Rehabilitation of Müngsten Viaduct, Germany
Customer Project
The Müngsten Viaduct, completed in 1897, ranks among the most important buildings in steel bridge construction in the world today. With a height of 351 ft over the Wupper River, it is Germany's highest railway bridge. The design derives from the Garabit Viaduct, completed in 1884, which is located near Saint-Flour in southern France and was designed by Gustave Eiffel.
|
Client |
DB Netz AG, Produktionsdurchführung Düsseldorf, Germany www.dbnetze.com |
| Project Management |
DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH, Cologne, Germany www.db-engineering-consulting.de |
| General Planning |
IGS Ingenieure GmbH & Co. KG www.igs-ib.de |
| Structural Reanalysis |
IWS Beratende Bauingenieure www.iws-idstein.de |
| Check of Structural Analysis |
PSP - Professor Sedlacek und Partner, Dortmund, Germany www.psp-ingenieure.de |
Model
The bridge connects the two cities Solingen and Remscheid. Approximately 120 years of rail traffic and climatic conditions have led to various damages to the structure. Furthermore, deficits in component design resulted from modified requirements of currently valid standards. Therefore, a rehabilitation of the structure for further usage of at least 30 years was necessary.
The structural reanalysis of the bridge has been performed by IWS Ingenieure. The check of the bridge analysis has been carried out by PSP - Professor Sedlacek and Partner by using RSTAB.
Structure
The bridge has a total length of 1525 ft. It consists of an arc construction with a span of 577 ft and trestle bridges on both sides with individual lengths of 98 and 147 ft which are supported on roller bearings on truss pillars.
There is a lane on top designed as open girder grillage and on that there is a two‑tier railway track superstructure.
Recalculation
The calculation for the operation and for the check has been performed on the 3D framework model. The modeling has been carried out in consideration of the detected damages. For example, special attention has been paid to the point of hinge to display limited moving roller bearings close to reality.
In contrast to the original structural analysis, 13 construction load cases have been considered for the first time as well. For example position manipulation of the truss arc. At that time, it was set up in the classic cantilever construction method with a cantilever length of up to 98 ft. The construction stages have a significant influence on the stress condition for the load case self‑weight.
In addition to the usual linearly variable loads from temperature, wind, acceleration/braking and lateral impact, 3 traffic loads (load effect UIC71 etc.) have been applied. The recalculation has been verified and calibrated by, among other things, conducted test runs under load conditions.
Results and Rehabilitation
With the recalculation it was possible to calculate the damages on the structure. In single structural components such as longitudinal and secondary beams of the road, wind bracings and anchorages, the design ratios resulted in partly more than 200 %. This led to the decision that the bridge must be thoroughly reconstructed.
The most serious intervention has been the replacement of the bridge lane which required a complete closure of the railway line. Moreover, it was necessary to reduce the load level. The rehabilitation of the trestle bridges, pillars, foundation elements as well as of the arc can take place during reduced railway operation.
With the decision to rehabilitate the Müngsten Viaduct despite high financial investments, an outstanding steel bridge structure is preserved.
Project Location
Müngstener BrückenwegKeywords
Müngsten viaduct Steel bridge construction Germany's highest railway bridge
Write Comment...
Write Comment...
Contact us
Do you have questions or need advice?
Contact our free e-mail, chat, or forum support or find various suggested solutions and useful tips on our FAQ page.
New
Parametrization of Rolled Cross-Sections
Rolled sections, the most common cross‑section type in RFEM and RSTAB, can also have user‑defined parameters.
- Where can I find the materials for the corresponding National Annexes in RFEM 6 and RSTAB 9?
- How do I apply wind load on members of open structures?
- Is it also possible to use RF‑/TOWER Loading without the other TOWER add-on modules?
- I do not want to design a cross-section in the RF‑/STEEL EC3 add-on module. Can I quickly remove this cross-section from the selection?
- I have a roof structure resting on a steel column that runs to the foundations. The column runs through a perimeter wall that supports the false ceiling. A considerable part of the load from the roof is transferred to the wall. I want the steel column to carry all the vertical loads from the roof. How can I do it?
- Are the models and presentations from Info Day 2018 freely available, and can you send them to me?
- I encountered a sharing violation while importing a dxf file into SHAPE-THIN. What is the issue?
- How can I display membrane stresses in the results of RF‑STEEL Surfaces?
- What is the meaning of the superposition according to the CQC rule in a dynamic analysis??
- How is the automatic creation of c/t-parts carried out?
Programs Used for Structural Analysis
Main Program
The structural engineering software for design of frame, beam and truss structures, performing linear and nonlinear calculations of internal forces, deformations, and support reactions
2,550.00 USD
Add-on Module
Generation of load cases from moving loads for members and sets of members
450.00 USD
