International Journal of Transportation Engineering and Technology

2018; 4(2): 35-42

http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijtet
doi: 10.11648/j.ijtet.20180402.13
ISSN: 2575-1743 (Print); ISSN: 2575-1751 (Online)

Design of Main Bridge of Second Penang Bridge in Malaysia

Hou Man1, Liu Bo2, Peng Yun Dong3, Chang Chung Man2
1
CCCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd. (Hainan Office), Haikou, China
2
CCCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
3
International Business Department, CCCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd., Beijing, China

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To cite this article:

Hou Man, Liu Bo, Peng Yun Dong, Chang Chung Man. Design of Main Bridge of Second Penang Bridge in Malaysia. International Journal of
Transportation Engineering and Technology. Vol. 4, No. 2, 2018, pp. 35-42. doi: 10.11648/j.ijtet.20180402.13

Received: June 22, 2018; Accepted: July 12, 2018; Published: August 9, 2018

Abstract: The main bridge of the Second Penang Bridge in Malaysia [1-2] is a two-pylon three-span prestressed concrete
cable-stayed bridge, with span arrangement of (117.5+240+117.5) m.The pylons and the main girder are monolithic. The main
girder, which is 34.6m wide, adopts the ladder type concrete deck section comprising top slab, transverse diaphragms and edge
beams. The pylons are H-form pylons, and the stay cables are formed of parallel strands and are arranged in fan cable planes.
Each pylon column carries 18 pairs of stay cables that are anchored by the deviation saddles in the pylons and anchor blisters in
the main girder. The foundations consist of large diameter bored piles, varying from 2.3m to 2.0m in diameter. An optimized
design scheme is tailored for the bridge, in which the main girder has the cross-section built up by a combination of slab,
diaphragm and edge beam structuresand was constructed by using the rear supported form traveler and incorporating an
optimization of construction timing. The scheme resolved the problems of load-bearing capacity verification for bridge deck and
the verification of main girder prestress under the heavy vehicle loads prescribed in the BS5400. Meanwhile, a meticulous
calculation method was put forward for the design and analysis of the main girder, to obtain the real load bearing conditions of
the main girder and the bridge deck. The diaphragms were calculated by the spatial grillage analysis method, aimed at
guaranteeing the load-bearing safety of the structure.
Keywords: Cable-Stayed Bridge, Ladder Type Deck, Spatial Grillage Analysis, Deviation Saddle,
Rear-Supported Form Traveler, Design

parallel strand stay cables were employed with their

1. Project Introduction anchorages at the pylons by means of cable saddles. Figure 1
The Malaysian Second Penang Bridge [1-2], connecting the shows the main bridge general arrangement.
south of Penang Island and peninsula of Malaysia,has a total
length 22.5km in which about 16.5km is the marine bridge. The 2. Design and Functional Requirements
bridge deck carries dual carriageways comprising 4 traffic lanes
and 2 motorcycle lanes and has a width 29.8m at typical deck 1) Bridge design life: 120 years
section. The British Standard was used for the bridge design. 2) Design speed: 80km/h
The main bridge is a cable-stayed bridge [3-4] with a 3) Bridge design loading: British Standard (BD37/01,
prestressed concrete deck girder supported by two planes of Loads for Highway Bridges)
cables. The span arrangement is 117.5m+240m+117.5m with 4) Gradient: Bridge maximum longitudinal fall 3.0%,
a side span to main span ratio of 0.49. The main girder, 34.6m maximum crossfall 2.5%
in width, is in the structural form of ladder type deck 5) Design water level for navigation: Highest +2.600m
consisting of top slab, diaphragms, and edge beams all in (ACD), lowest +0.600m (ACD)
concrete structures. The pylon is in H-shaped and the deck 6) Main bridge navigation clearance: 150m x 30m
girder is cast monolithically into the pylon crossbeams. The 7) Basic wind speed: 27 m/s
 International Journal of Transportation Engineering and Technology 2018; 4(2): 35-42 36

8) Seismic design:Two seismic design evaluation levels 9) Ship collision: Main navigation channel for the passage
considered. Level 1 (Design earthquake) 475 years of the 4500DWT vessel, the main bridge pylon
return period, peak ground acceleration 0.072g; Level 2 foundation to resist ship impact force 27.6MN, transition
(Maximum credible earthquake) 2500 years return pier foundation to resist 6MN and all remaining marine
period, peak ground acceleration 0.109g. piers to resist 1MN.

Figure 1. Main Bridge General Arrangement.

Standard. Due to limited space in this paper, only brief introduction

to the British Standard traffic loading and lane factors is given for
3. Comparison of British and Chinese the sake of comparison with Chinese Standard.
Design Standards The British Standard specified the highway traffic loading
consisting of HA and HB loads. HA loading is the regular traffic
The Second Penang Bridge, to represent the “going out” of live load, similar to that in the Chinese Standard, includes two parts
China’s transportation, all the design processes are extremely the uniform distributed and concentrated loads. The uniform
stringent. The Employer required the design to comply with distributed load is evaluated using the following formula:
the British Standard which is significantly different from the
Chinese Standard. Differences between British and Chinese W = 336 (1/L) 0.67(L<=50m)
Standards in bridge design loadings and prestressed concrete
W = 36 (1/L) 0.1(50m<L<1600m)
structure design are introduced in the following sections for
future British Standard project design reference. where,W= load intensityin notional lane (kN/m)
3.1. Design Loading L=loaded length calculated based on influence line (m)
The HA concentrated load (called KEL in British Standard)
The major difference between British and Chinese Standards in is 120kN per notional lane.
design loading is the traffic loading where the design load
intensities and traffic lane factors are much larger in the British

Figure 2. Dimensions of HB Vehicle.

37 Hou Man et al.: Design of Main Bridge of Second Penang Bridge in Malaysia

HB load is a special traffic live loading which is similar to single axle load 450kN and a single wheel load 112.5kN.
the trailer loading as specified in the Chinese Standard “JTJ The lane factor adopted in British Standard BD37/01 is
021-85 Highway Bridge& Culvert Design Code”. different from that specified in the Chinese Standard “JTG
Thedimensions of HB vehicle are as shown in Figure 2 [5], in D60-2004 Highway Bridge and Culvert Design Code”. Take
which1 unit of HBhas a single axle load 10kN and single the bridge span 240m as an example, the comparison of
wheel load 2.5kN. In the design, both 30 and 45 units of HB BD37/01 HA load and JTG D60-2004 Highway-Class I load is
need to be considered. HB 30 units represent a single axle load indicated in Table 1 which revealed that the HA load is 2.64
300kN and a single wheel load 75kN. HB 45 units represent a times of the load specified in Chinese Standard.
Table 1. Comparison of BD37/01 HA Load and JTG D60-2004 Highway-Class I Load.

Load intensity in one notional lane (kN/m) Notional lanes/ nos. Multiple lane factors Multiple lane load intensity
(1)BD37/01 20.81 6.0 4.40 91.56
(2)Highway Class I 10.50 6.0 3.30 34.65
(1)/(2) 1.98 1.0 1.33 2.64

Note: For ease of comparison, the concentrated load is not taken into account.

3.2. PrestressedConcrete Design Requirements in British

Standard 4. Main Deck Girder Design
In the BS5400 Steel, Concrete and Composite Bridges: Part 4.1. Main Deck Girder Cross Section
4Code of practice for design of concrete bridges [6], it is
specified that tension is not allowed in the prestressed In order to minimize the construction difficulties, reduce the
concrete structure under ultimate limit states load cost and assure work quality, the main girder adopted the
combinations: i) dead load + 1.2HA, and ii) dead load + HA+ ladder type deck structure [7]. The prestressed concrete main
1.1 HB30. That means tension is not allowed whenever the bridge deck is 34.6m wide and 475m long and adopted Grade
concrete structure is provided with prestressing steel. C55 high performance concrete. To abate the wind resistance
However, in the Chinese Standard “JTG D62-2004 Highway coefficient of the main girder, the outer surface of edge beam
Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Bridge and Culvert is in the double folded shape. The main girder has a
Design Code”, there is the prestressedstructural element not span-to-depth ratio of 1:169.8 and a span-to-width ratio of
allowed tensile stress and also Class A & B prestressed 1:6.9. The two longitudinaledge beams are 2.8mdeep and
structural elements allowed tensile stress in members. Due to connected by 350mm thick transverse diaphragms in
the difference in the prestressed concrete structural design prestressed concrete spaced at6m centers. The deck top slab is
requirement in two standards, the conventional prestressed 280mm thick, continuously spanning over the
concrete ladder type deck cable-stayed bridge with its deck transversediaphragms. Thetypical deck girder cross section
top slab provided with prestressing tendons cannot be directly isshown in Figure 3.
applied in this project.

Figure 3. Main Deck Girder Typical Cross Section (Unit: m).

The heavy BS traffic loading and wide deck girder section required“no tension” as specified in British
with edge beams, diaphragm, and top slab structures did bring Standard.For the edge beam design, based on the
about two difficulties to the bridge design: conventional Chinese common design philosophy of
(1) The conventional ladder type deck cross section prestressing force applied on the entire section, the deck
commonly adopted in projects in China cannot be top slab would resist part of the prestressing force effect
applied to this bridge. As for the deck top slab design, and result in reduction in prestressing level at the edge
the typically adoptedprestressing tendon comprising 5 beams, and hencedifficult forthe edge beam to have
nos. 15.7mm strands at spacing 750mm in other similar sufficient compressive stress to satisfy the design
bridge structures in China is far away from the requirement.
 International Journal of Transportation Engineering and Technology 2018; 4(2): 35-42 38

(2) The shear lag effect is quite significant for the ladder elements while the deck top slab was designed as reinforced
type deck of width 34.6m and a span-to-width ratio of concrete element. Through the provision of adequate
1:6.9. The support conditions were varying during the reinforcements at the deck top slab, both deck slab structural
balanced cantilever erection stages and bridge and durability requirements can be fulfilled.
completion and the deck slab effective width was also (2) Optimization of construction timing
varying at the same time. The adoption of traditional The concrete of edge beams was placed first and then
single beam member and consideration of fixed followed by stressing of longitudinal tendons at the edge
effective width at the deck is not able to obtain the actual beams such that the prestressing effect was concentrated at the
structural behaviors of the main girder and deck top edge beams. The top slab concrete was cast only after the edge
slab. beam construction completed so as to avoid deck slab to be
In connection with the above two design difficulties, a cast simultaneously and this could eliminate the prestressing
“built up” bridge deck cross section and meticulous effect to top slab [8-9].
calculation method were put forward for the design and (3) Rear supported form traveler
analysis of the main girder. The main bridge typical deck segments were constructed by
using the rear supported form traveler. The edge beams were
4.1.1. “Built-up” Bridge Deck Cross Section cast together with the deck top slab of the preceding segment
In order to resolve the issues of deck top slab structural such that the concrete of edge beams and deck top slab were
adequacy under heavy BS traffic loads as well as main deck placed and cured at the same time during one construction cycle.
girder stress check due to prestressing effect, the “built-up” The deck construction was progressed in a manner that both
bridge deck cross section was proposed. The key design construction time and procedures were saved, and also avoided
features are as follows: a second time transition of the stay cable anchorage from the
(1) Adoption of different structural types in the same cross form traveler to the concrete deck. In the meantime, the delay in
section casting of top slab can effectively reduce the demand to the
To solve the issue of possible over stressing at the deck top form traveler load carrying capacity [10] (Figure 4).
slab, the edge beams were designed as prestressed concrete

Figure 4. Rear Supported Form Traveler and Main Deck Girder Construction Sequence.

behaviors. The balanced cantilever method was adopted for

4.1.2. Meticulous Method for Bridge DeckStructural the deck erection and the cantilever length would increase
Analysis during the construction progressed. If single beam member
The edge beam is in prestressed concrete while the deck top analysis model is used, it is unable to obtain the real internal
slab is in reinforced concrete, and the 34.6m deck width forces and stresses at the edge beams and top slab.
caused quite a significant shear lag effect [11]. For the typical The bridge deck structural analysis adopted the single beam
deck construction, the concrete of edge beams was placed first model (Model A) and meticulous beam slab model (Model B)
and then followed by stressing of longitudinal tendons at the for evaluation of main deck internal forces. Model-A was used
edge beams such that the prestressing effect was concentrated for the analysis of all structural member internal forces due
at the edge beamsand this could eliminate the prestressing toall load effectsfor the bridge completion stage
effect to top slab. The conventional single beam member (superimposed dead load, HA+HB30/45 traffic live load,
analysis model cannot reveal the main deck structural motorcycle live load, temperature load, differential settlement,
39 Hou Man et al.: Design of Main Bridge of Second Penang Bridge in Malaysia

creep & shrinkage etc.)[12]. Model-B was used to investigate deck top slab, the maximum crack width is 0.08mm during
member stresses due to dead load, longitudinal prestressing SLS stage which is less than the allowable limit 0.15mm[6].
and stay-cable effects to the edge beams and deck top slab at From all the results, the bridge deck is structurally safe.
the principal construction stages.
The major difference between Model A and B is in the 4.2. Transverse Diaphragm Design
simulation of main bridge deck. In Model-B, the entire deck Since the bridge deck was erected by cast in-situ balanced
section was divided into 10 elements transversely. The cantilever method using form traveler, the weights of as-cast
twoedge beams were modeled as line elements and the deck segmentsduring the progress of cantilever erection would
slab was modeled as 8 plateelements, and the remaining affect the structural forces and deformations of subsequent
elements were modeled similarly after Model A. Model B is as segments to be cast. This would result in non-uniform forces
indicated in Figure 5. in the diaphragms of the deck structure. The designer found
the traditional simplified method and finite element solid
modeling method is not able to accurately reflect structural
behaviors and the restraints due to the edge beams, and also
unable to cater for the cumulative forces onto the diaphragms
contributed from structure self-weight, diaphragm
prestressing and stay cable force during the progress of
cantilever construction.Therefore, structural forces at the
diaphragms may be underestimated and would result in an
Figure 5. Structural Analysis Model B. unsafe structure.
The designer put forward the consideration of spatial
From the analysis results of Model B,the maximum tensile grillage analysis method at construction stages, and the load
stress at the edge beam is 0.76MPa during the construction effects on each diaphragm are computed by the formula:
stages which is less than the limit 1.0MPa as specified in
i+4 i +3 i+2
design standard [6]. The maximum compressive stress is Si = ∑ SGi , j + ∑ S Pi , j + ∑ SCi , j
-21.5MPa which is less than -22.0MPa as limited by the j =i j =i j =i
design standard[6].The edge beams of main deck girder have
no tension under the SLS load combination I: {Dead Load + where: SGi,j= loading effect from the self-weight of the jth
1.2 HA or Dead Load +1.1(HA+HB30)}, and have a segment on the diaphragm of the ith segment
th
maximum tensile stress 1.06MPa (less than the design SPi,j= effect of prestressing at diaphragm of the j segment
th
standard limit 2.67MPa[6]) under SLS load combination onto the diaphragm of the i segment
th
II:{Dead Load+1.0 HA+1.0 Wind Load or Dead SCi,j= effect of tensioning of the j stay cable on the
th
Load+1.0(HA+HB45)+1.0 Wind Load} and SLS load diaphragm of the i segment
combination III: {Dead Load+1.0HA+1.0 Overall Temp. By using the above calculation method, the loading effects
Rise/Fall + 0.8 Differential Temp. at Section or Dead induced on the 1st to 10th diaphragms when constructing the
Load+1.0(HA+HB45)+1.0 Overall Temp. Rise/Fall + 0.8 10th diaphragm (including diaphragm self-weight,
Differential Temp. at Section}. The maximum SLS prestressing at the diaphragm, tensioning the 10th pair stay
compressive stress at edge beam is -21.80MPa which is less cable) are indicated in Figure 6.
than -27.5MPa as limited by the design standard[6]. For the

(a) Diaphragm M10 self-weight induced moments at diaphragms M1-M10

International Journal of Transportation Engineering and Technology 2018; 4(2): 35-42 40

(b) Prestressing at diaphragm M10 induced axial forces at diaphragms M1-M10

(c) Tensioning of Stay Cable M10 induced moments at diaphragms M1-M10

(d) Prestressing at diaphragm M10 induced moments at diaphragms M1-M10

Figure 6. Loading Effects at Diaphragm M1-M10.
41 Hou Man et al.: Design of Main Bridge of Second Penang Bridge in Malaysia

From Figure 6, the construction of subsequent segments girder at the same positions as the diaphragms, i.e. 6m center
would affect the internal forces and deformations of the to center spacing. The stay cable no. 1 is heavier and has 55
as-cast segments. The traditional single diaphragm simplified nos. of strands. The stay cable nos. 2-18 are arranged with
analysis method is not safe. varying inclined angleand the numbers of strands increased
from 37 nos. to 73 nos. gradually. In order for the stay cables
5. Stay Cables and Anchorages to cross over the pylon, a deviation saddle is used. One
continuous stay cable is adopted for crossing the pylon and
5.1. Stay Cable Design supporting the main and side spans. The design life of stay
cable is 50 years, adopting the replaceable third generation
The main bridge has total 4 stay cable planes arranged in corrosion system (including zinc galvanized strands,
fan-shaped and each stay cable plane has 18 nos. of stay cables. individual HDPE sheath for each strand and sheathing for
The stay cables composed of high strength parallel strands of whole stay cable). The stay cable details are as shown in
ultimate tensile strength 1860MPa and the area of each strand Figure 7.
is 150mm2. The stay cables are anchored on the main deck

Figure 7. Stay Cable Details.

5.2. Stay Cables Crossing Over the Pylon from the saddle on the concrete, which is contributed from the
vertical component of stay cable force. From the calculation
For hollow pylon section, the commonly used stay cable finding, the pylon concrete compressive stress at the base of
anchorage types included anchor block, steel anchor beam, saddle is in the range 6.3-9.9MPa which is less than the design
and steel anchor box etc. Considering the space required for code allowed limit 0.4fcu=20MPa[6].
stay cable tensioning, the pylon dimension is generally large.
The adoption of deviation saddle at the pylon for the stay cable 5.2.2. Check of Slipping between Saddle and Pylon Concrete
crossing over can minimize the dimension of pylon and hence During the bridge construction stage, operation stage and
the pylon quantities. The pylon is in solid concrete sectionfor under seismic actions, there will be loading conditions causing
ease of construction. The stay cables are anchored to the deck large force difference in one stay cable supporting the main
edge beams by means of anchor blocks. and side spans at the two sides of the pylon. Therefore, it is
necessary to check the effect of deviation saddle slipping over
5.2.1. Pylon Concrete Compressive Stress at the Base of the pylon concreteso as to prevent such occurrence. The
Deviation Saddle resistance of slippingis contributed by the side friction
The pylon concrete compressive stress at the base of between saddle perimeter and the pylon concrete. The slipping
deviation saddle consists of two components: i) total resistance between the saddle and pylon concrete should
compression contributed from saddles above the pylon section satisfy the requirement in following formula:
to be checked, and the stress is equal to the compression
divided by pylon section area, ii) the direct local bearing stress ⊿T≤∑Aτ
 International Journal of Transportation Engineering and Technology 2018; 4(2): 35-42 42

Where: ∆T=difference in stay cable force at two sides of which did not only reduce the form traveler weight but also
pylon (kN) minimize the stresses in the deck girder during erection stages.
A= contact area between perimeter of saddle and pylon The stay cable crossing over pylon using the deviation saddle
concrete (m2) can effectively simplify the construction processes and also
τ=shear capacity between saddle and pylon concrete (kPa) achieve a pleasant aesthetic. The bridge construction started in
Considering the compression force between saddle side November 2008 and the main bridge deck closure segment was
face and pylon concrete is small, the design can neglect this poured in April 2013. The bridge was completed and opened to
part for a more conservative result. To simplify the calculation, traffic on 1 March 2014.
the differential force between two sides of saddle can be taken
as the difference of the maximum and minimum stay cable
forces of either side. From the calculation finding, the slipping References
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