This research focuses on the development of polyester-rope suspended footbridges and consequently challenges the idea that modern versions of this bridge type must use steel cable. Characterization of the static and dynamic behavior of these bridges aids in determining which system parameters will influence future design guidelines for these structures and promote further construction.  Polyester’s low-weight and its high performance when wet also makes this material advantageous for temporary bridges that are rapidly deployed during flooding for rescue efforts and/or to repair walking networks.

Awards

  • Runner-up for the Young Authors’ Award at Footbridge 2017, 2017
  • Tsuboi Award for the most outstanding paper in the Proceedings of the 2014 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures Symposium-6th Latin American Symposium on Tension Structures, Brasília, Brazil, 2014

Publications

(for conference publications, underline indicates the presenter, † indicates the paper was not presented orally, and * indicates the paper was displayed as a poster)

Segal, E. M., Woodward, R., Adriaenssens, S., and Zoli, T. P. (2017). “A Polyester-Rope Suspended Footbridge in Ait Bayoud, Morocco: Structural Analysis and Key Details.” Footbridge 2017, Berlin, Germany, doi: 10.24904/footbridge2017.09282.

Segal, E. M., Rhode-Barbarigos, L., Filomeno Coelho, R. D., and Adriaenssens, S. (2015). “An Automated Robust Design Methodology for Suspended Structures.” Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 56(4), 221-229. [previously published as a conference publication, republished with minor edits with permission from the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures]

Segal, E. M., Rhode-Barbarigos, L., Adriaenssens, S., and Filomeno Coelho, R. D. (2015). “Multi-Objective Optimization of Polyester-Rope and Steel-Rope Suspended Footbridges.” Engineering Structures, 99, 559-567, doi: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2015.05.024.

†Segal, E. M., Rhode-Barbarigos, L., Adriaenssens, S., and Zoli, T.P. (2015). “Pedestrian Excitation of a Polyester-Rope Footbridge.” International Conference on Civil Engineering, Zakynthos, Greece.

Segal, E. M. (2015). “Characterization of Polyester-Rope Suspended Footbridges.” Ph.D. thesis, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.

Segal, E. M., Rhode-Barbarigos, L., Filomeno Coelho, R. D., and Adriaenssens, S. (2014). “An Automated Robust Design Methodology for Suspended Structures.” International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures Symposium-6th Latin American Symposium on Tension Structures, Brasília, Brazil.

†*Segal, E. M., Adriaenssens, S., Zoli, T. P., and Flory, J. F. (2013). “Polyester Rope, an Alternative to Steel Cable for Pedestrian Suspended Bridges.” Structural Engineering Institute Structures Congress, Pittsburgh, PA, 2837-2847.