A comparative study on anti-slip resistance of pin-connected and saddle-type cable clamps in suspension bridges

Abstract To systematically investigate the differences in anti-slip performance between pin-connected and saddle-type cable clamps in suspension bridges, this study employs theoretical derivation and numerical simulation to examine the effects of suspender forces. First, based on Coulomb’s friction law, an analytical expression for the radial pressure between the main cable and clamp is derived considering bolt pretension. Based on this formulation, analytical expressions for the anti-slip resistance of both pin-connected and saddle-type cable clamps are developed, which incorporate suspender force effects. Subsequently, refined local finite element models of the two types of cable clamps are established based on practical engineering cases. Finally, the differences in anti-slip performance between pin-connected and saddle-type cable clamps are discussed by considering the variation of suspender forces. As a result, the relative errors between the theoretical calculation and numerical simulation results for both clamp types are within 5%, validating the reliability of the proposed theoretical formulations. Moreover, the anti-slip resistance of pin-connected clamps decreases with the increasing of suspender forces. Whilst, the anti-slip resistance of saddle-type clamps increases with the increasing of suspender forces. At 1250 kN (i.e., the design suspender-force level), the calculated anti-slip resistance of the saddle-type clamp is approximately 9.6% higher than that of the pin-connected clamp. This study could provide reference for cable clamp selection during bridge design stage.