Abstract
When a cable-stayed bridge is under construction, the cable tension that changes according to the construction phase is the index indicating the proper construction management. In this study, the vibration method using the least-square estimation has been implemented to monitor changing tensions of two multi-strand cables of a cable-stayed bridge under construction. The test bridge is Hwamyung Bridge in Korea with a prestressed concrete box girder. The field tests are executed during the second tensioning stage just after the installation of the key segment. The tensions of two cables are measured before and after the tensioning and 5 days later (i.e., after finishing the tensioning of all cables). The accuracy of the estimated tensions by the vibration method has been improved by employing proper effective lengths of the cables. The measured tensions are compared with the result of the lift-off tests and design tensions. The vibration method shows very good performance in monitoring the changing tensions according to the construction phase with minimal error.