THE SECURITY ASSESSMENT OF CABLE ASSEMBLIES IN STRUCTURES

摘要

The ability to provide a secure environment in the bridge community today is a daunting task being undertaken by many engineers worldwide. One of the key structural components identified in suspension and tied-arch bridges is the cable assembly. The paper focuses on identifying the vulnerability of the cable assembly in the event of an accident, disaster, or attack. The paper describes the response of traditional and experimental cable assemblies to moderate and extreme heat. The results from high temperature testing performed on mock cable assemblies in controlled test environments will be presented and discussed. The paper also looks at new practices being developed in the wire rope industry to increase the security and functionality of cable assemblies currently used in structures. New high performance materials have been shown to drastically increase the functional operating temperature of the cable assemblies without affecting the mechanical properties of the cable.