immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Brückenbau

  • Lighter and stronger: new generation of network arch bridges

    Lighter and stronger: new generation of network arch bridges

    A new border bridge has been spanning the Oder near Küstrin since last year. It is held in place by a network arch with a span of 130 metres and 88 carbon girders. According to a recently published Empa press release, these carbon tensioning cables were developed by Carbo-Link, an Empa spin-off from Fehraltorf. The carbon carriers are made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP).

    This innovative material not only enables flexible processing, but also saves a large amount of carbon dioxide that would be released by conventional steel constructions. The use of carbon fibre beams significantly reduces the dead weight compared to conventional flat steel hangers. Around 500 tonnes of steel and 1350 tonnes of reinforced concrete were saved in the construction.

    A major advantage of the new suspension cables is their high tensile strength and lower fatigue than steel. Most of the fatigue tests were carried out by a team from Empa’s Structural Engineering department and confirmed the necessary fatigue strength of the new CFRP material. “We have thus created the basis for a new generation of filigree network arch bridges with carbon hangers as load-bearing elements,” Giovanni Terrasi, Head of Empa’s Mechanical Systems Engineering department, is quoted as saying in the press release.

    Visually, the new materials offer design freedom, as the Oder bridge shows. Carbon girders have already been used in other bridge constructions, but the special feature of the Oder bridge is that it is being used for the first time for heavy goods railway transport. Trains can pass over it at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour. The bridge has been honoured with both the German Bridge Construction Award and the British Bridges International Award.

  • Pioneering civil engineering

    Pioneering civil engineering

    With a total length of 266 metres, the bridge replaces an outdated structure from 1926 that no longer met the requirements of modern rail traffic. The central component is a gleaming white network arch with a span of 130 metres, which spans the border river Oder without supports. Instead of classic flat steel cables, 88 carbon tension members made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic are used. These hangers were largely developed, tested and assessed at the Empa Institute in Dübendorf. They replace the steel segments weighing several tonnes and thus significantly reduce the overall weight of the supporting structure. An advantage for material efficiency and design freedom.

    Economic and sustainable benefits
    The innovative bridge technology made it possible to save around 600 tonnes of steel and 1,350 tonnes of reinforced concrete. A project-specific scaffolding solution was used in the construction process to ensure efficient assembly and welding of the bridge segments. Thanks to the high fatigue, tensile and corrosion resistance of the carbon fibre cables, both the maintenance effort and the service life of the bridge are positively influenced. A sustainability study shows that the use of carbon causes around 20 per cent less CO₂ emissions than a conventional steel structure.

    International appeal and future potential
    The railway bridge can be used by freight and passenger trains at speeds of up to 120 km/h and fulfils the highest safety standards. Extensive tests by Empa confirmed the fatigue strength of the material under real loads. The bridge has received several awards, including the Bridges International Award and the German Bridge Construction Prize. It is regarded as a pioneer for the use of high-performance composite materials in infrastructure construction.

    New aesthetics and symbolic significance
    The striking, elegant arch creates an architectural accent in the border region and emphasises the connection between the countries. The network arch bridge with carbon hangers symbolises both technical innovation and ecological responsibility. In future, it could serve as a standard for comparable major projects in European rail transport.

  • Research into the preservation of bridges using artificial intelligence

    Research into the preservation of bridges using artificial intelligence

    Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich(ETH) are researching ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to optimise the maintenance, repair and construction of railway bridges. In collaboration with SBB, researchers at the Institute of Structural Analysis and Design are creating AI models of reinforced concrete bridges, according to a press release. With the help of large data sets, the machine learning programmes will provide information on the durability and service life of the bridges and assess which structure would be in a critical structural condition.

    “In Switzerland, too, a considerable proportion of infrastructure structures are approaching the end of their planned service life and need to be reviewed and, if necessary, reinforced,” said Sophia Kuhn, PhD student and member of the research group, in the press release. “We are developing a tool that helps to keep bridges in operation for as long as possible and thus conserve resources without taking disproportionate risks of accidents.”

    The models not only provide information on structural safety, but also deliver more precise data than conventional data acquisition for analysing stability. This should save engineers both time and resources in the maintenance of bridges.

    In a further step, the AI assistants developed by the research team will also help with the design of new bridges.

  • Implenia builds infrastructure projects for CHF 100 million

    Implenia builds infrastructure projects for CHF 100 million

    Implenia has received approval to build two complex transport infrastructure projects costing CHF 100 million. According to a media release, a motorway junction is being built in Zurich under the lead management of the construction and real estate company, which will provide particularly good protection against noise. On behalf of the city of Winterthur, Implenia is building a 390-metre-long complex bridge that will play a central role in the city’s development.

    Following approval from the Federal Roads Office(FEDRO), Implenia is responsible for upgrading the N01/36 Schlieren-Europabrücke motorway junction in Zurich-Grünau. The project includes maintenance of the traffic area between the Schlieren and Altstetten junctions. Prior to this, deconstruction, excavation and works pipeline work as well as the installation of a road wastewater treatment plant would have to be carried out. Noise barriers covering an area of 3,800 square metres are to protect residents of the Grünau neighbourhood from disturbance after the end of construction in 2027.

    On behalf of the city of Winterthur, Implenia is reportedly building a 390-metre-long, challenging bridge structure for pedestrians, bicycles and buses over the Grüze crossing. It connects Sulzerallee with St.Gallerstrasse and, according to the city, is intended to become “the public transport hub of the newly emerging Neuhegi-Grüze district”. The construction contract includes special civil engineering for foundations and protective structures, various civil engineering services in the track area and complex falsework structures. The bridge is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2026.

  • When glacier sticks carry over a ton…

    When glacier sticks carry over a ton…

    A box of ice cream sticks, a tube of glue and creativity and intuition: that’s all it took to take part in Switzerland’s national bridge-building competition. The interest of the vocational schools from the three language regions was correspondingly great. The 64 participating trainees in the professions of draughtsmen and draughtswomen in the fields of civil engineering, geomatics, architecture, landscape architecture or spatial planning as well as carpenters constructed their bridge models in
    their free time and invested up to 100 hours in it. The competition is also increasingly popular with the FH students, who participated with eight teams and 21 participants. The bridge-building competition is organised by the VSS together with the engineering firm AJS.

    The presentation of the bridge models in the congress centre in Biel showed the whole range of creativity of the students: From elegant and light to massive and heavy, inspired by classical forms or simply springing from free imagination, meticulously worked out to the last detail or rather improvised. Jean-Marc Jeanneret, President of the organising Association of Swiss Road and Transport Professionals (VSS), was also pleased with the huge
    variety of the models presented. For him, this competition, which has been established in many countries for years, has another effect that should not be underestimated, especially in the digital age: “When you assemble the construction ‘by hand’, you understand it in the truest sense of the word. Weak points become more concretely apparent than with static calculations or 3D models on the computer. In this way, learners gain a lot of knowledge in a playful way, which they otherwise often have to painstakingly acquire
    . That’s why this competition is also a good introduction to professional life.”

    The highlight of the event was the resilience test, with which the most effective bridge was chosen. First crackling, then crashing and with much applause from the audience, the bridge models break on the test bench. The effectiveness of the bridge is rated according to the load-bearing capacity achieved in relation to its own weight. This evaluation formula rewards those who arrive at the most efficient solution with a minimum of material consumption – entirely in the spirit of a resource-efficient
    economy.

    As in the previous year, the team from the ZHAW Winterthur solved this task best among the students. Their bridge carried a load of an incredible 1060 kg! The three students Pascal Lämmler, Fabio Schäfer and Naatan Lohrer not only won a cheque for 1000 Swiss francs, they also won the “maximum load” category and set a new record. A team also dominated in the apprentice category: the Wetzikon Vocational School with Valentin Voll, Pascal Roffler and Denis Bilgin won both the “most effective bridge” and the “maximum load” category (773 kg).