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    Millau

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    Ananth Garikapati
    The Millau Viaduct is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, crossing the Tarn valley in southern France. It has 7 pylons, the tallest being 246 meters high. The bridge was designed by engineer Michel Virlogeux and architect Norman Foster, and its construction from 2001-2004 involved advanced technologies and nearly 600 employees. At 2,460 meters long with a maximum height of 343 meters, the Millau Viaduct consists of a steel roadway supported by pylons and stayed cables, and was a major engineering achievement.

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    Millau

    Uploaded by

    Ananth Garikapati
    245 views10 pages
    The Millau Viaduct is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, crossing the Tarn valley in southern France. It has 7 pylons, the tallest being 246 meters high. The bridge was designed by engineer Michel Virlogeux and architect Norman Foster, and its construction from 2001-2004 involved advanced technologies and nearly 600 employees. At 2,460 meters long with a maximum height of 343 meters, the Millau Viaduct consists of a steel roadway supported by pylons and stayed cables, and was a major engineering achievement.

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    The Millau Viaduct is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, crossing the Tarn valley in southern France. It has 7 pylons, the tallest being 246 meters high. The bridge was designed by engineer Michel Virlogeux and architect Norman Foster, and its construction from 2001-2004 involved advanced technologies and nearly 600 employees. At 2,460 meters long with a maximum height of 343 meters, the Millau Viaduct consists of a steel roadway supported by pylons and stayed cables, and was a major engineering achievement.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    245 views10 pages

    Millau

    Uploaded by

    Ananth Garikapati
    The Millau Viaduct is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, crossing the Tarn valley in southern France. It has 7 pylons, the tallest being 246 meters high. The bridge was designed by engineer Michel Virlogeux and architect Norman Foster, and its construction from 2001-2004 involved advanced technologies and nearly 600 employees. At 2,460 meters long with a maximum height of 343 meters, the Millau Viaduct consists of a steel roadway supported by pylons and stayed cables, and was a major engineering achievement.

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    Civil Engineering Assignment

    millau
    viaduct
    Ananth.G
    ML006
    Medical Electronics
    introduction
    “ The Millau Viaduct is an enormous cable-stayed road-bridge that

    spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France.

    ”
    Designed by the structural
    engineer Michel Virlogeux and
    British architect Norman
    Foster, it is the tallest vehicular
    bridge in the world, with one
    mast's summit at 343 metres
    (1,125 ft) — slightly taller than
    the Eiffel Tower and only 37 m
    (121 ft) shorter than the Empire
    State Building. From its design
    to its construction, hundreds
    of men have given their energy
    and ingenuity to take part in
    this unique structure. At the
    peak of the work, nearly 600 employees were working at the site. And it only took
    three years, from December 2001 to December 2004.

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   2  


     
    statistics

    -Paranomic View
    • Length: 2,460 m!
    • Width: 32 m!
    • Maximum height: 343 m, or 19 m higher than the Eiffel Tower
    • Slope: 3.025 %, going up from north to south in the direction Clermont-
    Ferrand-Béziers
    • Curve Radius: 20 km !
    • Height of the tallest pier (P2): 245 m!
    • Height of the pylons: 87 m!
    • Number of piers: 7!
    • Length of the spans: Two end spans of 204 m each and six central spans of
    342 m each.!
    • Number of stays: 154 (11 pairs per pylon laid out in one mono-axial layer)!
    • Tension of the stays: from 900 t to 1 200 t for the longest!
    • Weight of the steel deck: 36 000 t, or 5 times that of the Eiffel Tower
    • Tower! Volume of concrete: 85 000 m3
    • Cost of the construction: 400 M€!
    • Contract duration: 78 years – 3 years for construction and 75 years of
    operations!
    • Structural guarantee: 120 years

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   3  


     
    construction
    “ State of the art technology

    The construction of the Millau viaduct required most of the state of the art techniques used in the field of
    construction. Before this, no building site had grouped in one single place such a mixture of technologies.
    Laser, GPS, sliders, self-climbing formwork, specific surface coats, high performance concrete and
    innovative materials were all instrumental in the success of an extraordinary construction.

    ”
    The Millau Viaduct consists of an eight-span steel
    roadway supported by seven concrete pylons. The
    roadway weighs 36,000 tonnes and is 2,460 m
    (8,100 ft) long, measuring 32 m (100 ft) wide by 4.2 m
    (14 ft) deep, making it the world's longest cable-stayed
    deck. The six central spans each measure 342 m
    (1,120 ft) with the two outer spans measuring 204 m
    (670 ft). The roadway has a slope of 3% descending
    from south to north, and curves in a plane section with
    a 20 km (12 mi) radius to give drivers better visibility.
    The pylons range in height from 77 m (250 ft) to 246 m
    (810 ft), and taper in their longitudinal section from
    24.5 m (80 ft) at the base to 11 m (36 ft) at the deck.
    Each pylon is composed of 16 framework sections,
    each weighing 2,230 tons. These sections were
    assembled on site from pieces of 60 tons, 4 m (13 ft)
    wide and 17 m (56 ft) long, made in factories in
    Lauterbourg and Fos-sur-Mer by Eiffage. The pylons each support 87 m (290 ft) tall
    masts.

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   4  


     
    The enormous pylons were built first, together with intermediate temporary pylons
    which were in themselves a massive record-breaking construction project.
    Remarkably, the entire length of deck surface (that is to say, the bridge itself, the actual
    kilometers of roadway) was slid out, into the valley, across the pylons from both sides.

    -Ariel View of the bridge during construction

    This feat was achieved using hydraulic rams that moved the deck about 600 mm every
    4 minutes, over the course of many days.
    While the kilometers of roadway was being slid-out through space, it was supported by
    both the final pylons and the temporary pylons.
    Only after the roadway was completely slid-out in to the final position, were the masts
    erected on top of the deck (that is to say, over the pylons). To be clear, the masts on
    top are not continuing elements of the pylons underneath, although they appear to be.
    The masts are separate constructions which were built on land, wheeled out to position
    only after the pylons and roadway were complete, raised (with difficulty), and emplaced.
    The construction of the massive cable-stay system between the masts and deck then
    followed. Finally, the massive temporary pylons in the valley were removed.

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   5  


     
    Pylons and abutments
    Each pylon is supported by four deep shafts, 15 m (49 ft) deep and 5 m (16 ft) in
    diameter.

    Heights of the piers


    P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7
    94.501m 244.96 m 221.05 m 144.21 m 136.42 m 111.94 m 77.56 m
    (310 ft 0.5 in) (803 ft 8 in) (725 ft 3 in) (473 ft 2 in) (447 ft 7 in) (367 ft 3 in) (254 ft 6 in)

    The abutments are concrete structures that provide anchorage for the deck to the
    ground in the Causse du Larzac and the Causse Rouge.

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   6  


     
    Deck
    The metallic deck, which appears
    very light despite its total mass of
    around 36,000 metric tons
    (40,000 short tons), is 2,460 m
    (8,100 ft) long and 32 m (100 ft)
    wide. It comprises eight spans.
    The six central spans measure
    342 m (1,120 ft), and the two
    outer spans are 204 metres
    (670 ft). These are composed of
    173 central box beams, the
    spinal column of the
    construction, onto which the
    lateral floors and the lateral box
    beams were welded. The central
    box beams have a 4 m (13 ft)
    cross-section and a length of 15–
    22 m (49–72 ft) for a total weight of 90 metric tons (99 short tons). The deck has an
    inverse airfoil shape, providing negative lift in strong wind conditions.

    Masts
    The seven masts, each 87 m (290 ft)
    high and weighing around
    700 metric tons (770 short tons), are
    set on top of the pylons. Between
    each of them, eleven stays (metal
    cables) are anchored, providing
    support for the road deck.

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   7  


     
    Stays
    Each mast of the viaduct is equipped with a mono-axial layer of eleven pairs of stays
    laid face to face. Depending on their length, the stays were made of 55 to 91 high
    tensile steel cables, or strands, themselves formed of seven strands of steel (a central
    strand with six intertwined strands). Each strand has triple protection against corrosion
    (galvanisation, a coating of petroleum wax and an extruded polyethylene sheath). The
    exterior envelope of the stays is itself coated along its entire length with a double helical
    weather-strip. The idea is to avoid running water, which, in high winds, could cause
    vibration in the stays and compromise the stability of the viaduct.The stays were
    installed by the Freyssinet Company.

    Surface
    To allow for deformations of the
    metal deck under traffic, a
    special surface of modified
    bitumen was installed by
    research teams from Appia. The
    surface is somewhat flexible to
    adapt to deformations in the
    steel deck without cracking, but
    it must nevertheless have
    sufficient strength to withstand
    motorway conditions (fatigue,
    density, texture, adherence, anti-
    rutting, etc.). The "ideal formula"
    was found only after ten years of
    research.

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   8  


     
    Electrical installations
    The electrical
    installations of the
    viaduct are impressive,
    in proportion to the
    immensity of the bridge.
    There are 30 km (19 mi)
    of high-current cables,
    20 km (12 mi) of fibre
    optics, 10 km (6.2 mi) of
    low-current cables and
    357 telephone sockets
    allowing maintenance
    teams to communicate
    with each other and
    with the command
    post. These are situated on the deck, on the pylons and on the masts. As far as
    instrumentation is concerned, the viaduct is state of the art. The pylons, deck, masts
    and stays are equipped with a multitude of sensors. These are designed to detect the
    slightest movement in the viaduct and measure its resistance to wear-and-tear over
    time. Anemometers, accelerometers, inclinometers, temperature sensors are all used for
    the instrumentation network. Twelve fibre optic extensometers were installed in the
    base of pylon P2. Being the tallest of all, it is therefore under the most intense stress.
    These sensors detect movements on the order of a micrometre. Other extensometers —
    electrical this time — are distributed on top of P2 and P7. This apparatus is capable of
    taking up to 100 readings per second. In high winds, they continuously monitor the
    reactions of the viaduct to extreme conditions. Accelerometers placed strategically on
    the deck monitor the oscillations that can affect the metal structure. Displacements of
    the deck on the abutment level are measured to the nearest millimetre. The stays are
    also instrumented, and their ageing meticulously analysed. Additionally, two
    piezoelectric sensors gather traffic data: weight of vehicles, average speed, density of
    the flow of traffic, etc. This system can distinguish between fourteen different types of
    vehicle. The data is transmitted by an Ethernet network to a computer in the IT room at
    the management building situated near the toll plaza.  

    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   9  


     
    the end
    THE  MILLAU  VIADUCT  -­‐ANANTH.G  ML006   10  
     

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