Advanced Building Construction Studio

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Literature Study

Priyanjita Adhikari National Institute of Technology Rourkela 114AR0002

Shritam Selma 114AR0016
Rajat Rana 114AR0013
Manikant Mohan 114AR0022

Fig 1: View of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Japan

Introduction
Hanging Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (AKB), in Japan, also known as Pearl Bridge, with a total length of 3.910m is formed
by three spans, the central 1990 meters. Opened on April 5, 1998, became the longest bridge of its kind in the
world, surpassing the Humber Bridge in the UK that has a central span of 1,410 meters. The bridge was designed
by engineer Satoshi Kashima and built by Matsuo Bridge Co., responsible for building some of the most famous
bridges to date, including the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge. In April the following year, took place the opening ceremony
and after several investigations and procedures, construction began in May 1988 and lasted ten years. The
bridge has three records: the longest suspension bridge (3,911 m), highest (282,80m 297,30m) and most
expensive ever built (500 billion yen).

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 Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Literature Study

1. History (1.4 million cubic meters) of concrete. The Great

The Akashi Kaikyo suspension bridge has a length of
3,911 m and three bays. The central section, between
the main towers is 1,991 m and the other two 960 m
each. The height of the main towers is 282.8m above
the water, 297,30m until the end of the anchors, the
structure is submerged 60m below the water level.
The Kobe earthquake on January 17, 1995 had its
epicentre just between the two towers of the Akashi
Strait Bridge. The initial length was 1.990 meters
planned for the main span, but the quake moved the
towers 1 meter separating, when they had not
started construction of the deck yet. The change in
length was absorbed into the final design which
slightly altered in some meters. The bridge towers
have mass dampers in order to reduce vibrations in
the structure during earthquakes and typhoons.
Originally the central span was designed to measure
1.990m.
Hanshin Earthquake took place in 1995 when the
bridge was half built, presenting a testament to its
strength and durability. Marvel that the bridge still
stands after the earthquake caused major damage
throughout Kobe.
There is the Bridge Exhibition Center at the bottom
of the bridge on the Kobe side. This informative
centre provides an overview of the planning and
technology behind the bridge, along with exhibitions
devoted to other prominent suspension bridges
around the world. Most exhibits have short English
descriptions; the more detailed explanations are
available only in Japanese.

Before the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge was built, ferries

carried passengers across the Akashi Strait in Japan.
This dangerous waterway often experiences severe
storms, and in 1955 two ferries sank in the strait
during a storm, killing 168 people. The ensuing shock
and public outrage convinced the Japanese Fig 1. Initial wind tunnel testing of the suspension
government to develop plans for a bridge to cross the bridge in laboratory
strait. The original plan called for a mixed railway-
road bridge, but when construction on the bridge
began in April 1988, the construction was restricted
to road only, with six lanes. Actual construction did
not begin until May 1988 and involved more than 100
contractors. The bridge was opened for traffic on
April 5, 1998 in a ceremony officiated by the Crown
Prince Naruhito and his wife Crown Princess Masako
of Japan along with Construction Minister Tsutomu
Kawara.

2. Popularity

At a length of almost 2.5 miles (4 kilometres), Akashi
Kaikyo Bridge is the worlds longest suspension
bridge which is also known as the Pearl bridge.
Spanning across the Akashi Kaikyo (Akashi Strait),
which connects mainland Kobe to Awaji Island, the
bridge has a beautiful setting and dramatic length,
making it a striking landmark. In addition to admiring
the scenery, there are attractions around the famous
bridge, where one can learn more about its history
and development.
Construction of the bridge began in 1988 and took 10
years to complete. Designed to withstand Japans
frequent tsunamis, earthquakes and typhoons, the
bridge was built with more than 50 million cubic feet
Fig 2. Map showing construction area through
Akashi Kaikyo waterway
3. Type of bridge
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is a type of Suspension Bridge.
The origins of suspension bridges, or simple crossing
devices, were the forebears to todays modern
suspension bridge structures. Suspension bridges
were constructed with iron chain cables over 2000
years ago in China and a similar record has been left
in India. Today, the suspension bridge is most
suitable type for very long-span bridge and actually
represents 20 or more of all longest span bridges in
the world.

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 Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Literature Study

The bridge is built over Akashi Strait which is very
prone to typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes. So, it is
built to minimise the difficulties for ships to carry
passengers and goods.
In 1995, 168 died due to collision of two ferries in a
heavy fog over the strait which created public and
political outrage which forced the government to
consider making bridge. Today, it is used by 1400
ships per day. Engineers didnt want to block sea
traffic and came up with suspension bridge which
provided a 1500 metre of waterway.
A suspension bridge consists of the following
components:
Stiffening Girders/Trusses
Main Cables
Main Towers
Anchorages
other 78m. Drawer descending method was used for
large prefunded position and ocean currents in its
construction. Each anchor requires, an average of
350,000 tons of concrete.
Also, large deep foundation anchors were built on
reclaimed land with many new technologies. All
foundations were well designed to cope with the
strong earthquakes with a seismic design method of
new research, together with a new kind of concrete
result of a mixture of different water resistant
cements and erosion. The bridge withstood the
earthquake of January 17, 1995 with almost no
incidents, just the displacement of 1m of the towers,
that given the strength of the movement can be
considered minimal.

Fig 3. Components of a suspension bridge

4. Structural Systems
Fig 4. Stages of Construction of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
In the design of AKB, there was special consideration
on the effect that the structure would have on the
environment. The appearance of the towers was
designed to meet the aesthetic issues, reliability,
future, and nice balance between light and
shadow, in view of the structural characteristics of
the tower and the aesthetic characteristics of the
surrounding. The anchorages are designed to make
the huge concrete structures seem small and
balanced.

4.1 Foundations
Two main springs as an extension for laying the
foundations of the towers were built with round and Fig 5. Gravity Anchorage of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
flat, the largest with a diameter of 80 meter and the

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 Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Literature Study

4.2 Dampers lifting capacity of 160 tons. Articulating high tension

In the two main towers 20 mass dampers, Tuned
Mass Dampers (TMDs), were placed, pivoting in the
direction opposite to the wind when it blows on one
side of the bridge, dampers sway in the opposite
direction, effectively balancing the bridge and placed
negating the influence of wind. In the bridge design
system strengthening beams with two hinges allow
the structure to withstand winds of 290 km / hour,
earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 8.5 on the
Richter scale and strong currents was also applied.
The bridge also contains pendulums which are
designed to operate at the resonant frequency of the
bridge to dampen forces.
There are also stiffening girders or trusses to support
and distribute moving vehicle loads which act as
chords for the lateral system and secure the
aerodynami stability of the structure.
bolts were used to connect field.
A foundation of the main tower weight of 120,000
ton weighing bridge from the main towers foot bed
transmitted. The foot bed, 60 meters under water,
was excavated by a dredger bucket. To overcome the
difficult conditions of the strait, including deep water
strong currents and waves that caused vibration in
the dredger during excavation, high-tech devices are
used, such as Remotely Operated Vehicle System.
The drawers are installed using the method of
adjustment, which involved the manufacture of the
drawers in a factory, then towed to the site,
submerging, and eventually, filling underwater
concrete. The circular-shaped drawer has no
directional property, and thus makes them more
stable and easier to handle in strong currents of the
Strait. The construction of the stiffening beam, by the
method of flat blocks, begins in the towers and main
anchors, where a floating crane was used to install six
cell blocks in the towers, and 8 anchors.

Fig 6. Cross section through stiffening girder of

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

4.3 Towers
The two main supporting towers rise 282.8 meters
above sea level, 297.30m to the end of the anchor
cable, the bridge can be expanded by the heat of up
to 2 m in the course of a day. Steel cables with a
diameter of 112cm contain 36,830 lines of wire. The Fig 7. Overview of main tower construction of
bridge is supported by two cables basically the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
central section, considered the toughest in the world
constructed.

The primary tower is made of steel, and the shaft has

a cruciform cross section which is insensitive to wind-
induced oscillation. However, tuned mass damper is
installed within the shafts to suppress oscillation is
anticipated that during erection of the tower, and
even at the stage of completing the bridge. A shaft of
the tower is divided into 30 levels and almost all
levels are composed of 3 blocks. Each block was
made in factories and transported to the site and
Fig 8. Tower shaft section
then hoisted by crane climbing tower that had a

4

4.4 Circulation ways
The 4km of the pathway for vehicles that crosses the
Akashi Strait is divided into 6 lanes. Is suspended and
supported by the cables cover is held by its own
weight, resulting in thousands of steel beams
positioned to form a triangular grid. It took 15
months to put the 280 beam sections.
As added reinforcement, below deck, a vertical
stabilizer with a form like the fin of a plane that runs
through the center of the bridge and balances the
pressure, both below and above deck. A steel mesh
was placed in the center and side rails to allow
passage of the wind.
Fig 9. Cantilevering method in Akashi
Kaikyo Bridge
4.5 Materials
The main material used in the bridge superstructure
is steel. Has also been used reinforced concrete. For
the foundation, underwater towers developed a new
type of mixing a concrete submarine that is not
broken (a non-disintegration concrete).
4.5.1 Lighting
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge-has a total of 1,737 light
fixtures: 1084 for the main cables, 116 for the main
towers, beams and 405 to 132 for the anchors. In the
main cables are placed three high capacity lighting
tubes, red, green and blue. The RGB model and
computer technology contribute in making a wide
variety of combinations. A minimum of 28 patterns
are used for special occasions such as regional public
holidays or commemorations.
4.5.2 Cables
The length of the cables used in the bridge amounts
to 300,000 kilometers, enough to circle the earth 7.5
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Literature Study
times. Steel cables with a diameter of 112cm contain
36,830 lines of wire.
Cable Specifications:
Method of construction: PS (Precast Strand)
ultimate tensile strength cable: approx. 62,500
tones
Resistance to high tensile rope hanger approx. 560
tons Material: galvanized steel wire of high
resistance
Tensile cable: 180 kg / mm 2 Cable diameter:
1122 mm (not including packaging)
Composition: 5.23 mm wire diameter * 127 / * 290
stranded wire / cable wire * 2 Total Number of
Conductors: 36830
Strand Length: 4,071m 4,074m Total cable
length: 300,000 km
Weight of main steel cable: 50,500 tons
suspension ropes, etc., ashlar: 7,200 tons
4.5.3 Beams
In beams were used 90.000tn reinforcement steel.
Due to the large size of the bridge, the wind load
which must face is higher than that of any other
existing bridge when construction was completed.
Using steel with high tensile strength for the beams
made very strong yet lightweight, and thus cheaper.
The reinforcing elements were prefabricated shaped
panel were transported to the construction site
where they were erected into the interior of the
anchorages and towers with floating cranes.
Fig 10. Dehumidified air-injection system
for the main cables of the Akashi Kaikyo
Bridge
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 Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Literature Study

heavy the load the bridge can move so much that

the bridge would need to be closed.

c) Cannot Support High Traffic

Since very little support is needed underneath

Fig 11. Cable dimensions the deck of the bridge, and the cables are light,
the bridges are very light weight. This restricts
5. Advantages of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge the amount of traffic and the weight of heavy
a) Cost Effective loads that can use it.

There is a very minimal amount of materials 7. References

needed in order to construct a suspension
bridge. The only other costs incurred are with Harazaki, I., Suzuki, S., Okukawa, A.
the labour involved in building it. "Suspension Bridges." Bridge Engineering
Handbook. Ed. Wai-Fah Chen and Lian Duan
b) Can Be Built High Up
Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2000
Suspension bridges can be built very high up Akashi Kaikyo Bridge description. Accessed
over waterways. This is essential for any area on 11th October, 2017. Retrieved from
that needs to be able to allow passing ships to https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/a
come through. kashi-kaikyo-bridge/
c) Span Great Lengths
The way that suspension bridges are
constructed, and the materials that are used,
allow them to be able to span a great distance
with minimal materials.
d) Has Flexibility
One common reason that the choice to build a
suspension bridge is reached is if it is being built
in a high earthquake zone, like Japan. This is
because suspension bridges are flexible due to
the cable system they are held up by. The bridge
can move with the wind and during natural
disasters such as an earthquake.
e) Simple Construction
No access is needed from below the bridge while
it is being constructed, making it a great choice
for areas that ships and waterways need to stay
clear.

6. Disadvantages of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

a) Soft Ground Issues

If the suspension bridge needs to be built in an

area that has soft ground, like over water, very
extensive foundation work in order to make it
safe for heavy loads.

b) Too Flexible

Flexibility of the suspension bridge design is a

major advantage, until conditions become
severe. Underneath extreme winds or very