Fire and Blast Protection for Multi-Strand Stay Cables of Rod El Farag Axis Bridge

Abstract

Long span cable-stayed bridges face risks of fire and explosion accidents caused by vehicles transporting fuel or chemicals. Such accidents may lead to damage to the stay cables, which in turn reduces the load capability of the bridge. This report introduces a newly developed fire and blast protection system for the multi-strand stay cables of Rod El Farag Axis Bridge in Egypt. The protection system consists of a thermal insulation blanket wrapped on cables and a steel tube covered with an anti-blast layer. Fire and blast tests were carried out to verify the effectiveness of the developed protection system.