Regularity classification and corresponding analysis method requirements of horizontally curved bridges with unequal pier heights

The seismic behavior of horizontally curved bridges,particularly with unequal height piers,is more complicated than that of straight bridges due to their geometric properties.In this study,the seismic responses of several horizontally curved single-column-bent viaducts with various degrees of curvature and different pier heights have been investigated,employing three different analysis approaches:namely,modal pushover analysis,uniform load method,and nonlinear time history analysis.Considering the investigated bridge configurations and utilizing the most common regularity indices,the results indicate that viaducts with 45-degree and 90-degree deck subtended angles can be categorized as regular and moderately irregular,respectively,while the bridges with 180-degree deck subtended angle are found to be highly irregular.Furthermore,the viaducts whose pier heights are asymmetric may be considered as irregular for almost all ranges of the deck subtended angles.The effects of higher transverse and longitudinal modes are discussed and the minimum analysis requirements are identified to assess the seismic response of such bridge configurations for design purposes.Although the Regularity Indices used here are useful tools to distinguish between regular and irregular bridges,further studies are needed to improve their reliability.

A Method for Elastic Shear Buckling Calculation of Curved Bridge Webs

Curved composite bridges and curved steel bridges have already been constructed around the world;however, the calculation for shear buckling of curved bridge webs generally uses the equations for straight bridge webs or just introduces a modification factor for bridge design. In this paper, the curved bridge web is equivalent to an isotropic cylindrical flat shell, and the double triangular series satisfying four-edge simply supported boundaries are used as the displacement function of the shell. Then by means of the Galerkin method, the analytical formula for elastic shear buckling stress of curved bridge webs is deduced. The parameter studies show that the shear buckling coefficient kc of curved bridge webs is positively correlated with the parameter h2 / (Rt), and negatively correlated with the length-height ratio l/ h. This implies that the elastic shear buckling stress of a curved bridge web is larger than that of an equivalent straight bridge web. For a curved bridge with the parameter h2 / (Rt) less than 2, the amount of increase is less than 4.5%. The elastic shear buckling stress of curved bridge webs can be estimated conservatively as the webs in straight bridges. While for a curved bridge with larger h2 / (Rt), using the equations for straight girders to calculate the elastic shear buckling stress is too conservative. The proposed formulas provide a more accurate estimation for shear buckling stress of curved bridge webs.

Simplified Method and Influence Factors of Vibration Characteristics of Isolated Curved Girder Bridge

The isolated curved girder bridge's vibration characteristics play a major part in the seismic responses of structures and anti-seismic properties.A clear analytic relationship between design parameters and the system's vibration characteristics could be established by its simplified dynamic analysis model,making it convenient for providing a reference to the optimization of design and safety analysis.A double-mass six-degree-of-freedom model for curved girder bridges with isolation bearings installed at the top of the bridge piers is built and a simplified analysis method for the vibration characteristics of the system is provided.Combined with the Matlab programming,the influences of radius of curvature,central angle,bridge deck width and damping ratio of the isolation layer and circular frequency of the isolation layer of isolated curved girder bridges on the pseudo-undamped natural circular frequency(called pseudo-frequency for short)and system damping ratio are systematically analyzed,and the sensitivity of vibration characteristics of isolated curved girder bridges is studied.The results show that the vibration characteristics of isolated curved girder bridges can be reflected well with this simplified model and calculation method.The pseudo-frequency of curved girder and system damping ratios increases with the increase of the isolation layer.The third-order vibration characteristic is more sensitive to the parameters of a curved girder,and the first-order vibration characteristic is sensitive to both central angle and radius of curvature to some extent while insensitive to the width of the bridge deck.Furthermore,the second-order vibration characteristic is not sensitive to the parameters of a curved girder.

Coupled Vibration of Long-Span Railway Curved Girder Bridges and Vehicles

The structure of a long curved girder bridge is represented with a three-dimensional curved finite element model. Each 4-axle ~vehicle is modeled by a dynamic system of 35 degrees of freedom. The random irregularities of the track are generated from a power spectral density function under the given track condition. The dynamic interaction between the bridge and train is realized through the contact forces between the wheels and track. Then based on these models, the coupled equations of motion are solved by applying the time-integration and iteration techniques to the coupled system. The proposed formulation and the associated computer program are then applied to a real curved girder bridge. The dynamic responses of the bridge-vehicle system and the derailments and offload factors related to the riding and running safeties of vehicles are computed. The results show that the formulation presented in this paper can well predict dynamic behaviors of both bridge and train with reasonable computation efforts.

A phased approach to enable hybrid simulation of complex structures

Hybrid simulation has been shown to be a cost-effective approach for assessing the seismic performance of structures. In hybrid simulation,critical parts of a structure are physically tested,while the remaining portions of the system are concurrently simulated computationally,typically using a finite element model. This combination is realized through a numerical time-integration scheme,which allows for investigation of full system-level responses of a structure in a cost-effective manner. However,conducting hybrid simulation of complex structures within large-scale testing facilities presents significant challenges. For example,the chosen modeling scheme may create numerical inaccuracies or even result in unstable simulations; the displacement and force capacity of the experimental system can be exceeded; and a hybrid test may be terminated due to poor communication between modules(e.g.,loading controllers,data acquisition systems,simulation coordinator). These problems can cause the simulation to stop suddenly,and in some cases can even result in damage to the experimental specimens; the end result can be failure of the entire experiment. This study proposes a phased approach to hybrid simulation that can validate all of the hybrid simulation components and ensure the integrity largescale hybrid simulation. In this approach,a series of hybrid simulations employing numerical components and small-scale experimental components are examined to establish this preparedness for the large-scale experiment. This validation program is incorporated into an existing,mature hybrid simulation framework,which is currently utilized in the Multi-Axial Full-Scale Sub-Structuring Testing and Simulation(MUST-SIM) facility of the George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation(NEES) equipment site at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A hybrid simulation of a four-span curved bridge is presented as an example,in which three piers are experimentally controlled in a total of 18 degrees of freedom(DOFs). This simulation illustrates the effectiveness of the phased approach presented in this paper.

Temperature Field of PC Box Girder Bridge Based on GPRS Temperature Collection System

In order to study the temperature distribution and the corresponding temperature effects on pre-stressed concrete（PC） curved box girder bridge in Shandong Province, this paper builds and adopts an automatic remote real-time temperature collection system to collect temperature data on site, and further uses the software ANSYS for analysis. Based on the comparisons between the measured data and the simulation results, the following conclusions can be drawn： 1 Our temperature monitoring system is reliable; 2 The corresponding measured data of the web plate and flange plate exposed to the sun, vary more severely than that at other positions, so these plates need higher standard design and construction requirements; 3 In the cold wave where still is sunshine, the box girder temperature effect behaves as sine-like curve.