!"# $% % &$’( )
*+
The Paderno d’Adda Bridge is a marvellous riveted iron viaduct with a doubly-built-in
parabolic arch that crosses the river Adda near Milano, between Paderno d’Adda (Lecco province)
and Calusco d’Adda (Bergamo province), in Lombardia, northern Italy. It was completed in 1889 by
the . In this work, following a previous
contribution to the last SAHC08 Conference (Ferrari and Rizzi 2008), a complete FEM model of the
bridge is presented, in the attempt of querying the performance of the structure at design stage.
Several static loading conditions have been carried-out in the elastic range and results have been
compared to those available in the original SNOS Report (1889), with remarkable correspondence.
,-.+) - /) %
Towards the end of the 19th century, rapidly growing industrial activities in Lombardia required the
further expansion of the existing railway network. In particular, it became necessary to acquire the
elevated crossing on the river Adda, North-East from Milano. In 1889, the SNOS completed the
construction of the Paderno d’Adda Bridge (Fig. 1), sometimes called San Michele Bridge
(SNOS 1889, Nascè et al. 1984). It is one of the very first great iron constructions designed through
the practical application of the so-called (a specific account on
this aspect has been given in the previous SAHC08 paper, Ferrari and Rizzi 2008). This is a
graphical-analytical method of structural analysis that was developed by Karl Culmann (1821-1881)
and his pupil Wilhelm Ritter (1847-1906) at the Polytechnical School of Zürich, where the man
whom the design of the bridge is normally attributed was formed (Jules Röthlisberger, 1851-1911,
head of the SNOS Technical Office for 25 years, since 1885).
! "# $ # ! %& ! %& ’ (()
The iron bridge crosses the river Adda to a height of approximately 85 m from water. The main
upper continuous beam, 5 m wide, is formed by a 266 m long metallic box girder, supported by nine
bearings. The girder hosts the railway track in the inner deck, while the road is located on the upper
deck. Four of the supports of the continuous beam are provided by a marvellous doubly-built-in
parabolic arch of about 150 m of horizontal span and 37.5 m of vertical rise, with trapezoidal cross
section having width and height increasing from crown to shoulders and front faces laying into
symmetric inclined planes, in view of counteracting transverse horizontal loads. Four bearings (two at
the extremities and two near half-length of the upper beam, the latter symmetrically located around
the crown) and five vertical metallic piers warrant the load transfer from the upper beam to the
underneath arch or directly to the banks’ ground. The bridge is made with a “wrought iron” material,
Right
bank
Paderno
d’Adda
(LC)
Left
bank
Calusco
d’Adda
(BG)
!"# $% % &$’( )
*+
The Paderno d’Adda Bridge is a marvellous riveted iron viaduct with a doubly-built-in
parabolic arch that crosses the river Adda near Milano, between Paderno d’Adda (Lecco province)
and Calusco d’Adda (Bergamo province), in Lombardia, northern Italy. It was completed in 1889 by
the . In this work, following a previous
contribution to the last SAHC08 Conference (Ferrari and Rizzi 2008), a complete FEM model of the
bridge is presented, in the attempt of querying the performance of the structure at design stage.
Several static loading conditions have been carried-out in the elastic range and results have been
compared to those available in the original SNOS Report (1889), with remarkable correspondence.
,-.+) - /) %
Towards the end of the 19th century, rapidly growing industrial activities in Lombardia required the
further expansion of the existing railway network. In particular, it became necessary to acquire the
elevated crossing on the river Adda, North-East from Milano. In 1889, the SNOS completed the
construction of the Paderno d’Adda Bridge (Fig. 1), sometimes called San Michele Bridge
(SNOS 1889, Nascè et al. 1984). It is one of the very first great iron constructions designed through
the practical application of the so-called (a specific account on
this aspect has been given in the previous SAHC08 paper, Ferrari and Rizzi 2008). This is a
graphical-analytical method of structural analysis that was developed by Karl Culmann (1821-1881)
and his pupil Wilhelm Ritter (1847-1906) at the Polytechnical School of Zürich, where the man
whom the design of the bridge is normally attributed was formed (Jules Röthlisberger, 1851-1911,
head of the SNOS Technical Office for 25 years, since 1885).
! "# $ # ! %& ! %& ’ (()
The iron bridge crosses the river Adda to a height of approximately 85 m from water. The main
upper continuous beam, 5 m wide, is formed by a 266 m long metallic box girder, supported by nine
bearings. The girder hosts the railway track in the inner deck, while the road is located on the upper
deck. Four of the supports of the continuous beam are provided by a marvellous doubly-built-in
parabolic arch of about 150 m of horizontal span and 37.5 m of vertical rise, with trapezoidal cross
section having width and height increasing from crown to shoulders and front faces laying into
symmetric inclined planes, in view of counteracting transverse horizontal loads. Four bearings (two at
the extremities and two near half-length of the upper beam, the latter symmetrically located around
the crown) and five vertical metallic piers warrant the load transfer from the upper beam to the
underneath arch or directly to the banks’ ground. The bridge is made with a “wrought iron” material,
Right
bank
Paderno
d’Adda
(LC)
Left
bank
Calusco
d’Adda
(BG)
Advanced Materials Research Vols. 133-134 (2010) pp 459-465
© (2010) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.133-134.459