SCIA
32 Case Studies
Case Study: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven calculates an innovative aluminium bicycle bridge with SCIA Engineer
A SCIA Case Study
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven designs a 38.5-meter aluminium bicycle bridge with SCIA
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven sought to advance the use of sustainable materials in construction by exploring the feasibility of an aluminium bicycle and pedestrian bridge, a material rarely used structurally in Belgium. The challenge was to move beyond inefficient steel-based design methodologies and create an optimized, innovative design specifically for aluminium. This project was undertaken by students using SCIA Engineer software from vendor SCIA.
SCIA provided the analytical tools necessary for the complex structural calculations. The solution was a lightweight 38.5-meter truss bridge designed with optimized cross-sections and aesthetically pleasing extruded nodes. Using SCIA Engineer, the team performed a nonlinear analysis that included second-order effects and imperfections, as well as a modal analysis. The project was a success, winning the SCIA Student Contest 2024 and demonstrating aluminium's potential as a durable and sustainable construction material.
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