Design and development of bridge erecting machine with small curve radius and bottom feeding beam | Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports volume 14, Article number: 27797 (2024) Cite this article Metrics details As a key equipment in highway and railway construction, bridge erecting machines directly affect the

Scientific Reports volume 14, Article number: 27797 (2024) Cite this article

Metrics details

As a key equipment in highway and railway construction, bridge erecting machines directly affect the feasibility, progress, and quality of project implementation. In order to solve the problem that traditional bridge building machines are only suitable for application scenarios with large turning radii and large lifting sites, and have low lifting efficiency, which cannot meet the requirements of urban elevated bridge construction, a small radius bottom feeding beam bridge building machine suitable for urban highway and railway construction is proposed. The feasibility and reliability were verified through force analysis and finite element analysis; Design a secondary turning structure and bridge construction process for the front leg, adjusting the turning angle to around 7°, significantly reducing the turning radius of the bridge building machine; Propose a technology for feeding and lifting beams at the bottom of dual-use bridge decks for highways and railways. By vertically lifting beams and slabs, the lifting space is significantly reduced and the lifting efficiency is improved. Finally, a small radius bottom feeding beam bridge erecting machine was developed and tested and applied. The results show that the small radius bottom feeding beam bridge erecting machine designed in this article reduces the turning radius of traditional bridge erecting machines from over 300 m to about 80 m, making it possible to carry out projects that were originally impossible, and solving the problem of elevated bridge construction in limited urban spaces.

As an important mechanical equipment for the construction of dual-use bridges, bridge erecting machines play a crucial role in the feasibility of public and railway construction, as well as in improving the quality and efficiency of the project1. With the continuous development of the economy and society, a wave of infrastructure construction has swept across the world. The construction of elevated bridges has developed rapidly, and the performance and functional requirements for bridge erecting machines have gradually increased. However, traditional bridge building machines still have problems such as large turning radius, single lifting method, large lifting space, low on-site lifting and assembly efficiency, and limited applicability, making it difficult to adapt to the rapid changes and development of bridge building environments and infrastructure both domestically and internationally2. Scholars in related fields have also conducted research on bridge building machines to improve their performance.

At present, research on bridge erecting machines mainly includes the following aspects: (1) Research on multifunctional bridge erecting machines. (2) Research on safety monitoring system for bridge erecting machine. (3) Static analysis of bridge erecting machine. (4) Research on small curve bridge erecting machine. Chen Shitong et al. studied and optimized the main support leg structure, and designed the SLJ 900/32 mobile bridge erecting machine, which solved the construction problem of bridge transportation and erection in closely connected bridge tunnel sections3. Lu et al. conducted research on the key technology of overall turning of high-speed railway bridge erecting machines, and solved the construction problem of turning of bridge erecting machines during the process of high-speed railway beam erection4. Zhao, Zhu et al have studied the safety monitoring system for the operation process of bridge erecting gantry cranes, which has improved the intelligent safety monitoring level of bridge erecting gantry crane operations5,6. Yuan et al. conducted research, testing, and evaluation on the static and dynamic performance of walking bridge erecting machines, which helps to improve the safety performance of bridge erecting machines7. Chen et al. studied the identification of damage to the main beam of a bridge erecting machine considering the working conditions, which can effectively prevent safety accidents caused by main beam damage8. Xu, Fu et al proposed a new design scheme for the metal structure of an integrated gantry crane, and conducted static analysis on its main beam under large-span and large cantilever conditions, which helps to improve the performance of the main beam9,10. Guo et al used Midas Civil to conduct calculations and safety analysis on the main structure of the bridge erecting machine, which is beneficial for improving the safety of the bridge erecting machine11. Sun et al designed the JQS35-220t walking double guide beam bridge crane. By optimizing the structure of the bridge frame and conducting static analysis, the performance of the bridge crane was improved, providing reference for the design of the main beam12. Due to limited planning land in urban construction, Hou et al. proposed the use of small radius curves for transportation and beam erection to improve the adaptability of bridge erecting machines13. Peng designed a small curved special bridge erecting machine to erect prefabricated beams with a turning radius of 60 m, but it cannot meet the basic requirements for large-span beam erection14. Zhou et al designed a DP120t/50m small curve segmental assembled bridge erecting machine with a minimum turning radius of 69.5 m, but did not demonstrate the developed bridge erecting machine and its engineering application15. Yu conducted research on the installation of box girders for intercity small curve railways based on the installation conditions of small curve sections16. Yuan et al. conducted research on the technology of erecting curved steel box girders with high piers, and obtained the relationship between pier column height, bridge curve radius, and safety risks17. Du took the JQS 1000 bridge erecting machine as the research object and proposed key technologies and improvement plans that are suitable for the installation of small curve radius box girders18.

The above research has to some extent promoted the improvement of the functions and performance of bridge building machines, especially in the areas of bridge building theory, safe operation, and multi adaptability. However, most of them are still based on the optimization of a single technical indicator on the basis of traditional bridge building machines, or only related designs have been made without actual development and application. In the construction process of elevated bridges in limited spaces such as cities, key factors such as the turning radius, lifting space, and lifting efficiency of the bridge erecting machine determine the feasibility of project implementation. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive research on small curve turning methods, small lifting space technology, and high-efficiency beam erecting machines. Therefore, this paper proposes a small curve bottom feeding beam bridge erecting machine.

The primary contributions of this paper are as follows:

By combining the structure of the bridge erecting machine and the turning beam technology, an innovative design of the front leg secondary turning structure and bridge erecting technology has been developed, which adjusts the turning angle to about 3° and significantly reduces the turning radius of the bridge erecting machine.

Based on the lifting principle of the bridge erecting machine and the characteristics of the bridge, an innovative bottom feeding beam lifting technology that can be used for both highways and railways is proposed. By vertically lifting the beams and slabs, the lifting space is greatly reduced while improving the lifting efficiency.

Complete the overall design of the small curve bridge erecting machine, and verify its feasibility and reliability through force analysis and finite element analysis. Finally, a small radius bottom feeding beam bridge erecting machine was successfully developed.

After development, the small radius bottom feeding beam type bridge erecting machine was subjected to experimental testing and third-party inspection. The test results and appraisal results showed that the key technical indicators of the bridge erecting machine reached the international advanced level.

The small radius bottom feeding beam bridge erecting machine, which has been tested and inspected, has been successfully applied in the construction project of urban elevated bridges in Malaysia, solving the feasibility problem of the project and providing an effective solution for the construction of elevated bridges in limited spaces such as cities.

In order to achieve small curve radius beam erection, after in-depth research on the bridge erecting machine and beam erection process, we have specially designed a double-layer secondary variable forward support leg mechanism. The specific working principle analysis is as follows.

The front and middle support leg structures of the small radius bridge erecting machine are composed of support leg crossbeams, lateral moving trolleys, anti roller group mechanisms, and hydraulic lifting systems. The front and middle leg lateral displacement trolley adopts a monorail trolley. Compared to the double track trolley, it can occupy less space and move more distance laterally under narrow bridge deck conditions with small curves. At the same time, the lateral displacement trolley adopts an inward retractable structure, which can keep the anti roller group and main beam in a cantilever state. This can ensure the lateral stability of the entire machine and ensure that the side beam of the bridge erecting machine is in place at once. The specific schematic diagrams are shown in Fig. 3a,b.

We have specially designed a rotating elevation joint with a central axis between the anti roller group of the front and middle support legs and the cross beam of the support legs, which allows the bridge erecting machine to move the main beam in the opposite longitudinal direction, transforming the bridge erecting machine from an orthogonal state to an oblique state, greatly improving its beam erecting and through-hole capabilities under small diameter working conditions. As shown in Fig. 1.

Knitting shop production experiment platform.

The minimum curve radius that the overhead crane can adapt to using the conventional methods mentioned above is about 300 m, but it cannot adapt to smaller radius curved ramp bridge bridges in special projects. We have also changed the single-layer crossbeam of the front and middle support legs of the bridge erecting machine to a double-layer crossbeam, and added a rotating mechanism that can cause the upper and lower crossbeams of the front and middle support legs to be misaligned by 7 °, ultimately reducing the turning radius of the bridge erecting machine to about 100 m. The specific rotation of the front and middle leg structures is shown in Fig. 2.

Leg rotation.

Before adjusting the angle of the upper and lower crossbeams of the front and middle support legs, loosen the bolts connecting the flange at the end of the crossbeam and the middle rotating flange. The rotating mechanism of the upper crossbeam of the supporting legs moves the main beam in the opposite longitudinal direction (the inner side of the curve moves backward and the outer side of the curve moves forward) by driving the front and middle supporting leg anti roller groups, or by driving the front and middle supporting leg lateral moving trolley to move horizontally, the upper and lower crossbeams of the supporting legs rotate around the central axis of the middle rotating flange to a certain angle; The rotation of the lower crossbeam of the supporting leg requires first emptying the supporting leg of the rotating mechanism, and then using a crane and trolley lifting device or a chain hoist at the end of the upper crossbeam to rotate the lower crossbeam.

When the turning radius is less than the conventional 300 m, a dedicated rotating flange is used to achieve rotation between the lower crossbeam of the middle support leg and the reverse roller group, the lower crossbeam of the front support leg and the reverse roller group, and the lower crossbeam of the front support leg and the auxiliary crossbeam of the front support leg, in order to adjust the angle of the bridge erecting machine according to the actual turning needs of the bridge, and ultimately achieve small curve through-hole beam erection. This technology makes it possible to complete projects that were previously impossible in limited spaces such as cities, improving equipment adaptability and practicality. It also has a compact structure, reasonable design, and easy use.

In order to significantly reduce the lifting space of the bridge erecting machine, after in-depth research on the bridge erecting machine and lifting technology, we propose a lifting method for Y-shaped and H-shaped dual-use highway and railway bridge decks19,20. This method adopts a combination of double main beams and double cross beams. Two main beams are arranged side by side and fixedly connected by a cross beam centering shaft flange. The main beams span adjacent bridge piers, with a first bridge pier on the front side and a second bridge pier on the back side. The first and second bridge piers are both Y-shaped or H-shaped in appearance. Above the first bridge pier is a highway railway bridge deck, with hydraulic tail and middle support legs on the main beam. Above the highway railway bridge deck, there is a hydraulic front support leg on the main beam. Between the two main beams, there are also front and rear gantry car systems, with both front and rear gantry cars installed above the main beam. The front gantry car is equipped with a front lifting mechanism and left and right lifting winches, while the rear gantry car is equipped with a rear lifting mechanism. The left and right lifting winches adopt the same structure for the front and rear gantry systems. Y-shaped and H-type dual-purpose highway and railway bottom feeding beam lifting method is shown in Fig. 3.

Y-shaped and H-type dual-purpose highway and railway bottom feeding beam lifting method.

The use of bottom feeding method greatly reduces the space required for beam and slab lifting. The lifting method and steps of the dual-use bridge deck lifting device for highways and railways have been optimized, including sequentially lifting the lower and upper railway bridge decks. The lower railway bridge deck is set above the lower crossbeam of adjacent bridge piers, and the upper highway bridge deck is set above the upper cover beam of adjacent bridge piers, improving the lifting efficiency. This technology adopts the bottom feeding method, which not only reduces the space requirements for beam and slab lifting, making lifting safer and more stable, but also allows for the laying of double-layer beams and slabs through one bridge erecting machine when laying public and railway bridge decks, improving the utilization rate of bridge erecting machines and the efficiency of project implementation.

(1) Composition of bridge erecting machine

The structure of the small radius bottom feeding bridge erecting machine mainly consists of the main beam system, support leg system, and truss car system21,22. It adopts a self balancing design and utilizes a double-layer secondary variable forward support leg mechanism to achieve small turning radius curve through hole girder erecting. In addition, the bottom beam feeding method is adopted to reduce the lifting space and adapt to the urban elevated construction environment. Meanwhile, through the split design of the guide beam, standard section of the main beam, and shear section, the tooling style manufacturing of the main beam shear section and standard section of the main beam has achieved arbitrary interchangeability of the same main beam section, making the assembly flexibility of the bridge erecting machine greater. Therefore, the bridge erecting machine has a simple structure and convenient operation, which can greatly reduce the turning radius and improve work efficiency. The overall structure diagram of the bridge erecting machine is shown in Fig. 4.

Schematic diagram of the overall structure of the bridge erecting machine.

Bridge erecting machine, using two parallel main beams, with upper crossbeams on both the front and rear ends of the two main beams. The upper crossbeam connects the front and rear ends of the two main beams through a centering shaft flange. The two main beams are supported by front and rear gantry trucks, with lifting mechanisms on both sides. The rear end of the main beam is equipped with a tail support leg, and the lower side of the middle of the main beam is equipped with a middle support leg. The lower crossbeam of the middle support leg is connected to the two main beams on both ends. The lower side of the front end of the main beam is equipped with a front support leg, and the lower crossbeam of the front support leg is connected to the upper side of the lower crossbeam of the front support leg. The main beam is equipped with a front leg lower auxiliary crossbeam below the front leg lower crossbeam. The front end of the main beam is equipped with temporary support legs, tail support legs, middle support legs, and front support legs.

(2) Main beam

The main beam is the core component of the bridge erecting machine, as shown in Fig. 5, mainly including guide beams, shear joints, standard joints, and other mechanisms. The main beam serves as the lifting and load-bearing mechanism of the bridge erecting machine, and subsequent stress analysis and finite element analysis will be conducted to verify the rationality of this design.

Schematic diagram of the main beam.

(3) Support legs

The support leg is the fulcrum of the bridge erecting machine, used to control the operation and direction of the bridge erecting machine. The supporting legs are mainly divided into front supporting legs, middle supporting legs, tail supporting legs, and temporary supporting legs, with specific structures shown in Fig. 6a–d. The design of temporary support legs helps to improve the feasibility of small radius bridge construction, especially when the radius is less than 300 m.

Schematic diagram of the support legs.

(4) Truss car

Truss car is the main mechanism for lifting and transporting beams of the bridge crane, which can be used to lift and transport beam slabs to the designated position on the bridge pier for installation. The specific lifting structure of the gantry crane is shown in Fig. 7.

Schematic diagram of the truss car.

(1) Force analysis of the middle position of the truss car

As shown in Fig. 8, the force analysis diagram of the main beam when the lifting trolley is in the middle position of the truss car during bridge installation.

Force analysis of the middle position of the truss.

As shown in Fig. 8, during the operation of the bridge erecting machine, the lifting trolley is in the middle position of the truss car, and the main beam is mainly subjected to gravity (G = self weight of the main beam + gravity of the beam segment + gravity of the truss car) and supporting forces. Perform force analysis at point O, mainly under vertical downward gravity G and vertical upward support force FZ.

We can obtain the following equation23:

In the formula: m = 200 t, g = 9.8 m/s2.

So,

In order to facilitate the application of loads during simulation, G is divided into four forces for application:

We can obtain the following equation:

(2) Force analysis of the ultimate position of the truss car

The limit position of a gantry crane refers to the leftmost or rightmost position it can reach during operation. Due to the fact that the limit position is symmetrical in actual use, the rightmost situation is selected for analysis in the article. As shown in Fig. 9, the force analysis diagram of the main beam when the lifting trolley is at the limit position of the truss car during bridge installation.

Force analysis of the extreme position of the truss.

As shown in Fig. 3, when the gantry crane is in operation and the lifting trolley is at the limit position of the gantry crane, the main beam is mainly subjected to gravity (G = self weight of the main beam+gravity of the beam segment + gravity of the gantry crane) and supporting forces. Conducting force analysis at a point, mainly affected by the vertical downward gravity G and the vertical upward support force FZ′. So,

In order to facilitate the application of loads during simulation, G is divided into four forces for application:

We can obtain the following equation:

ANSYS Workbench software is now used to conduct static analysis on the two most dangerous working conditions of the main beam, mainly analyzing its stress and deformation situation. Firstly, select the material for the main beam structure, which is 45 steel. Select the structural steel material in Engineering Data and change the structural parameters according to the 45 steel. Then design and model the main beam structure in Solidworks, a 3D software, and save it in x_t format. Import it into the Static Structural module in ANSYS Workbench. Next, mesh the model, define contact types, and apply boundary conditions and loads. The final step is to solve.

(1) Feed the beam to the limit position of the truss car

1) Model establishment

Firstly, the main beam was modeled using SolidWorks. The main parameters of the model are as follows: the total length of the main beam is 75.6 m, the total width is 8 m, the total height is 2.9 m, the distance between two gantry cranes is 40 m, and the distance between the bottom legs of the main beam is 52 m. In order to reduce computational conditions and facilitate the application of loads and constraints, only two bottom guide rail wheels of the truss cars are symmetrically placed on the upper plane of the main beam, with a total of four groups. Each truss car has two sets, with two guide rail wheels in each group. The support frames at the top of the front and rear legs are symmetrically placed on the lower plane. After the model is established, it is imported into the Static Structural module in ANSYS Workbench, and the result is shown in Fig. 10.

Three dimensional model of the main beam.

2) Defining material properties and grid division

The main beam material of the bridge erecting machine is mostly 45 steel, and its material properties are: elastic modulus = 220 GPa, Poisson’s ratio = 0.3. The main beam model is divided into grids using hexahedral elements with a length of 50 mm. The final result is a total of 1,087,578 nodes and 264,122 solid elements in the model. The mesh division effect is shown in Fig. 11a, and the division details are shown in Fig. 11b.

Grid division rendering.

3) Application of constraints and loads

According to the working conditions of the bridge erecting machine at the limit position of the gantry crane, the main beam is constrained and the load is applied. In actual operation, the rated load borne by the main beam is 200 tons. The load is applied according to 1.3 times the rated load, and is divided into four groups of forces, which act on the lower half plane of the inner hole of each guide rail wheel, with the size direction perpendicular to the lower plane of the inner hole of the guide rail wheel facing downwards. After analysis, the loading load on each group of guide rail wheels on one side is 1.3F1′ = 4.25 × 105 N, the load applied to each guide rail wheel is 2.125 × 105 N, the load applied to each group of guide rail wheels on the other side is 1.3F1′ = 8.49 × 105 N,the load applied to each guide rail wheel is 4.25 × 105 N, for bias loading method. Apply XYZ displacement constraints to the lower plane of the top support frame of each leg. The constraint and load application are shown in Fig. 12.

Application of constraints and loads.

4) Analysis of deformation results

After solving, the enlarged deformation diagram of the main beam is shown in Fig. 13. When the main beam is loaded, there will be slight deformation. The deformation will be magnified by a factor of 200, so as to more intuitively see the deformation of each part of the main beam. From the figure, it can be seen that the displacement of the lower plane of the top support frame of the bottom legs of the two ends of the main beam is 0, indicating that the constraint conditions are consistent with the analysis results; Because the working condition is at the extreme position of the truss car and belongs to the offset loading method, the maximum deformation of the main beam occurs in the middle of the near side main beam, with a maximum deformation of 13.115 mm, it is much smaller than the reference value of 1%, so it can be ignored.

Enlarged view of main beam deformation.

Select the bottom straight line of the main beam on the close side as the path object, and obtain the deformation situation on this straight line as shown in Fig. 14. The maximum deformation occurs at the middle position of the straight line, which is 37.8 m, with a deformation value of 13.113 mm, consistent with the results of the main beam deformation diagram.

Path deformation curve.

5) Analysis of stress results

The equivalent stress cloud map of the main beam is shown in Fig. 15. It can be seen from the figure that the stress at the contact point between the bottom square steel of the close side main beam and the top support frame of the support legs is the highest, with a maximum value of 165.06 MPa. The yield limit of 45 steel is 355 MPa, so the design equivalent stress of the main beam meets the requirements.

Equivalent stress cloud map.

Select the bottom straight line of the main beam on the close side as the path object, and obtain the shear stress situation on this straight line as shown in Fig. 16. The maximum shear stress occurs at the contact area between the bottom of the main beam and the top support frame of the supporting legs, with a maximum value of 34.1 MPa. The shear stress limit of 45 steel is half of its yield limit, which is 178 MPa. Therefore, the design shear stress of the main beam meets the requirements.

Path shear stress curve.

2) Feed the beam to the middle position of the truss car

The simulation of the middle position of the truss car is similar to the simulation of the limit position of the truss car above. The difference is that during loading, four sets of guide rail wheels are loaded with a load of 1.3F0 = 6.4 × 105 N, centered loading method. The maximum deformation obtained occurs at the middle position of the main beams on both sides, with a maximum value of 10.053 mm, which can be ignored; The maximum equivalent stress occurs at the contact area between the bottom of the main beams on both sides and the support frame at the top of the supporting legs, with a maximum value of 126.31 MPa. The equivalent stress meets the requirements; The maximum shear stress occurs at the contact area between the bottom of the main beams on both sides and the top support frame of the support legs, with a maximum value of 26.613 MPa, so the shear stress also meets the requirements.

According to the principle of small radius through hole beam installation, the process of small radius beam installation for the designed bridge erecting machine is shown in Fig. 17.

Bottom feeding beam workflow.

The simulation of the small radius through hole frame beam is shown in Fig. 18.

Simulation of small radius through hole frame beam.

The designed bridge erecting machine utilizes a dedicated supporting leg device and small radius through hole beam erecting technology, and utilizes a dedicated rotating flange to control the rotation between the anti roller group and the lower crossbeam of the supporting leg, the anti roller group and the lower crossbeam of the front supporting leg, the lower auxiliary crossbeam of the front supporting leg, and the lower crossbeam of the front supporting leg, in order to adjust the bridge erecting machine according to the actual turning angle of the bridge, ultimately achieving small radius beam erecting, and the minimum turning radius can reach 80 m.

The bridge erection process designed according to the principle of feeding beams at the bottom of the gantry crane is shown in Fig. 19.

Bottom feeding beam workflow.

The simulation diagram of the bottom beam feeding of the bridge erecting machine is shown in Fig. 20.

Schematic diagram of bottom beam feeding operation of bridge erecting machine.

On the basis of small radius turning design, the bridge erecting machine synchronously develops the bottom feeding beam lifting technology for both public and railway use to improve the engineering adaptability. On the one hand, it can reduce the lifting space requirements for U-shaped beams; On the other hand, the lifting method and steps of the bridge deck lifting device for dual-purpose bridges on public and railway have been optimized. Specifically, the lower level railway bridge deck and the upper level highway bridge deck are lifted sequentially. The upper level highway bridge deck is set above the upper cover beams of adjacent two bridge piers, and the lower level railway bridge deck is set above the lower crossbeams of adjacent two bridge piers to improve lifting efficiency and make lifting safer and more stable. Moreover, when laying the highway and railway bridge deck, a bridge erecting machine is allowed to complete the lifting and laying of the double-layer beam deck, improved the utilization rate of bridge erecting machines.

After the design and development of the bottom feeding beam type bridge erecting machine with a small curve radius were completed, lifting and beam erection tests were conducted. The experimental setup is a 200T-40m bridge girder testing machine. The experimental location is the testing site of Zhejiang Zhongjian Road and Bridge Machinery Co., Ltd. The experimental steps and testing methods include: (1) Checking the bridge erecting machine in place. (2) Set up markers for three different turning radii of 350 m, 135 m, and 100 m based on simulation results and theoretical data. (3) The bridge erecting machine lifts beams and slabs of three different sizes, 42 m × 2 m, 30 m × 1.7 m, and 25 m × 1.7 m, in sequence, with turning radii set at 350 m, 135 m, and 100 m, respectively. (4) Repeatedly hoisting for more than 10 times, observing the test results, the actual turning radius is very close to the set parameters of 350 m, 135 m, and 100 m, thus verifying the accuracy and reliability of the data during the experimental process. The specific testing situation is shown in Table 1.

According to the test results, it can be seen that the relevant functions and performance of the bridge erecting machine meet the requirements, and the minimum turning radius is far less than 300 m. Considering safety and redundancy, the actual turning radius used in the project is slightly larger than the theoretical turning radius. At present, the turning radius of mainstream bridge erecting machines in the market is above 400 m, so the bridge erecting machine designed in this article is far superior to them in this aspect.

The designed and developed bridge erecting machine model is 200T-40m. After testing by a third-party professional company, the minimum turning radius is about 135 m, and the lifting space is greatly reduced. The bridge erecting machine was successfully used in the urban elevated bridge construction project in Malaysia, solving the previously difficult problem and completing the project construction ahead of schedule. The on-site implementation of the project is shown in Fig. 21.

Malaysia urban viaduct construction project.

This paper introduces a small radius bottom feeding beam bridge erecting machine, which can be applied to the construction of elevated bridges in limited spaces such as cities. Compared with traditional bridge erecting machines, it has excellent performance.

Starting from the working principle, existing problems, and causes of traditional bridge building machines, this article analyzes the key structure of the bridge building machine and innovatively designs the front leg secondary turning structure and bridge building process, achieving small curve beam erection with a theoretical minimum radius of only 80 m, which is much smaller than the 400 m of traditional bridge building machines. Based on the limitations of lifting space, a study was conducted on the lifting methods and processes of bridge erecting machines. A technology for feeding beams at the bottom of dual-use bridges for highways and railways and vertical lifting was proposed, which significantly reduced the lifting space and improved the lifting efficiency. Solved the problem of beam and slab lifting for bridge erecting machines in limited spaces such as cities through principles and process design.

The optimized structure and process of the bridge building machine were fully designed, and the feasibility and reliability of the optimization scheme were verified through force analysis and finite element analysis of the core components of the bridge building machine. Finally, a small radius bottom feeding beam bridge building machine was successfully developed.

After testing and identification, the turning radius and other key indicators of the bridge erecting machine have reached the international advanced level. The bridge erecting machine has been independently developed by the project team, with completely independent intellectual property rights. Its cost is about one-third lower than the market, and it has a good cost-effectiveness. The successful application in the urban viaduct construction project in Malaysia further verified its progressiveness, and provided high-quality solutions for the viaduct construction in limited space such as cities. Further research will be conducted on the turning efficiency, intelligent safety operation, and multifunctionality of small curve bridge building machines in the future.

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due the sensitive commercial operations information contained within the datasets, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Li, Y. Finite element analysis and reliability calculation of 450t bridge erecting machine. Lift. Transport. Mach. 22, 30–34 (2021).

ADS Google Scholar

Ma, J., Sun, S. Z. & Rui, H. T. Review on China’s road construction machinery research progress: 2018. China J. Highw. Transp. 31(06), 1–164 (2018).

ADS Google Scholar

Lu, F., Zhang, Y. H. & Wei, Y. F. Research on applications and key techniques of U-turn of bridge girder erection machine on high speed railway bridge. Railw. Stand. Des. 63(11), 66–69+74 (2019).

Chen, S. H., Sun, Z. X., Zhang, P. & Liu, J. W. Design, selecting type and application of SLJ 900/32 mobile bridge erecting machine. J. Railw. Eng. Soc. 32(01), 88–92+114 (2015).

Zhao, T. S., Geng, G. H. & Zhang, W. Research on safety monitoring system for bridge erection process of bridge erection machine. Chin. J. Constr. Mach. 21(06), 619–623+628 (2023).

Zhu, Q. M., Li, D. D., Xia, H. & Yang, X. L. Research on safety monitoring system of bridge construction machine. Chin. J. Constr. Mach. 20(03), 251–256 (2022).

Yuan, Z. J. et al. Test and evaluation of the static and dynamic performance of the walking bridge erection machine. J. Harbin Eng. Univ. 44(03), 345–352 (2023).

Google Scholar

Chen, S. T., Cheng, Y., Xu, H. W. & Zhang, Y. H. Damage identification for main girder of bridge erecting machine considering working conditions. China Railw. Sci. 40(03), 44–53 (2019).

CAS Google Scholar

Xu, G. N., Jiao, G. M., Gu, H. Z. & Xin, Y. S. Static analysis of the main girder of the new type of integrated transporter. Chin. J. Constr. Mach. 16(04), 288–292 (2018).

Fu, F. Static analysis of main beam of integrated bridge erecting machine. Mod. Mach. 2, 61–65 (2022).

Google Scholar

Guo, Y. C. & Zhang, S. L. Structure selection, main structure calculation and safety analysis of bridge erecting machine. Build. Struct. 51(S1), 2365–2368 (2021).

Sun, Z. J., Hou, J., Cui, G. H. & Hao, M. Y. Static characteristics and modal analysis of the JQS35-220t walking double-guide girder bridge-erecting machine’s main girder. J. Mach. Des. 38(04), 95–101 (2021).

Google Scholar

Hou, Z. D. Application of adaptable small radius bridge erecting machine in assembly steel bridge construction. China High-tech 1, 108–109 (2022).

Google Scholar

Peng, X. Z. Construction technology of prefabricated beams for 60 m curved radius bridges using a specially designed bridge erecting machine. China Hous. Facil. 01, 119–121 (2022).

Google Scholar

Zhou, Z. G. et al. Overall design of DP120t/50m small-curved segment assembling bridge erection machine. Railw. Constr. Technol. 09, 119–124 (2023).

Google Scholar

Yu, C. W. Research on the installation of box girders for intercity small curve railways. Theor. Res. Urban Constr. 28, 154–156 (2024).

Yuan, W. J. & Zhang, C. Z. Research on the technology of erecting curved steel box girders on high piers. Highway 68(04), 181–185 (2023).

Du, Z. C. Research on key technology of erecting small-curve box girder by model JQS1000 bridge elector. Constr. Mach. Equip. 3, 53–58 (2023).

Google Scholar

Tong, J. C., Xiang, G. L. & Zhang, G. Q. A hoisting method for a Y-shaped road-rail dual-purpose bridge deck hoisting device. CN107974944B (2019).

Tong, J. C., Zhou, G. Q. & Ma, Y. J. A hoisting method of H-type road-rail dual-purpose bridge deck hoisting device. CN108004929B (2019).

Zhang, M. H., Zhou, G. Q. & Zhang, G. G. Curved via Bridge Erecting Machine (Zhejiang Zhongjian Road and Bridge Equipment Co., Ltd., 2020).

Yang, K. W., Zhao, Y. R. & Zhou, W. H. A bridge erecting machine for curved through-hole beams and its use method. CN109763430B (2020).

Lv, L., Wang, J. L., Cha, X. L., Li, G. Q. & Zhou, M. Force analysis of suspenders for bridge girder erection equipment in erection of segment prefabrication concrete box girders. Constr. Technol. 51(03), 121–124 (2022).

Google Scholar

Download references

Zhejiang Zhongjian Road and Bridge Machinery Co., Ltd, Shaoxing, 312352, China

JvCang Tong, Miaohong Zhang & GuangLi Xiang

Zhejiang Academy of Special Equipment Science, Hangzhou, 310020, China

GuangQiong Zhang

School of Automation, Zhejiang Polytechnic University of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hangzhou, 310020, China

JiaJia Tu & Yongchao Zhang

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

J.-C.T and G.-Q.Z wrote the main manuscript text; M.-H.Z, G.-L.X and J.-J.T.edited the manuscript; M.-H.Z, G.-L.X ,J.-J.T and Y.-C.Z verified the methodology; J.-C.T and G.-Q.Z contributed to funding acquisition. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Correspondence to GuangQiong Zhang or JiaJia Tu.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

Tong, J., Zhang, G., Zhang, M. et al. Design and development of bridge erecting machine with small curve radius and bottom feeding beam. Sci Rep 14, 27797 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79035-5

Download citation

Received: 03 September 2024

Accepted: 05 November 2024

Published: 13 November 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79035-5

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Study uncovers why white button mushrooms may help prevent prostate cancer progression

Inside The Wild Money Machine Fueling Crypto’s Stupidest Bubble

News

Design and development of bridge erecting machine with small curve radius and bottom feeding beam | Scientific Reports