STRUCTURAL CONTROL AND HEALTH MONITORING
Struct. Control Health Monit. 2004; 11: 75–90 (DOI: 10.1002/stc.31)
Technology of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
Makoto Kitagawa*,y
Honshu–Shikoku Bridge Authority, Onoedori, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0088, Japan
SUMMARY
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, a suspension bridge with a center span of 1991 m, was completed in 1998. The
construction of this bridge depends on the development of several technologies. In this paper, features
of these technologies are described as follows: (1) foundation construction in the deep, fast tidal current;
(2) wind-resistant design for the tower and stiffening girders; (3) construction method avoiding disturbance
of marine traffics; (4) modification of the bridge configuration after the Kobe earthquake. Copyright #
2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KEY WORDS: suspension bridge; foundation; tower; cable; stiffening girder; wind-resistant design;
Kobe earthquake
1. INTRODUCTION
The Honshu–Shikoku Bridges form part of the fixed links, connecting two major islands of the
Japanese Archipelago, as shown in Figure 1. By their completion, four major islands of the
Japanese Archipelago were linked together [1].
The bridges consist of three routes: Kobe–Naruto; Kojima–Sakaide; and Onomichi–Imabari.
The Kojima–Sakaide route involves railway and highway combined structures. The other two
routes are only for highway traffic. The construction of the Honshu–Shikoku Bridges was
started in 1975, and was completed in 1999.
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is on the Kobe–Naruto route, and is well known as a longest-span
suspension bridge. Construction was started in 1988, and was completed in 1998. In this paper,
technical features of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge are described.
2. GENERAL OUTLINE
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge spans the 4-km-wide Akashi Strait. The strait has a maximum depth
of 110 m on the bridge route, and the maximum tidal current is 4 m/s. The central portion of the
Strait is designated as a 1.5-km-wide international navigation channel, as shown in Figure 2. It
has a traffic of 1400 ships a day. At the planning stage of the bridge, safety of navigation was a
*Correspondence to: Makoto Kitagawa, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority, Onoedori, Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0088,
Japan.
y
E-mail: [email protected]
Received 15 June 2003
Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 20 August 2003
76 M. KITAGAWA
1 Tunnel
Hokkaido
3 Tunnels and 1 Bridge
Tokyo Honshu
3 Routes of Honshu-
Kyushu
Shikoku Shikoku Bridges
Figure 1. The four major islands of the Japanese Archipelago.
Figure 2. International waterway in the Akashi Strait.
Figure 3. General view of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.
priority. Accordingly, two towers had to be located more than 200 m outside the navigation
channel.
A general view of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is shown in Figure 3. The bridge is a three-span
suspension bridge, with a center span of 1991 m and two side spans of 960 m. Two anchorages,
Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Struct. Control Health Monit. 2004; 11:75–90
TECHNOLOGY OF THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE 77
Table I. Weight and volume of the bridge.
Structures Steel (ton) Concrete (m3)
Superstructure 195 100
Towers 47 800
Cables 59 500
Girders 87 800
Substructure 68 000 1 431 000
Anchorage 1A 15 000 515 000
Pier 2P 21 000 354 000
Pier 3P 19 000 322 000
Anchorage 4A 13 000 240 000
Table II. Geological and tidal conditions of the straits.
Foundation Excavated bearing ground Bearing level Tidal currents (m/s)
1A Weakly cemented soft rock TP61 m
2P Semi-consolidated gravel and sand TP60 m 3.5
3P Weakly cemented soft rock TP57 m 4.0
4A Granite and weathered granite TP21 m
TP=average sea level in Tokyo Bay.
1A and 4A, were constructed on the reclaimed land on both shores. Two tower foundations, 2P
and 3P, were constructed in the deep sea. Towers, cables and stiffening girders are of steel. The
top of the tower is 297 m above the sea. The stiffening girder is a truss girder. Amounts of
materials used in the bridge are shown in Table I.
3. TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF TOWER FOUNDATIONS [2]
3.1. Laying-down caisson method
Two tower foundations, 2P and 3P, had to be constructed in the deep sea and in a fast tidal
current. They were laid on semi-consolidated geology, as shown in Table II. In order to avoid
the uncertain thing in such a severe marine environment, it was necessary to reduce work on site.
A laying-down caisson method was adopted. In this method, steel caissons are prefabricated in
dry docks. These caissons are installed on the seabed after the seabed has been excavated to the
required depth.
In the case of 2P, the seabed was excavated from 45 to 60 m below the sea level with a grab
bucket dredger. The steel caisson was towed to the site during a slack tide as shown in Figure 4.
Soon after installation, scour protection was executed around the caisson. Then, desegregating
underwater concrete was cast into the caisson. The principal data of the foundations are given in
Table III.
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78 M. KITAGAWA
Figure 4. Towing the steel caisson to the pier site.
Table III. Dimensions and amounts of foundations.
Pier foundation 2P 3P
Diameter height (m) 80 70 78 67
Bottom level TP60 m TP57 m
Top level TP+10 m TP+10 m
Steel caisson (ton) 15 300 14 000
Underwater concrete (m3) 265 000 238 000
Top slab concrete (m3) 89 000 84 000
3.2. Scour protection method
When a caisson is installed in a current, accelerated currents or horseshoe eddies are generated
around the caisson as shown in Figure 5. As the geology on the seabed is not consolidated,
scouring around the caisson was anticipated. From investigations in the laboratory and on site,
it was found that scouring could be protected by covering the seabed to the extent of the caisson
diameter.
The seabed was overlaid by ripraps, each weighing 1–2 ton, to prevent scouring as shown in
Figure 6. In the test before the construction, however, sucking of the soil on the seabed through
the gaps of the ripraps was seen, when the layer thickness was inadequate. However, it was
found that sucking could be prevented by installing a 2-m-thick filtering layer, over an area of
10 m around the caisson, then covering with 8-m-thick ripraps. At the site, net bags, each
weighing 1 ton and filled with 30–150 mm crushed stone, were quickly installed around the
caisson by a floating crane. After that, the surrounding area was covered by ripraps with a
thickness of 3–10 m.
3.3. Underwater concrete
For the concrete to cast into the caisson, which is filled with water, desegregated underwater
concrete was adopted. The desegregated concrete was made by adding desegregating admixture
and superplasticizer to ordinary concrete. By the effect of the desegregating admixture, high
Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Struct. Control Health Monit. 2004; 11:75–90
TECHNOLOGY OF THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE 79
Figure 5. Currents around a circular caisson.
Figure 6. Scoring protection around caisson by 1-ton ripraps (photo taken in the laboratory).
desegregating resistance was obtained, as shown in Figure 7. At the same time, a favorable
fluidity was obtained by the effect of the superplasticizer.
Concrete was cast into the caisson directly from a concrete plant, mounted on a large barge,
as shown in Figure 8. Over a period of three days, concrete of 9000 m3 was cast into the caisson
continuously. This was repeated 30 times, until the caisson was filled with concrete. As the
concrete volume is too large (in the case of 2P, total concrete amounts to 355 000 m3), it was
necessary to mitigate the temperature stress. The cement content was reduced to 320 kg/m3, and
half the water was replaced by ice to maintain the temperature at cast to less than 208C.
Furthermore, low-heat cement, which is a mixture of ordinary Portland cement, finely
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Figure 7. Desegregated underwater concrete (left) and ordinary concrete (right).
Figure 8. Casting underwater concrete into the caisson.
granulated blast-furnace slag and fly ash, was developed. As a result, the maximum internal
temperature was kept below 508C, and cracking did not occur.
3.4. Seismic design
An earthquake is a dominant factor in the design of foundations. In the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge,
two types of earthquake were taken into account, as shown in Figure 9. One is an earthquake
considered to occur with a recurrent cycle of 150 yr. A statistical estimate of the earthquake was
made, using earthquake records, in the area within 300 km of the site. The other is a plate-
boundary-type earthquake of magnitude 8.5 on the Richter scale, considered to occur in the
Pacific Ocean, 150 km from the bridge. The design acceleration spectrum is an envelope of these
two earthquakes.
In the seismic design, a dynamic interaction between the ground and the foundation has to be
considered. In the analysis, the foundation and ground were modeled by a rigid body model
with two springs, as shown in Figure 10. In the modeling, restraint of ground motion by a large
foundation was considered as ‘effective seismic motion’ and coupled vibration of the ground and
the foundation was formulated as ‘dynamic soil stiffness’.
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TECHNOLOGY OF THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE 81
Figure 9. Earthquake records around the bridge (left) and standard acceleration spectrum considering two
types of earthquake (right).
Figure 10. Modeling of foundation and ground in the seismic design.
4. TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE TOWERS [3]
4.1. Wind-resistant design of the towers [4]
The towers of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge feature a high-rise, flexible steel structure. When a
tower is standing free, a vibration, caused by the wind vortex, cannot be avoided at the top of
the tower. This problem has been experienced in many bridges, and temporary countermeasures
are taken during erection. In the case of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, however, wind-induced
vibration was forecast to occur below the design wind velocity of 66.7 m/s, even after completion
of the bridge. This is due to the low natural frequency of the towers, as shown in Table IV. After
completion of the bridge, it was forecast that vibration would occur at the middle portion of the
towers, as seen in Figure 11.
Permanent countermeasures had to be taken to suppress the vibration. The vibration can be
controlled either by aerodynamic improvement of the cross-section, or by installing damping
devices. As a first solution, it was decided to cut off four corners of a rectangular section to
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Table IV. Aerodynamic properties of the towers.
Bridge Tower height (m) First bending frequency (Hz) Resonant wind speed (m/s)
Free standing
Akashi Kaikyo 287.6 0.131 10.0
Kita Bisan Seto 169.5 0.256 16.5
On completion
Akashi Kaikyo 287.6 0.465 41.8
Kita Bisan Seto 169.5 1.126 86.0
Figure 11. Tower vibration due to wind.
Figure 12. Tuned mass dampers in tower shafts.
improve the aerodynamic properties of the tower. But this was found to be insufficient to
suppress the vibration to an allowable level. As additional measures, tuned mass dampers were
installed inside the tower shafts, as shown in Figure 12.
Two types of damper were installed inside the tower. TMD-1, each weighing 84 ton, are used
to suppress the vibration of the first bending mode of the completed bridge. TMD-2, each
weighing 114 ton, suppress the vibration of the first torsional mode.
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TECHNOLOGY OF THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE 83
Figure 13. Fabrication procedure of tower members.
4.2. Fabrication and erection of towers
As a vertical accuracy, tolerance at the tower top was specified to be less than 1/5000 of the
tower height. To achieve this accuracy, tower members had to be fabricated very carefully.
In fabrication, a tower has to be divided into 30 blocks vertically, and each block was further
divided into three cells. This was done so that the weight of each cell does not exceed 160 ton,
the crane capacity. Then, in the shop, three cells were temporarily assembled into a block, and
both ends of each block were cut and ground to the required flatness, by a large cutting and
grinding machine.
Afterward, the blocks were again separated into three cells for transportation, as shown in
Figure 13. During erection, bolt splicing of each block was done after confirming a good, full
contact of the ends of the two blocks. Owing to this precise work, the specified accuracy could
be achieved at the top of the tower.
5. TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE CABLES [3]
5.1. High-tensile-strength wire
The history of cable wire strength is summarized in Figure 14. For more than 50 years,
galvanized steel wires, with a tensile strength of 1550–1600 MPa has been used for many
suspension bridges. The use of conventional wires in the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, however,
requires a layout of two cables on one side, in order to avoid cables of excessively large
diameter. This cable layout results in uneconomical structures, such as complicated girders and
expansion of the tower width.
In the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, wires with a tensile strength of 1800 MPa were developed.
Generally, the strength of steel wire can be raised by increasing the degree of processing during
wire drawing. But an increase of strength causes a reduction of ductility, necessary for structural
wires. As a result of the study, however, it was found that, by modification of the metal
ingredients of the wire, such as the addition of silicon, tensile strength could be raised without
loss of ductility. Owing to the development of high-tensile-strength wires, a reduction of steel for
the bridge and large cost savings could be obtained.
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Figure 14. History of cable wire strength.
Figure 15. Cross-section of cable.
5.2. Cable installation
In the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, a prefabricated parallel wire strand method was adopted to
reduce installation time, as shown in Figure 15. Each strand, consisting of 127 wires, was
prefabricated in the shop. Each cable consists of 290 strands. During cable installation, it was
strongly required not to disturb sea traffic in the navigation channel.
The first cable work is to install a pilot rope for each span. The conventional way is to pull the
rope with floats by tugboats or by a tall crane ship. But these methods required sea traffic to be
halted. It was decided to pull the rope by helicopter, so as not to interrupt the sea traffic, as
shown in Figure 16. A light, strong rope enabled this method to be used. A polyaramid fiber
rope, with a diameter of 10 mm, weight of 0.0917 kg/m and tensile strength of 4700 kg, was used.
A pilot rope pulls another steel rope, and it was replaced by stronger steel ropes. With those
ropes, a cable hauling system was erected. Catwalk ropes and catwalk floors were erected by the
hauling system. Each cable strand is pulled along the catwalk by a carrier attached to a hauling
rope, as shown in Figure 17. Two hauling systems were installed for each cable.
5.3. Cable corrosion protection
For corrosion protection of cables, anti-corrosion paste is coated on the surface, wires are
wrapped around it, and the entire assembly is painted. On investigation of bridges where this
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TECHNOLOGY OF THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE 85
Figure 16. Installation of the pilot rope by helicopter.
Figure 17. Strand installation by the hauling system.
system was employed, however, rust was found on the steel wires two to three layers below the
surface. The investigation concluded that water trapped inside the cable created a very humid
and corrosive environment there. It was also concluded that corrosion could not be eradicated
unless the trapped water was forced out.
A drying system was developed for the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. In this system, dry air was
forced inside the cable to expel moisture or to dehumidify it, as shown in Figure 18. Since it has
been confirmed experimentally that galvanized steel wires are generally corrosion resistant if the
humidity around them is less than 60%, the control target for the relative humidity inside the
cable was set at 40% in operating this system.
Seasonal changes in relative humidity inside the cable of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge over a 33-
month period since the system was adopted is shown in Figure 19. It is seen from the
figure that high humidity at the start of the operation decreased to the target level in
about 6 months, and that the humidity inside the cable has been maintained below the target
level since then. It is concluded that the system works as intended to protect the cable from
corrosion.
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Air Injection Pipe
Main Cable
Air Injection Cover
Air Exhaust
Tower Cover
Dehumidified Air Stiffening Girder
Blowing System
Figure 18. Dry air injection system for the main cable.
100 Increase of humidity At
Atmospheric Humidity
due to A
Average Humidity in Cable
dehumidifier halt (Ave. of 15 cable points
Relative Humidity (%)
80 bbetween 3P and 4A)
60
40
20
0
Nov-97 Mar-98 Jul-98 Nov-98 Mar-99 Jul-99 Nov-99 Mar-00 Jul-00
Figure 19. Seasonal change in relative humidity inside the main cable.
6. TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF STIFFENING GIRDERS [3]
6.1. Wind-resistant design [4]
Because of the flexible structure, suppressing the wind-induced vibration of the girders,
especially flutter, has been the most important problem in the design of stiffening girders. In the
design code of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, it is specified that flutter must not occur under a wind
speed of 78 m/s in wind tunnel tests within an attack angle from 38 to +38.
To determine the type of stiffening girder, several types of girders, as shown in Figure 20, were
investigated. Figure 20 shows the relationships between the onset wind speeds of flutter and
deck weight of each girder investigated. From these results, a truss girder and a compound
stiffness box girder were selected as prospective types. A compound stiffness box girder arranges
high-torsionally stiffened girders around the tower with an aerodynamically flat girder at the
central portion of the bridge.
From the comparison of these two types, a truss girder was finally selected as appropriate for
erection in the international navigation channel. This is because a truss girder can be erected by
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TECHNOLOGY OF THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE 87
Figure 20. Flutter wind speed and deck weight of alternative girders.
Figure 21. Wind-proof measure for truss girder.
a cantilever erection method starting from the tower without interrupting the sea traffic. While a
box girder has to be erected by lifting the girder block from the navigation channel.
The aerodynamic stability of a suspension bridge has been investigated mainly by wind tunnel
tests with sectional models. For the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, several sectional model tests were
performed, and it was found that, installation of a vertical stabilizer under the road deck and
installation of gratings on the road deck, as shown in Figure 21, were necessary for wind
stability.
For the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, however, sectional models were judged to be insufficient
owing to their neglect of the following effects:
1. Varying torsional deflection along the bridge axis
2. High-degree vibration modes
3. Interference between cables and girders
A full model test was carried out, in a large boundary layer wind tunnel facility, as shown in
Figure 22. As a result of the full model test, it was found that installation of a vertical stabilizer
could be restricted to the center span only. It was also found that flutter analysis for the test
shows good agreement with experimental results, as shown in Figure 23. From this, we
concluded that flutter analysis might be one of the most effective methods to examine the
aerodynamic behavior of the bridge.
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Figure 22. Full model wind tunnel test (scale=1/100).
Figure 23. Result of full model wind tunnel test and flutter analysis.
6.2. Erection
Initial erection of the stiffening girders was done by a large-truss-block erection method, using
3500–4100 ton floating cranes at six places; in front of anchorages and at both sides of towers, as
shown in Figure 24. This method could be applied because these areas are located far from the
navigation channel.
In other places, cantilever erections from both towers and from both anchorages were carried
out. Pre-assembled frames with a length of 28 m were lifted at the tower or in front of the
anchorage, carried to the front of the erected girders, and connected, as shown in Figure 25.
Owing to this erection procedure, it was possible not to disturb the sea traffic. Cantilever
erection was carried out as follows:
1. Center span: from a tower to the center of the strait
2. Side span: from anchorage to the tower
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TECHNOLOGY OF THE AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE 89
Figure 24. Large-truss-block erected by a floating crane.
Figure 25. Cantilever erection from the tower.
This was done so that the inclination of the girder does not exceed 6%, necessary for stability
of the erection equipment.
6.3. Influence of the Kobe earthquake
On 17 January 1995, soon after the cable erection was finished, a gigantic earthquake
occurred, with a magnitude of 7.2 and epicenter only 2 km east of the bridge. There was no
damage to bridge structures, but displacements of four foundations were found, as shown in
Figure 26. The displacement was caused by crustal movements. At that time, cables were already
installed, all suspenders had been fabricated, but fabrication of stiffening girders was not yet
finished.
There was an elongation of the span; 80 cm at the center span and 30 cm at the Awaji-side
span. There was also a change of angle horizontally and vertically at the towers and at the
anchorages. The influence of the change of bridge configuration, caused by the earthquake, had
to be studied. As a result of the study, even though there are small additional stresses on the
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Figure 26. Displacements of foundations during cable installation by the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
structure, and a small change of road configurations, it was concluded that the bridge
construction is possible with the following modifications
1. Increase the length of the last two girder sections in the center span by 80 cm
2. Increase the length of the last girder section in the Awaji-side span by 34 cm
3. Change the locations of cable bands and suspenders.
Erection was resumed soon after the decision was made, and the delay, caused by the
earthquake was recovered by the end of construction.
7. CONCLUSIONS
Construction of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge was made possible by the development of several
technologies, described above. The features of those technologies are summarized as follows.
1. For construction of foundations in the deep, fast tidal current, a laying-down caisson
method was developed.
2. The design of towers and stiffening girders included a wind-resistant design.
3. New construction materials, such as non-segregated concrete and high-strength steel wires
were developed.
4. As bridge construction was done in the international navigation channel, erection methods
had to avoid disturbance to marine traffic.
5. As the Kobe earthquake occurred during construction, a modification of the bridge
configuration was necessary.
REFERENCES
1. Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority. The longest bridge; the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and the Tatara Bridge, August
1999.
2. Kashima S, Sakamoto M, Sano Y, Higuchi K. Construction of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge foundation. Proceeding of the
IABSE Symposium, Kobe 1998, 69–74.
3. Fuchida M, Kitagawa M, Kurino S, Shimomura M. Design and construction of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge’s
superstructure. Proceedings of the IABSE Symposium, Kobe 1998, 63–68.
4. Kitagawa M. Wind resistant design of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. Proceedings of the International Seminar on Long-Span
Bridges and Aerodynamics, Kobe 1998, 251–265.
5. Kitagawa M. Maintenance of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridges. Proceedings of the IABSE Conference, Seoul 2001, 22–23.
Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Struct. Control Health Monit. 2004; 11:75–90
