Analysis and design of floating bridges

Abstract The history of floating bridges can be dated back to 2000 BC. There are many types of floating bridges, depending on the conditions of the land and the types of barriers to cross. As compared with land‐based bridges, only limited information is available for floating bridges in many respects, such as past construction records, meteorological and durability conditions. In recent years it has been possible to design floating bridges more scientifically because of theoretical developments in the hydrodynamic interactions between fluid and floating bodies. This paper aims to overview the design and analysis of floating bridges following a recently published design manual by JSCE, and describes the recent development of their design with special emphasis on the use of steel.