There is really no reason to have asymmetrical cable numbers. Mainly this arises as the bridge will loads that affect the bridge elevation from all directions and not simply in one direction.
So a larger question is why would you want to have a different number of cables on each side of the pier? This would appear that the loading was asymmetrical and possibly biased for a certain direction.
Regards,
Qshake
Eng-Tips Forums:Real Solutions for Real Problems Really Quick.
Without details or specifics, it's difficult to give a helpful answer. In general, it is usually not a good idea to have an unbalanced set of stays on each side of the pier. Cable stayed bridges are borne out of practicality, in this case construction method. One pair of cables support one segment of deck (be it precast, cast-in-place, or prefarbricated girder) as the bridge is incrementally constructed. At some stage you would have to deal with the imbalance in cables, and it's a complexity that would best be avoided (it's difficult enough with a normal case!). If you did have to deal with some imbalance in load, it would be better to keep an equal pair of cables and increase the number of strands per cable from one side to the other.
Secondly, it would best be answered by a member of your design team with a good background in cable-stayed bridges. If you are new to this type of bridge design, this would be a very challanging case to start on and nothing can replace good experience.
I am looking for good books on cable stayed, suspension, and arch bridge design/construction. Can you guys recommend some? Seems few out there and many out of print.