A Survey of Steel Arch Bridges in China

A review of the current status and progress of steel arch bridges in China is presented in this paper. The existing steel arch bridges in China were analyzed in terms of steel material, span, structure type, main arch rib form and construction method. The comparison with CFST arch bridges and RC arch bridges is also conducted. It is shown that steel arch bridge has gain rapid development in China since 2000, characterized by long main spans. As for the span, most of the steel arch bridges have a span less than 250 m, while when the span exceeds 350 m, steel arch bridges are strongly competitive against CFST or RC arch bridges. Over 80% of the bridges are through and half-through bridge types, and the arch ribs are hingeless structures. The rise-to-span ratios of the arches are mainly between 1：4 and 1： 5. Most of the arches use solid box ribs, and a small portion of arches use truss ribs in which box sections are mostly adopted for the truss members. The cantilever method and scaffolding method are the two main construction methods used, but some other construction methods have also been developed.

Numerical Simulation Analysis of Welded Joints in Arch Ribs of Large Span Steel Pipe Arch Bridges

In order to study the residual stress distribution law of welded joints of arch ribs of large-span steel pipe concrete arch bridges,numerical simulation of temperature,stress and strain fields based on ABAQUS for welded joints of arch-ribbed steel tubes using 7-,8-and 9-layer welds is carried out and its accuracy is demonstrated.The steel pipe welding temperature changes,residual stress distribution,different processes residual stress changes in the law,the prediction of post-weld residual stress distribution and deformation are studied in this paper.The results show that the temperature field values and test results are more consistent with the accuracy of numerical simulation of welding,the welding process is mainly in the form of heat transfer;Residual high stresses are predominantly distributed in the Fusion zone(FZ)and Heat-affected zone(HAZ),with residual stress levels tending to decrease from the center of the weld along the axial path,the maximum stress appears in the FZ and HAZ junction;The number of welding layers has an effect on the residual stress distribution,the number of welding layers increases,the residual stress tends to decrease,while the FZ and HAZ high stress area range shrinks;Increasing the number of plies will increase the amount of residual distortion.

Approach for analyzing the ultimate strength of concrete filled steel tubular arch bridges with stiffening girder

A convenient approach is proposed for analyzing the ultimate load carrying capacity of concrete filled steel tubular (CFST) arch bridge with stiffening girders. A fiber model beam element is specially used to simulate the stiffening girder and CFST arch rib. The geometric nonlinearity, material nonlinearity, influence of the construction process and the contribution of prestressing reinforcement are all taken into consideration. The accuracy of this method is validated by comparing its results with experimental results. Finally, the ultimate strength of an abnormal CFST arch bridge with stiffening girders is investigated and the effect of construction method is discussed. It is concluded that the construction process has little effect on the ultimate strength of the bridge.

Seismic response of the long-span steel truss arch bridge with the thrust under multidimensional excitation

Purpose–Under different ground motion excitation modes,the spatial coupling effect of seismic response for the arch bridge with thrust,seismic weak parts and the internal force components of the control section of main arch ribs are analyzed.Design/methodology/approach–Taking a 490 m deck type railway steel truss arch bridge as the background,the dynamic calculation model of the whole bridge was established by SAP2000 software.The seismic response analyses under one-,two-and three-dimension(1D,2D and 3D)uniform ground motion excitations were carried out.Findings–For the steel truss arch bridge composed of multiple arch ribs,any single direction ground motion excitation will cause large axial force in the chord of arch rib.The axial force caused by transverse and vertical ground motion excitation in the chord of arch crown area is 1.4–3.6 times of the corresponding axial force under longitudinal seismic excitation.The in-plane bending moment caused by the lower chord at the vault is 4.2–5.5 times of the corresponding bending moment under the longitudinal seismic excitation.For the bottom chord of arch rib,the arch foot is the weak part of earthquake resistance,but for the upper chord of arch rib,the arch foot,arch crown and the intersection of column and upper chord can all be the potential earthquake-resistant weak parts.The normal stress of the bottom chord of the arch rib under multidimensional excitation is mainly caused by the axial force,but the normal stress of the upper chord of the arch rib is caused by the axial force,in-plane and out of plane bending moment.Originality/value–The research provides specific suggestions for ground motion excitation mode and also provides reference information for the earthquake-resistant weak part and seismic design of long-span deck type railway steel truss arch bridges.

Analysis of Key Technologies in the Design of Small and Medium Span Basket Type Steel Box Tied Arch Bridge

In order to ensure the construction quality and safety of small and medium span basket type steel box tied arch bridge,this paper takes a practical project as an example to analyze the key technologies in its design process.It is hoped that this analysis can provide corresponding reference for the design and construction of this kind of arch bridge.

Recent Construction Technology Innovations and Practices for Large-Span Arch Bridges in China

Arch bridges provide significant technical and economic benefits under suitable conditions.In particular,concrete-filled steel tubular(CFST)arch bridges and steel-reinforced concrete(SRC)arch bridges are two types of arch bridges that have gained great economic competitiveness and span growth potential due to advancements in construction technology,engineering materials,and construction equipment over the past 30 years.Under the leadership of the author,two record-breaking arch bridges—that is,the Pingnan Third Bridge(a CFST arch bridge),with a span of 560 m,and the Tian’e Longtan Bridge(an SRC arch bridge),with a span of 600 m—have been built in the past five years,embodying great technological breakthroughs in the construction of these two types of arch bridges.This paper takes these two arch bridges as examples to systematically summarize the latest technological innovations and practices in the construction of CFST arch bridges and SRC arch bridges in China.The technological innovations of CFST arch bridges include cable-stayed fastening-hanging cantilevered assembly methods,new in-tube concrete materials,in-tube concrete pouring techniques,a novel thrust abutment foundation for nonrocky terrain,and measures to reduce the quantity of temporary facilities.The technological innovations of SRC arch bridges involve arch skeleton stiffness selection,the development of encasing concrete materials,encasing concrete pouring,arch rib stress mitigation,and longitudinal reinforcement optimization.To conclude,future research focuses and development directions for these two types of arch bridges are proposed.

A method for examining the seismic performance of steel arch deck bridges

To examine the seismic resistance performance of a steel arch bridge during a strong earthquake,an approach is proposed in this paper to determine the ultimate strain of an arch rib using the static elasto-plastic large deformation theory.A steel fixed-end deck arch bridge with a span length of 200 m was used as an example in this study.The ultimate strain of the arch rib was calculated using the elasto-plastic finite element model.The seismic responses of the arch bridge exposed to strong earthquakes in two and three directions were also simulated.Moreover,the effect of earthquake motion in the lateral direction on the elasto-plastic earthquake response was discussed,and the seismic resistance of the structure was analyzed.The results show that steel arch bridges have preferable seismic resistance under strong earthquake conditions.While lateral earthquake motion has some influence on the damage to an arch bridge,it has little effect on the displacement,axial force,and bending moment responses of the arch rib.It is feasible to examine the seismic performance of the arch bridge by ascertaining the out-of-plane and in-plane earthquake responses of the bridge.

Design, Calculation and Model Test of Zhongshan Bridge

Zhongshan Bridge is a kind of steel arch bridge with a particular space-combined structure. The rationality of design, accuracy of theoretical calculation and reliability of transportation were studied. Its design, FEM calculation of stresses and strains, and model test were introduced in detail. The theoretical analysis and model test verified that the design was reliable and safe. The simulated stresses, rigidity and stability, which are based on the selected loading system and cross-section geometry, satisfy the related design standards. Some of the issues that need to be considered in the real bridge construction were also discussed.