Dynamic performance of cable-stayed bridge tower with multi-stage pendulum mass damper under wind excitations——I:Theory

In this paper, wind-induced vibration control of a single column tower of a cable-stayed bridge with a multi- stage pendulum mass damper （MSPMD） is investigated. Special attention is given to overcoming space limitations for installing the control device in the tower and the effect of varying natural frequency of the towers during construction. First, the finite element model of the bridge during its construction and the basic equation of motion of the MSPMD are introduced. The equation of motion of the bridge with the MSPMD under along-wind excitation is then established. Finally, a numerical simulation and parametric study are conducted to assess the effectiveness of the control system for reducing the wind-induced vibration of the bridge towers during construction. The numerical simulation results show that the MSPMD is practical and effective for reducing the along-wind response of the single column tower, can be installed in a small area of the tower, and complies with the time-variant characteristics of the bridge during its entire construction stage.

Dynamic performance of cable-stayed bridge tower with multi-stage pendulum mass damper under wind excitations—Ⅱ: Experiment

The possibility of using a multi-stage pendulum mass damper （MSPMD） to control wind-induced vibration of a single column tower of a cable-stayed bridge during construction was studied theoretically in part I of this work. In this paper, the performance of the MSPMD for reducing bridge tower vibration is studied experimentally. A MSPMD model and a tower model of the bridge with geometry scaling of 1：100 were designed and manufactured. Calibration of the MSPMD model with different wire lengths is conducted to verify the analytical model of the damper. A series of tests for the uncontrolled freestanding tower, tower with cables, and tower with MSPMD model are then performed under harmonic and white noise excitations. The experimental results show that the responses of the tower model significantly decrease with the installation of the MSPMD model, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the M SPMD to mitigate the vibration of the bridge tower.

Comprehensive Optimal Control on Seismic Response of a Single-Tower Self-Anchored Suspension Bridge

Earthquake may cause severe damage to all kinds of bridge such as the falling down of the girder; therefore,effective measures should be employed to control the seismic displacement. In this paper,the method of comprehensive optimal control,com-bined with analytic hierarchy process,is employed to investigate the seismic response control of the Nanjing Jiangxinzhou Bridge,which is a single-tower self-anchored suspension bridge （SSSB）. Also,3-dimensional nonlinear seismic response analyses are con-ducted. Three types of practical connection measures for seismic response control of SSSB are investigated,and the optimal pa-rameters of the connection devices are achieved by this method. Results show that both the elastic connection devices and the damp-ers with rational parameters can reduce the seismic displacement of the bridge effectively,but the elastic connection devices will in-crease the seismic force of the tower. When all factors are consid-ered,the optimal measure is by using the elastic connection devices and the dampers together. These results can provide references for seismic response control of SSSBs.