SUMITOMO METALS : Products : Railway, Automotive, & Machinery Parts : Guide to products : Industrial equipment and mechanical parts

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Outline

In accordance with the remarkable advances that have been made in bridge engineering, the bridges that are constructed today are much longer and wider, and in a variety of styles. In line with this trend, an improved expansion system with better functionality and strength specifically for road bridges is in demand.
We have developed and marketed the "link-type expansion system" which is equipped with a link-mechanism as an expansion system for large bridges to meet the changing requirements of society.

This expansion system is compact in size but provides a large expansion capability, able to follow all kinds of bridge displacements smoothly. This link-type expansion system can exhibit superior performance on all sorts of bridges including suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges and multi-span continuous girder bridges.

Features

Compact and suitable for large expansion
Able to follow any and all displacements
Easy to install
Provides better vehicle running performance
Provides better durability
Easy to maintain and inspect

Guide to products

[ Construction ]: This system has been designed to meet the dual requirements of being able to follow bridge displacements, and ease of installation, using half a traffic lane as its standard unit of width. The unit consists of fingers, beams, the link assemblies, vertical shoes, and universal joints.

Fig. 1- Construction of the expansion joint

[ Function ]: The expansion system is supported by the edge of the bridge through vertical shoes at the four corners. Through the supporting mechanism that is connected to the bridge only by the universal joints, the bridge displacement is smoothly followed by the mutual linking motion across the link, the vertical shoe and the universal joint.

Fif. 2- Displocement in the bridge axial direction / Fig. 3- Displocement perpendicular to the bridge oxis drection / Fig. 4- Angular rototion in the vertical plane / Fig. 5- Angular rototion in the horizontal plane

[ Installation ]: Each component of the expansion system is assembled in the factory and then transported to the construction site. At the site, each component is lifted using temporary jigs and installed on the vertical shoes (lower shoes), and then the universal joints are finally fastened to the bridge with bolts. In this way, the installation can be finalized with a high degree of accuracy within a short time.

[ Maintenance and inspection ]: This expansion system has a simple construction with the sliding portion being made of materials with high wear-resistance, high corrosion-resistance and high durability, therefore little maintenance work will be required. Regular inspections can be conducted either from the road or from maintenance passages thanks to its open construction. In addition, in case any detailed inspection or unforeseen maintenance is required, the system can be separated into individual units, and it is easy to dismantle the fingers. This makes for easy work and the limiting width that needs to be set for bridge traffic can be minimal.
[ Delivery record ]

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