Heavy-Haul Steel Truss Bridge with Replaceable Gusset Plates per Eurocode, AWS D1.5 & AS 5100

A steel truss bridge is a hollow structure formed by connecting the top chord, bottom chord, and web members through gusset plates. All members mainly bear axial tension or compression, with minimal bending moments and shear forces. Unlike traditional solid web beam bridges, a truss bridge discretizes a continuous web into a series of members, allowing wind loads to pass through freely and significantly reducing lateral wind forces. The bridge spans range from 30 to 150 meters, making it an economical choice for heavy-load railways, mining area passages, and long-span highway bridges.

1.Scenario Type

2.Product Highlights

l Node Plate Interchangeable Without Cutting: Standard node plates are CNC plasma cut, with bolt hole spacing tolerance of ±0.5mm, fully interchangeable with the same specifications.

l Pre-Camber Can Be Designed Incrementally: Pre-set mid-span camber (L/800–L/500) during manufacturing by fine-tuning the length of the web member or offsetting the node plate.

l Fatigue-Resistance Details Enhanced: The ends of welds connecting node plates and chord members are ground with a grinder or re-melted with TIG, improving fatigue rating by 1–2 levels.

l Replaceable Node Plates: Key stress node plates use bolted connections, allowing individual replacement if cracks are discovered during operation.

l Bored End Process for Web Members: Ends of web members are entirely bored, with pin hole cylindricity ≤0.05mm and pin-to-hole clearance only 0.2–0.5mm.

l Stealth Design Options: Military bridges can use polygonal section chords and radar-absorbing coatings to reduce radar cross-section.

3.Product Materials

The core load-bearing members of our steel truss bridge are all made of high-performance special steel for bridges that strictly meet the mechanical property requirements of the world's mainstream standards, and the material selection is precisely matched according to the stress characteristics of truss members. The core material system includes:

ü Hot-rolled low-carbon alloy high-strength steel: Adopt mainstream grades such as A36, A572 Grade 60, with a minimum yield strength of 415MPa, excellent axial tension and compression properties, welding performance and cold bending performance, which is the core material for the main load-bearing members of the truss.

ü Cold-formed thin-walled section steel: Adopt high-precision cold-formed rectangular and square tube steel, with the advantages of light weight, high section modulus and easy processing, which is suitable for lightweight truss members of pedestrian bridges and temporary bridges, and can greatly reduce the self-weight of the structure.

ü High-weathering atmospheric corrosion-resistant steel: Adopt Corten A/B grade weathering steel, which forms a stable and dense rust layer on the surface through alloying design, realizing long-term corrosion resistance without painting, which is suitable for coastal, high-humidity and industrial pollution environments, and greatly reduces the later maintenance cost.

ü High-strength structural fastening materials: All truss node connections adopt high-strength bolts that meet ASTM A325/A490 and EN 14399 standards, with ultra-high shear strength and tensile strength, which can ensure the rigid connection of truss nodes, avoid stress concentration, and completely match the mechanical properties of the main members.

4.Design Features

Ø Slenderness Ratio Limits: Compression members of the main girder KL/r ≤ 120 (European standard) or ≤ 100 (heavy-duty railway), tension members ≤ 200.

Ø Node Plate Whitmore Section Method: The effective width of node plates is calculated based on a 30° diffusion angle, verifying net section tension rupture and overall stability.

Ø Bearing Criteria for Pin Holes: Bearing stress on pin hole walls ≤ 1.5fy, bending stress on pins ≤ 0.8fy.

Ø Fatigue Category Allocation: End of angle welds between node plates and chord members (FAT 50–63), net section of bolt holes (FAT 90–112).

Ø Lateral Wind-Resisting System: X- or K-shaped wind braces installed in the top chord plane, bottom chord plane uses the deck system as horizontal support.

Ø Provision for Removable Design: Bolt-connected nodes have positioning pin holes (ø4–6mm) to ensure proper alignment when reassembled after removal.

5.Core Advantages

⭐Outstanding Economy for Long Spans: For spans over 80 meters, the steel usage per unit area of truss bridges is 20–30% less than steel box girders.

⭐Significant Reduction in Wind Load: Drag coefficient of hollow structures (Cd=0.8–1.2) is about half that of solid girders (Cd=1.8–2.2).

⭐Minimum Concealed Work: All welds and bolt connections are visually inspectable without hidden defects.

⭐Clear Seismic Energy Dissipation Mechanism: Web members with high slenderness ratio can be designed as the first line of seismic defense, and can still be removed and replaced after yielding.

⭐Controllable Factory Precision: Member length tolerance ±1mm, node plate hole spacing tolerance ±0.5mm, no forced assembly on site.

⭐Adaptation to Polar/Desert Environments: Member gaps account for temperature differences (-40°C ~ 50°C); hot-dip galvanization resists wind and sand erosion.

6.Global Standard

7.Choose Us  

Choosing our steel truss bridges means you are choosing a professional team that perfectly combines the mechanical efficiency of discrete members with the precision of industrial manufacturing. We don’t just deliver members and node plates — we deliver Whitmore effective widths that have been carefully calculated, weld end treatments reinforced for fatigue details, and 3D pre-assembly models that ensure zero rework on site.