Safety of the express freight train running over a long-span bridge

Purpose-Express freight transportation is in rapid development currently.Owing to the higher speed of express freight train,the deformation of the bridge deck worsens the railway line condition under the action of wind and train moving load when the train runs over a long-span bridge.Besides,the blunt car body of vehicle has poor aerodynamic characteristics,bringing a greater challenge on the running stability in the crosswind.Design/methodology/approach-In this study,the aerodynamic force coefficients of express freight vehicles on the bridge are measured by scale model wind tunnel test.The dynamic model of the train-long-span steel truss bridge coupling system is established,and the dynamic response as well as the running safety of vehicle are evaluated.Findings-The results show that wind speed has a significant influence on running safety,which is mainly reflected in the over-limitation of wheel unloading rate.The wind speed limit decreases with train speed,and it reduces to 18.83 m/s when the train speed is 160 km/h.Originality/value-This study deepens the theoretical understanding of the interaction between vehicles and bridges and proposes new methods for analyzing similar engineering problems.It also provides a new theoretical basis for the safety assessment of express freight trains.

Investigation of cracking mechanism of the first tunnel lining during double-arch tunnel construction

To solve the engineering problem of the first tunnel lining cracking caused by the second tunnel construction of double-arch highway tunnels,a research method combining distributed optical-fibre monitoring,inversion analysis and numerical simulation that can reflect lining cracking was presented.Optical fibres were laid on opposite sides of the steel arches inside the first tunnel lining.Embedded optical-fibre monitoring was conducted continuously during the second tunnel driving.Based on the fibre-optic strain profile,the lining cracking was deduced and warned in time.The mechanical behaviour of the steel arch was investigated by the inversion analysis,which took into consideration the integrated impact of axial force and flexural moment.A two-dimensional(2D)load-structure method–based numerical model was established,considering the influence of different load distributions in each construction condition.The total strain rotating crack constitutive model was applied to reflect the cracking behaviour of concrete lining in the simulation,and the model was calibrated and verified in the laboratory.Comparative analysis between the simulated strain distribution and the distributed optical-fibre monitoring results was carried out.The deformation mode and crack distribution of the lining were analysed.The cracking mechanism was explained.Specifically,the second tunnel construction led to the loading at the top of the middle partition wall and the release of rock pressure in the first tunnel.Under these load changes,the secondary lining of the first tunnel cracked on the inner side of the top of the middle partition wall owing to tension,and compression-bending failure occurred near the right arch foot.Finally,the influence of the parameters on the lining force was analysed,and a construction optimisation scheme was proposed.

Performance of double-arch tunnels under internal BLEVE

Double-arch tunnels,as one of the popular forms of tunnels,might be exposed to boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions(BLEVEs)associated with transported liquified petroleum gas(LPG),which could cause damage to the tunnel and even catastrophic collapse of the tunnel in extreme cases.However,very limited study has investigated the performance of double-arch tunnels when exposed to internal BLEVEs and in most analyses of tunnel responses to accidental explosions.The TNT-equivalence method was used to approximate the explosion load,which may lead to inaccurate tunnel response predictions.This study numerically investigates the response of typical double-arch tunnels to an internal BLEVE resulting from the instantaneous rupture of a 20 m^(3) LPG tank.Effects of various factors,including in-situ stresses,BLEVE locations,and lining configurations on tunnel responses are examined.The results show that the double-arch tunnels at their early-operation ages are more vulnerable to severe damage when exposed to the BLEVE due to the low action of in-situ stress of rock mass on the response of early-age tunnels.It is also found that directing the LPG tank to different driving lanes inside tunnels can affect the BLEVE-induced tunnel response more significantly than varying the configurations of tunnel lining.Moreover,installing section-steel arches in the mid-wall can effectively improve the blast resistance of the double-arch tunnels against the internal BLEVE.In addition,the prediction models based on multi-variate nonlinear regressions and machine learning methods are developed to predict the BLEVE-induced damage levels of the double-arch tunnels without and with section-steel arches.

Wind tunnel testing of wind pressures on a large gymnasium roof

A wind tunnel test was conducted for a large steel gymnasium structure. Simultaneous pressure measurements were made on its entire ellipsoidal roof in a simulated suburban boundary layer flow field. Special attention is paid to the charaeteristics of fluctuating wind pressures in different zones on the roof. Some selected results are presented： 1） correlations between fluctuating wind pressures on both roof surfaces, 2） eigenvalues and eigenvectors of covariance matrices of the fluctuating wind pressures, 3） probability distributions of the fluctuating wind pressures, and 4） statistical characteristics of peak factor. Furthermore, the applicability of the quasi-steady approach is discussed in detail. Based on the results, an empirical formula for estimating the minimum pressure coefficients, using a peak factor approach, is presented. Comparison of the minimum pressure coefficients determined by the proposed formula and those obtained from the wind tunnel tests is made to examine the applicability and accuracy of the proposed formula.

Numerical simulation of aerodynamic derivatives and critical wind speed for long-span bridges based on simplified steady wind field

Combining the computational fluid dynamics-based numerical simulation with the forced vibration technique for extraction of aerodynamic derivatives, an approach for calculating the aerodynamic derivatives and the critical flutter wind speed for long-span bridges is presented in this paper. The RNG k-ε turbulent model is introduced to establish the governing equations, including the continuity equation and the Navier-Stokes equations, for solving the wind flow field around a two-dimensional bridge section. To illustrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach, a simple application to the Hume Bridge in China is provided, and the numerical results show that the aerodynamic derivatives and the critical flutter wind speed obtained agree well with the wind tunnel test results.

Stability analysis and optimization of excavation method of double-arch tunnel with an extra-large span based on numerical investigation

The Xiamen Haicang double-arch tunnel has a maximum span of 45.73 m and a minimum burial depth of 5.8 m.A larger deformation or collapse of the tunnel is readily encountered during tunnel excavation.It is therefore necessary to select a construction approach that is suitable for double-arch tunnel projects with an extra-large span.In this study,three construction methods for double-arch tunnels with extra-large spans were numerically simulated.Subsequently,the deformation behavior and stress characteristics of the surrounding rock were obtained and compared.The results showed that the double-side-drift method with temporary vertical support achieves better adaptability in the construction of such tunnels,which can be observed from both the numerical results and in situ monitoring data.In addition,the improved temporary support plays a critical role in controlling the surrounding rock deformation.In addition,the disturbance resulting from the excavation of adjacent drifts was obvious,particularly the disturbance of the surrounding rock caused by the excavation of the middle drift.The present findings can serve as the initial guidelines for the construction of ultra-shallowly buried double-arch tunnels with extra-large spans.

Experimental study on flutter stability of a long-span bridge subject to wind-rain actions

Based on the free vibration test method for extracting flutter derivatives,an experiment on flutter stability of a long-span bridge under simultaneous actions of wind and rain was carried out in a wind tunnel.A separated twin-box girder section model was employed as the specimen.The flutter derivatives and critical flutter wind speed of this girder subject to both wind and rain(with various rainfall intensities,wind speeds and attack angles)were obtained,then the flutter stability of the bridge influenced by rainfall was analyzed.Experimental results showed that the flutter derivatives of this bridge depend on the angles of attack of wind flow in the wind and rain fields.Also,rainfall has great effect on three flutter derivatives(H2*,H4* and A4*)and has less effect on other three flutter derivatives(H1*,H3* and A3*).With the increasing rainfall density,the critical flutter velocity first increases and then decreases.Low density of rainfall has the effect of increasing mass,stiffness and damping on bridge decks,and higher density of rainfall has the effect of random inhomogeneous impact on bridge decks.