Forth Road Suspension Bridge 2012 Main Cable Inspection

 

​In 2004, the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) conducted an investigation of the main suspension cables, which resulted in the discovery of significant corrosion and led to the installation of a dehumidification system, designed to slow the progress of the corrosion. Since 2004, continuous monitoring has been required to track the rate of corrosion in the wires. 

In 2012 ESR Technology worked together with the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) and consultant engineers Flint & Neill Ltd, acting as technical advisers, on an inspection programme for the Forth Road Bridge to determine the current condition of suspension wires.

The latest inspection program was successfully won following previous inspections carried out by ESR on the Forth Rd bridge for former contractors AECOM (formerly Faber Maunsell) and Mott MacDonald. ESR Technology also have experience of wire assessment from other suspension bridges including a study carried out on the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong for Mott MacDonald.
 
The Forth Rd project involved an extensive programme of tensile tests and fatigue tests on selected specimens removed from several locations on the suspended wires, further to this metallurgical testing and chemical analysis of broken wires identified within the large cables is being performed to understand failure mechanisms and degradation mechanisms.
 
Some of the findings are published the following research paper “The fracture mechanisms of main cable wires from the forth road suspension bridge” P.Roffey, Engineering Failure Analysis, Volume 31, 2013, Pages 430-441.

ESR Technology will also be presenting some of the findings at the 12th International Conference on Engineering Structural Integrity Assessment in Manchester 28/29 May 2013. 

 

For further information about the work contact Mr Eirwyn Davies (01925 843 417 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

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