STRENGTHENING THE YELLOW RIVER BRIDGE OF THE PEIPING - HANKOW RR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700060427-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 6, 2011
• Sequence Number: 427
• Publication Date: May 23, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED
CENTRALS NTELLIN~C~~AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY Chinn
SUBJECT Trsaaportatlon .. Rail, bridge
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Pelping
DATE
PUBLISHED Jsa 1951
LANGUAGE Chinese
ms oxuxnr collruu uron~nox unom~ n~ x~noxu Donau
or rx~ uxlno snnr nun rxc 11umo or unox~uc ~n uo
~. u. c.. n ~xu u. ?s ~xcxouo. m rxuunuou au rx. u.:unox
0I M cOxr[xni 111 ~x: gxx[x r0 A. uuurxouno rwox a ruo~
xome n u~. uruooornox or rxu rou a noxurtm.
DATE DIST. 23 1(ny 1952
N0. OF PAGES 5
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
Jea~mia T~ieh-tao (Peoplels Railways), Poi III, Ho 1, 1951.
STnLAOTHF$Ig0 THS y)~,l,Op RITIER BRmOE
OF THE I1fG - 0 RR
Descrizrtion of Ori **?? Bri oe
The Ching.-Ran railvay bridge over the Yellox Ricer wee constructed 50 years
ago ns a semipermanent attestors pr?ginal;y the bridge vas 3,010 meters long
cad had 102 epane? Dcu~ing the Sino-Japanese vat it vas destroyed and later
repaired by the ,Tnpaaeae vho filled in solid one span at each end of the bridge.
It aov hee 100 spans and ie 2,44p,e meters long, Structures used in this bridge
are of three typeas
1. Japanese military bridge materiel used for 86 spans, of vhich 34 opens
~'e 32 meters long, with fire lcngitudiaal benma (or-trues girders) each, double-
frame deck typay and 52 epene are 21.5 meters long, with three longitudinal
beams (or trues girders) each, double-frame deck type.
2. Pratt-type semithrough single frame trueeea used for 11 spans, each
31,5 meters long, These are the only original meterisl of the old bridge still
iII ~sse.
%r; l0 3. Three spans of the Warren-type semithrough trusses, each 31.5 maters
ng. These were Drought here from some other place,
The piers for the satire bridge era of special construction. Each pier is
constructed of from four to six threaded steel piles ecreved into the bed of the
river, w2th~a-?rams on top to s~rport the trsssee. Aa the result of battle
damage, the whole bridge vas defective to such an ertent that prior to 11ber-
ation it vas generally considered that it could no longer be used, American
engineers were called in to design an entirely nev bridge, cad the old one vas
shaved to sink into n condition of ertrema neglect, Flhen the bridge vas used
by the Japanese and b3' the Rationalists in the postwar period, the trains had
STATE
ARMY
DISTRIBUTION
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to be divided into two sections and drawn across the bridge by small locomotives
at a speed of not sore that 5 kilametere per hour. Although the distance be-
tveea the two stations on either aide of the bridge vas only 5 kilometers, it
required 3 hours for an entire train to make the crossing. This vas the con-
dition of the bridge up to the time of liberation in 1949,
Opinion of Soviet &iperte oa Strengthening Bridge
Zn Aovember 1949, the bridge was inspected by a commission of Soviet
engineers headed by Chikorenko approximation from the Chiaesr~. They etnted
that provided the bridge vea repaired, strengthened, sad carefully malatained,
1t would be possible not only to ertend the period of usage but also co in-
crease the safe speed of trains and to use heavy iocomatlves. Their recon-
mendatlona consisted of two parts;
1, Reronditloa the existing structures sad acaeasories, add ,~.-:-d rails,
sad use two small locomotives, separated Dy two empty care, to draw a whole
train at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour, These measures were taken by the
Chang-chou Railway Fureau sad the bridge vas put into use from 4 ,'snuary 1951
with good results, i,e., the time required for a tra].n to arose vas reduced to
one eighth that previously required.
2. Dlsmiember some parts of the bridge trusses and test their strength
to calculate the carrying capacity of the trusses of which trey were a part,
sad then to strengthen the trusses with additional material until it vas
certain. that they could safely carry heavy locomotives. The commission vas
of the opiniea that after such strengthening, it would be poaeible to prolong
the useful life of the bridge, sad that is viex of the present financial and
material conditions 1n China, it vas advisable to continue to use the old bridge
ae long ae poaeible sad not to try to build a new bridge,
Plans for Reinforcement
The lllaletry of Railways sent their atru:tural engiaeere? Xu Mao-bean Bud
txo associates, to the bridge site to xork out with the Soviet advisors rein-
forcement sad rehab iiitatioa picas. Their epeaific objective vas to strengthen
the trusses to the point where they ceuid safely carry heavy locomotives of the
Mogul Y~ type.
Specimens of members from all three types of trusses were tested as to
strength, and on the Dsaie of these teats and In the light of the Soviet
advisor's experience xlth atructurai steel, the unit xorking stress factor xsa
rained, The strength of the steel in the Japanese military bridge materiel vas
put at 2,000 kilognuoa per square cent!meter~ Test of the steel in the 11 old
spans shoved it to be not very good; but 1a order to zse it, its maximt~ strength
vas put at 1,400 kilograms per square centimeter. On this basis the strength
of all *,he spans wen calculated with the following results:
1, Of the 32-meter long trusses, the weakest van classified ae having a
rating of C 6,2.
2. Of the 21.5-meter long trusses, the xeakeat vsa classified ae having a
rating of C 9.9.
4. OP the three Warren-type trsssea, the weakest wen classified as having
e rating of C 17.
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The method oP reinforcing decided upon wsa as folloveo
glace a bridge should be rated at C 12 or C 13 to carry a heavy Mogul VI
locamot?.ve, the Warren-type trusses could be used safely without any reinforce-
ment, The 11 spans of the second type could be ands strong enough by adding to
each of their upper and laver chords steel strips 10 millimeters thick and '(5
mi111meters vide,
Concerning the Japanese military trusses of the first type, it vsa noted
that the upper Prase (A) rested upon, but vas separate from, the lover frame ($),
both being of the same height Ale o, it vas noted that the upper chords oP the
upper frame, 9U, had one more steel plate than the lower chords, AL; and that
the lover chords, BL, of the lover frame had one more steel plate rhea the upper
chords, BU, In other words, the chords AU sad BL consisted of a channel sad s
plate ri;etted together fees rpptnded flgureai,
The 3P..meter ,7apaaeee military-tvw t_..~,YeY __
3 meters long, plus two panels (one a. each end o.e made ''p of nine panels, each
meters long, adJacent to the piers) each 2.5
It vas then observed that SP cho+~da AL and Biy, which are in Juxtaposition
with each other, were bolted cr rivetted together xith a aufficieat number and
strength of bolts or rivets so that the upper and lover frames functioned sa a
single trues, then the chords xhich are bolted together wo:13 not be aubJected
to say bead?ng stresses, for the beading st:essee rr~d be carried vhollp by
AL and B~,
How let M2 represent the realatance ~t'o bending] moment of the two un-
connected frames and M. De the resistance moment aP the two fremea when
connected. Algo, let S he the area of eroee eectien oP the chords AU and
BL, that. ia, those with the additional steel pia?ee, and a be the area of
cross se~tioa of the chords AL and D'J, those without the extra plates, Let
f be the sail stress, sad d be the height oP s single Yrame~ Then
!~~sxfxd+sxfxd~ ex2fd
41 ~SxYx2d = Sx2Pd
S la as ;feat:y greater t:a*, Hence ~.
uniting the upper and lover frsmes,,and wlthclt?aaaitionaltytsrehe~"~' by
their Joint moment of resletance Se greatl nin8 material
the 32-meter spans eotld be raised from C 6.2ntoesaed,s~ndhthatofrthenepaae
215 meters long ,-ovld be raised from i. 3~
motives could he ~ 9.9 to C 14,2, Tht:s, ~g~ yl loco-
ised on them Ae to the number and size of bolts to be used
to Join each pelt of chords, this vas calci:lated by using a simple formula
relat2ng to uhearing force.
Work of Rehabilitation
Apart Prom the work of errs-:ythening the 11 cld grans sad of stiffening
the military trassee explained aboQe, there were eeaeznl other setters that had
to be at*.eaded to, Some cross bra.~ee sad lateral braces had to be added to
couaterac+, vii pressure sad loccmotice swaying, All the old ties were replaced
with new creasoted ties, All the old rails were replaced with new rails maau-
factured is the OSSA, All the steel work vas given three costa of painto All
damaged members oP the Atlitary trusses were replaced by perfect pieces, All
damaged membe?.s is the 11 old spans were either repaired ar replaced,
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The actual repair work was begun 15 Nay 1950, au3 it was ezpected to finial
it by the end of Septeaber 1950. The greatest difficulty encountered was the
necessity of maintaining railway service while the work was going on, Service
vas discontinued for Daly 2 hours at a time, morning sad afternoon, In spite
of sll difficaltiea, the work was completed 18 September 1950, 72 days ahead of
echednle,
When tested with a No8u1 VS locomotive, the greatest deflection of the
Warren-type trusses was Daly 17 millimeters; and of the 11 Pratt-typE trusses,
27 millimeters, which is leas flan 1/1000 of the length of the spans. Ia the
case of the 32-meter military spans, which before strengthening were deflected
70 millimeters when a small locomotive way used, after atreagthening, the heavy
Mogul V! caused a deflection of only 55 millimeters is about 1/600 of the length
of the span, The military trusses being of special construction, where-each 3'
meter section is bolted to its neighboring eer_tion9 the permissible deflection,
even under ideal conditions, is greater they for ordinary trusses, and may be
as mush es 1/400 of the length nr two tr.:s;
ilection, these latter trusses are now much~etronger thanhbefor~polat of do-
Value of this Exaerience
With the help of the technical ezperience of the USSR advisers, this old,
many times damaged, bridge has been restored to its former usefulness. 33nce
its construction Sn 1906, it never carried locomotives as heavy ae the Nognl VI
locomotives, xeighing 146 metric tons, which it ie aov able to carry, It hag
now been in use for 3 months, and the Cheng.-thou Railway Bureau reports that
it is giving good service. Trains may now pays between Cheng~.~chou and Hsia-
heiang without stopping to change to small locomotives for the crossing of the
Yellow Rigrer bridge. Thin saves one hours time, an3 dispenses with five small
locomotives.
~ppended figures follow]
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Figure to Crass Section of One Longitudinal Beam (Trues Girder) of IIpper and
Lover Fra~es of the Japanese Military-Type Bridge Spans (of which there
are five or three such beams in each frame)
Figure 2. Design of Bracing of Longitudinal Beams (Truss Girders)
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