Tension member and a method of assembling and installing the tension member

Method of assembling and installing a tension member unsupported between its ends, such as a diagonal cable for a stayed girder bridge, the tension member is made up of a plurality of parallel individual elements such as steel rods, steel wires or steel strands arranged within a tubular casing, an anchoring system for each end of the tension member including an anchoring disc having bores therethrough for the individual elements, means for anchoring the individual elements to each anchoring disc so that the individual elements are tensioned between the anchoring discs, one anchoring system located in a generally horizontally extending first support and the other anchoring system located in an upwardly extending second support spaced upwardly and laterally from the first support, comprising the steps of providing an axially elongated tubular passageway in each anchoring system extending through the associated one of the first or second support with the tubular passageway having a first end adjacent the anchoring disc in the respective anchoring system and a second end spaced more remotely from the anchoring disc of the respective anchoring system, providing an elongated sheath in each tubular passageway for each of the individual elements and aligning each sheath with a different one of the bores in the anchoring disc, placing a tubular casing on the first support between the anchoring systems with the tubular casing having a length less than the spacing between the second ends of the tubular passageway in the first and second supports, inserting a first individual element through the tubular casing and guiding one end of the element through one of the sheaths in the tubular passageway in one of the first and second supports into the aligned bore in the anchoring disc and guiding the other end of the element through one of the sheaths in the tubular passageway in the other one of the first and second supports into the aligned bore in the anchoring discs, tensioning the first individual element between the anchoring discs in the anchoring systems and anchoring the first individual element at the anchoring discs so that the tubular casing is lifted upwardly off the first support and extends rectilinearly between the anchoring systems in the first and second supports, and supporting the tubular casing at least in part on the first individual element, in turn, inserting each of the remaining individual elements in the same manner through the tubular casing and the sheaths in the tubular passageways into the anchoring discs, and tensioning each remaining element and anchoring each remaining element after it is tensioned.