force in a cable given certain
parameters, span (L), sag (d), and the i
David P. Billington, “History and
distributed load (q), the choice of these Aesthetics of Suspension Bridges,”
parameters, is ultimately made by the Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE
designer. These choices dictate how the Vol. 103, no. 478 (August 1977): 671-
forces are resisted in the structure and 687, with discussions.
influence the aesthetic of the bridge
ii
The values used in this analysis are
taken from Power, Speed, and Form;
Engineers and the Making of the
Twentieth Century, by David P.
Billington and David P. Billington Jr.,
Summary of Terms

4
CEE 262 Spring 2008

Princeton University Press, Princeton, Since the area required comes directly
2006, p. 166 and 167. from the allowable stress in the cables,
ft = fallow and the efficiency is 1.
iii
Ammann realized that the likelihood of
vi
all the lanes on the bridge being The Innovators; The Engineering
completely full with the heaviest Pioneers who Made America Modern,
vehicles decreased as the span of the by David P. Billington, John Wiley &
bridge increased and as more lanes were Sons, Inc., New York, 1996, p. 7, 9 and
added. With these considerations in 12.
mind he developed a series of equations
that reduced the live load that the bridge
needed to be designed to carry. The live
load, qLL, before reduction was 46k/ft.
Ibid., p. 166
iv
At other locations the cable will not be
horizontal and the tensile force will
consist of horizontal and vertical force
components. These components need to
be combined together to find the tensile
force, T acting along the axis of the
cable at a particular location. H, the
horizontal force component, is constant
across the entire length of the cable, but
V, the vertical force component,
increases as the slope of the cable
increases. H and the resulting tensile
stress, ft, are adequate approximations
for the cable.
v
Ammann calculated the maximum
tensile force, T, in the cable (which
occurs at the tower closer to the New
York side) to be 261,000 k. Using this
force (rather than the force at midspan)
and fallow = 82 ksi he calculated a
required area of 3,190 in2 (rounded to
3,200 in2).

T
f allow = therefore,
A

F 261 ,000 k
A= = ≈ 3,200 in 2
f allow 82 ksi