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2013-02-12

Timber Footbridge in Anaklia, Georgia

One of the world's longest timber bridges is in Anaklia, a climatic spa town on the eastern shore of the Black Sea.

The bridge, with a length of more than 1,640 ft, connects the hotel and port area with a coastal area used for tourism.

Planning and Prefabrication in Germany

A steel bridge construction would have considerably overrun the budget, which is why a more economical solution using timber was found. The engineering office of Leonhardt, Andrä and Partner (LAP) from Stuttgart, Germany planned together with HESS TIMBER, a Bavarian glulam manufacturer, a multi‑span bridge designed with truss girders consisting of timber and triangular cross‑sections. LAP also did the structural analysis.

Fast + Epp, a customer of Dlubal Software, was responsible for the structural analysis of the timber structure, and used RFEM for testing purposes with regard to the internal forces and design of the timber structure.

Structure

Near its center the bridge's structural system is divided into two sections to reduce the effects due to restraint occurring in the longitudinal direction. The first bridge section consists of a continuous beam system; the second is additionally guyed by a steel pylon due to the larger spans.

The bridge's cross-section is formed by a spatial truss system made of glued-laminated timber with two truss girders inclined laterally by 45° as well as transverse beams that are planked with wood-based panels. In addition to their function as boards on which pedestrians can walk, the Kerto‑Q plates serve as a horizontal stiffener.

The glulam components within the truss were connected by means of dowel connections and slotted sheets, also dimensioned by Fast + Epp. Moreover, a glue fixing method patented by HESS TIMBER was used onsite. This made it possible to reduce the glued-laminated timber parts to a maximum length of 44.2 ft so that expensive special transportation could be avoided.

3D Design Cadwork Ibérica & Latinoamérica
Structural Analysis and Design, Execution Planning

VIC Planen und Beraten GmbH
www.vic-gmbh.de

Investor
Edelweiss Fenster AG
Construction ACR


Project Specifications

Model data

Number of Nodes 2341
Number of Lines 3901
Number of Members 3878
Number of Load Cases 27
Number of Load Combinations 52
Number of Result Combinations 12
Total Weight 1196.702 tons
Dimensions 1656.82 x 26.25 x 136.5 feet
Program Version 4.10.19

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