Case Study: Emch+Berger SA Lausanne achieves an innovative UHPFRC footbridge design with SCIA Engineer

Emch+Berger SA Lausanne designs a 15.3 m UHPFRC footbridge with SCIA

The engineering firm Emch+Berger SA Lausanne faced the challenge of designing the first ultra-high-performance fibre reinforced cement-based composite (UHPFRC) footbridge in Switzerland for the city of Lausanne. Their goal was to create an original, slender design with minimal maintenance and resource usage, all while keeping construction costs from exceeding those of a conventional concrete or steel bridge. To meet this challenge, they utilized the structural analysis software SCIA Engineer from vendor SCIA.

Using SCIA Engineer, Emch+Berger created two models for the footbridge: a strut and tie model and a model with beam elements and plates. The software's functionalities, including DXF import, 2D and 3D frame analysis, graphical sections, and dynamic analysis, were successfully applied. The solution from SCIA helped achieve the main project goals, and a key measurable result was that the frequencies calculated in the SCIA Engineer model corresponded exactly with the frequencies measured on the actual built structure.

Emch+Berger SA Lausanne