PART I PENANG BRIDGE, MALAYSIA

Penang Bridge (Jambatan Pulau Pinang in Malay) is a dual carriageway toll bridge connects George Town on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. The bridge is also linked to the North-South Expressway in Prai and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang. It was officially opened to traffic on September 14, 1985. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km (8.4 mi), making it the longest bridge in Malaysia as and the fourth-longest in Southeast Asia. The bridge was designed by Penang resident, Professor Chin Fung Kee, a well known civil engineer. Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB) is the concession holder which manages it but now it is a member company of PLUS Expressway Berhad. Before 1985, transportation between the island and the mainland was solely dependent on the state-owned Penang Ferry Service that runs between Butterworth and George Town. Toll fees is only paid when heading to the island. There is no charge for leaving the island. Currently, Penang Bridge handles 65,000 vehicles daily and has a capacity of handling 85,000 vehicles daily. It has been expanded from 4 lanes to 6 lanes to accommodate increasing traffic on the bridge. A proposal for second bridge, the Penang Second Bridge, has been approved by the Malaysian federal government and included as one of the Ninth Malaysia Plan national projects. Construction work of the new Penang Second Bridge began in November 2008, and the target completion date is year 2013. Recently, Penang Bridge was assign with route number.

CHRONOLOGY

Date

Event The idea to build a bridge linking Seberang Perai to Penang Island was suggested by the late Tun Abdul Razak, the second Prime Minister of Malaysia and the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, the second Chief Minister of Penang. Penang Bridge was planned during the term of third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn. Works Minister, S. Samy Vellu announced that Penang Bridge, Penang would be constructed using the cable-stayed concrete girder of the San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge instead of the steel-tied arch in the style of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Construction of Penang Bridge officially began Official opening of Penang Bridge by fourth Prime Minister, Dato Seri Dr Mahathir Mohammad.

Early 1970s

Late 1970s

23 July 1981

1982 3 August 1985

14 September Penang Bridge is officially opened to traffic. 1985

BRIDGE SPECIFICATIONS

Overall Length: 13.5 km (8.4 mi) Length Over Water: 8.4 km (5.2 mi) Penang Island Viaduct & Approach: 1.5 km (0.93 mi) Prai Approach: 3.6 km (2.2 mi) Carriageway: 3 lanes per carriageway Height of Tower Above Water: 101.5 m Height of Bridge Above Water: 33 m Main Span: 225 m End Span: 107.5 m Other Span: 40 m Speed limit: 80 km/h Maximum Gradient: 3.0%

PART II From Diagram 1, we can obtain a simple sketch of the suspension bridge with a concrete pillar, curved suspender cable and vertical suspender cable which the length between the two concrete pillars is 600 metres, the shortest distance between the curved suspender cable and the deck is 5 metres and each curved suspender cables is suspended between two concrete pillars with height of 50 metres from the deck.

(a)

State at least two different functions to represent the curved suspender cables which are parabolic.

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 5 )

Diagram A

From Diagram A, the minimum value, the value of the axis of symmetry and the intercept of y-axis are shown. Thus, we can form a function regarding these values.

( i ) The First Function ( ) ( ) ( ( ) )

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ( ) )

( ii ) The Second Function

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 20 )

Diagram B From Diagram A, the minimum value, the value of the axis of symmetry and the intercept of y-axis are shown. Thus, we can form a function regarding these values.

( ) ( ) ( ( ) )

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ( ) )

(b)

The distance between the two vertical suspender cables is d metre. Find the number of vertical suspender cables is used on both sides of the bridge as shown in the table below. Distance between the two vertical suspender cables (d metre) 10 15 20 25 30 Number of vertical suspender cables

From the d metre given in the table, we can find the number of vertical suspender cables on both side of the bridge by using the concept of progression. As the d metre between the two vertical suspender cables is constant, the knowledge of arithmetic progression can be applied to find the number of vertical suspender cables on each side of the bridge.

(i)

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 20 )

( (

) )( )

)( )

(ii)

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 20 )

( (

) )( )

)( )

(iii)

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 20 )

( (

) )( )

)( )

(iv)

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 20 )

( (

) )( )

)( )

(v)

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 20 )

( (

) )( )

)( )

The number of vertical suspender cables on both side of the bridge are summarized in the table : Distance between the two vertical suspender cables (d metre) 10 15 20 25 30 Number of vertical suspender cables 118 78 58 46 38

PART III (c) The table below shows the cost of five types of cables that can be used as vertical suspender cables to construct the bridge. Distance between the two vertical suspender cables (d metre) 10 15 20 25 30 (i) Types of cables A B C D E Cost per metre RM 500 RM 750 RM 1000 RM 1200 RM 1500

Determine the minimum cost of the vertical suspender cables.

To determine the minimum cost of the vertical suspender cables on both side of the bridge based on the given table, we must first find the height of each of the vertical suspender cables from the deck. The sketch of the curved suspender cable will be transferred onto the Cartesian plane to determine the height of each of the vertical suspender cables. The distance between the two vertical suspender cables can be substitute into the function ( ) to get each of the height of the vertical suspender cables. As the function forms a parabolic graph, the height of the first vertical suspender cable before the axis of symmetry must be the same with the height of the last vertical suspender cable after the axis of symmetry. A simple sketch of the curved suspender cables are shown based on the d metre given.

( 0 , 50 ) 10, 20, 580, 590,

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 5 )

( )

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

( ) 47.05 44.2 41.45 38.8 36.25 33.8 31.45 29.2 27.05 25

110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200

( ) 23.05 21.2 19.45 17.8 16.25 14.8 13.45 12.2 11.05 10

210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290

( ) 9.05 8.2 7.45 6.8 6.25 5.8 5.45 5.2 5.05

 ( )

( )

[ ( )]

[ ( )]

( )

( 0 , 50 ) 15, 30, 570, 585,

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 5 )

( )

15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150

( ) 45.6125 41.45 37.5125 33.8 30.3125 27.05 24.0125 21.2 18.6125 16.25

165 180 195 210 225 240 255 270 285

( ) 14.1125 12.2 10.5125 9.05 7.8125 6.8 6.0125 5.45 5.1125

 ( )

( )

[ ( )]

[ ( )]

( )

1 126 125

( 0 , 50 ) 20, 40, 560, 580,

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 5 )

( )

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

( ) 44.2 38.8 33.8 29.2 25 21.2 17.8 14.8 12.2 10

220 240 260 280

( ) 8.2 6.8 5.8 5.2

 ( )

( )

[ ( )]

[ ( )]

( )

1 102 000

( 0 , 50 ) 25, 50, 550, 575,

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 5 )

( )

25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250

( ) 42.8125 36.25 30.3125 25 20.3125 16.25 12.8125 10 7.8125 6.25

275

( ) 5.3125

 ( )

( )

[ ( )]

[ ( )]

( )

( 0 , 50 ) 30, 60, 540, 570,

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 5 )

( )

30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270

( ) 41.45 33.8 27.05 21.2 16.25 12.2 9.05 6.8 5.45

 ( )

( )

[ ( )]

[ ( )]

( )

(ii)

Calculate the minimum total cost to construct the bridge if the cost of each curved suspender cable is RM 1.1 million.

(d)

The government has allocated RM 4 million for the cables in the construction of the bridge. A slanting suspender cable is to be added at each concrete pillar to strengthen the bridge. By using type of cable that you have chosen in (c)(i) , calculate the maximum length of each slanting suspender cable.

( 0 , 50 )

( 600 , 50 )

( 300 , 5 )

FURTHER EXPLORATION

(d)

Using your group creativity, construct a model of a future suspension bridge. Present your group work.

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge which is built by suspending the roadway from cables attached to a master cable which runs above the length of the bridge. In addition to being strong and lightweight, suspension bridges are also beautiful, and some of the most famous bridges in the world are also suspension bridges, including San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge and New York's Brooklyn Bridge. The design of a suspension bridge is simple and straightforward, and takes advantage of several techniques to distribute the weight of the bridge safely and evenly. The basic design of a suspension bridge has been in use for centuries: thousands of years ago, people crossed waterways and chasms by swinging hand over hand on suspended cables. Later, walkways were hung from the cables to make the process easier, and the original vines and ropes began to be replaced with chains. Major bridges were still built using a truss design until 1808, when an American inventor named James Finley filed a patent on an early version of a suspension bridge. Finley's design involved stretching two strong chains over the top of several towers and anchoring them on either side of the bridge. He hung lesser chains from the two master chains and used them to suspend a rigid deck, and the modern incarnation of the suspension bridge was born. In 1830, French engineers realized that strongly woven cables were more safe than chains, and began to use them in the construction of suspension bridges. The suspension bridges built today all use this cabled design, but the basic form of the suspension bridge has remained the same, and engineers continue to push the limits of the spans that suspension bridges can cross. The world's longest suspension bridge as of 2007 was the Akashi Kaiyo Bridge in Japan, with an unsupported center span of 1.2 miles (1,991 meters), and a total length of 2.4 miles (3,911 meters). A suspension bridge starts with building the towers. If possible, the towers are located on dry land and anchored to bedrock. If the towers must be located in the water, structures called caissons are used to force water out of the area of work so that construction can be done in a dry area. Once the towers are built and anchored, the master cables are strung across them and anchored to points on dry land, although some bridges are self-suspending, meaning that the master cables are actually anchored to the deck of the bridge itself. Next, suspension cables are strung from the master cables, and then the deck is attached to them. The simple design of a suspension bridge allows for a high clearance under the deck, useful when the bridge is being built over a major shipping waterway or a very deep chasm. Asuspension bridge also has slender, clean lines which are aesthetically appealing to many engineers, and is less subject to collapse than some other bridge types such as those built on support trusses. A suspension bridge is also flexible, making it more likely to survive earthquakes and extreme weather, although the flexibility also makes it only appropriate for vehicles and light rail: the concentrated forward weight of a heavy freight locomotive has too much energy for a suspension bridge to bear safely.