Deformation monitoring of long-span railway bridges based on SBAS-InSAR technology

The deformation monitoring of long-span railway bridges is significant to ensure the safety of human life and property.The interferometric synthetic aperture radar(In SAR)technology has the advantage of high accuracy in bridge deformation monitoring.This study monitored the deformation of the Ganjiang Super Bridge based on the small baseline subsets(SBAS)In SAR technology and Sentinel-1A data.We analyzed the deformation results combined with bridge structure,temperature,and riverbed sediment scouring.The results are as follows:(1)The Ganjiang Super Bridge area is stable overall,with deformation rates ranging from-15.6 mm/yr to 10.7 mm/yr(2)The settlement of the Ganjiang Super Bridge deck gradually increases from the bridge tower toward the main span,which conforms to the typical deformation pattern of a cable-stayed bridge.(3)The sediment scouring from the riverbed cause the serious settlement on the bridge’s east side compared with that on the west side.(4)The bridge deformation negatively correlates with temperature,with a faster settlement at a higher temperature and a slow rebound trend at a lower temperature.The study findings can provide scientific data support for the health monitoring of long-span railway bridges.

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.

Structure Bearing Capacity Testing and Evaluation of Existing Bridges

The bearing capacity testing and evaluation of the existing bridge engineering structure is not only the key to clarify its structural quality and safety performance,but it also can lay a solid foundation for subsequent repairs and maintenance work.To ensure the bearing capacity,durability and reliability of existing bridges,this paper analyzes the importance and methods of testing and evaluation of structural bearing capacity of a bridge.This analysis aims to provide scientific reference for the quality assessment and subsequent repair and maintenance of existing bridge engineering structures.

BDS/GPS deformation analysis of a long-span cable-stayed bridge based on colored noise filtering

Combining GPS and BDS technology to monitor the deformation of long-span railway bridges with stricter deformation control requirements is of significance to the safety and control of the bridge and the safety of railway traffic.Previous studies have ignored the influence of coloured noise in the deformation time series.This is not conducive to accurate deformation analysis of long-span railway bridges.Therefore,GPS,BDS and GPS/BDS monitoring data of Ganjiang Bridge located in Ganzhou city,Jiangxi Province,China are adopted in this paper to filter the coloured noise in the deformation time series by principal component analysis(PCA),and the influence of coloured noise on the deformation analysis results of railway bridge is analysed.The experimental results show that the diurnal temperature difference causes the mid-span and the tower of the railway cable-stayed bridge to deform with a period of about one day in the vertical and longitudinal directions,respectively.Ignoring colored noise will make the uncertainty of the deformation parameter estimation overly optimistic.PCA can significantly reduce the coloured noise,and thus reduce the uncertainty of deformation parameter estimation by about 73%.Moreover,the average difference between the daily periodic motion amplitudes of the monitoring points obtained by using GPS and BDS deformation time series is 1.65 mm.The use of GPS/BDS deformation time series is not only helpful to reduce the influence of coloured noise,but also can reduce the difference between amplitude analysis results obtained from GPS and BDS deformation time series.

FNM method for estimating reliability of existing bridges

Combined with current specifications and stress characteristics of concrete filled steel tubular （CFST） arch bridges, the determination principle of safe-middle-failure threestage mode is given. Accordingly, damage probability and failure probability and the corresponding reliability indices are calculated; a direct relationship between reliability indices and three-stage working status is made. Based on the three-stage working mode, a combined FNM （finite element-neural network- Monte-Carlo simulation） method is put forward to estimate the reliability of existing bridges. According to time-dependent reliability theory, subsequent service time is divided into several stages; minimum samples required by the Monte-Carlo method are generated by random sampling; training samples are calculated by the finite element method, and the training samples are extended by the neural network; failure probability and damage probability are calculated by the Monte-Carlo method. Thus, time dependent reliability indices are obtained, and the working status is judged. A case study is investigated to estimate the reliability of an actual bridge by the FNM method. The bridge is a CFST arch bridge with an 83.6 m span and it has been in operation for 10 years. According to analysis results, in the tenth year, the example bridge is still in safe status. This conclusion is consistent with the facts, which proves the feasibility of the FNM method for estimating the reliability of existing bridges.

Application of Long-Span Continuous Bridge Technology in Bridge Construction

In order to promote the rapid development of urbanization in our country,it is necessary to improve the construction level and technology of bridge engineering.For long-span continuous bridge technology,it has the characteristics of wide application range,various applicable conditions,and short construction period.Therefore,it is necessary to pay attention to the application of long-span continuous bridge technology.This article mainly analyzes its application in bridge construction,hoping to provide some reference for future use.

Maximum Expected Benefit-Oriented Optimal Maintenance Decision for Existing Bridges

Abstract An optimal maintenance program is the key to making appropriate decisions to minimize cost and maintain an appropriate lev- el of safety. In this paper, the strategy on repairing and strengthening of existing bridges based on time-dependent reliability was analyzed with the maximum expected benefit as the objective function. Risk ranking and lifecycle cost analysis were considered in the reliability-based bridge assessment. A practical application of risk-ranking decision was illustrated herein based on updated inspection informarion with the bridge at survival age 35. The effects of improvement of live load and difference of repair methods on time-dependent reliability of existing bridges were studied. The decision method can be used in real projects, with the cost of failure consequence and the risk of failure considered.

Repair and Strengthening Assessment of Existing Bridges Based on Time-Dependent Reliability Analysis

The strategy on repair and strengthening of existing bridges based on time-dependent reliability was analyzed with the maximum expected benefit as the objective function. A sample of risk-ranking decision was illustrated based on updated inspection information with 35 survival age. The effect of improvement of live loads and difference of repair methods on time-dependent reliability of existing bridges are considered. The results show that the decision method can be used in real project, with the cost of failure consequence and the risk of failure considered.

Theoretical research on structural damage alarming of long-span bridges using wavelet packet analysis

The state equation and observation equation of the structural dynamic systems under various analysis scales are derived based on wavelet packet analysis. The time-frequency properties of structural dynamic response under various scales are further formulated. The theoretical analysis results reveal that the wavelet packet energy spectrum （WPES） obtained from wavelet packet decomposition of structural dynamic response will detect the presence of structural damage. The sensitivity analysis of the WPES to structural damage and measurement noise is also performed. The transfer properties of the structural system matrix and the observation noise under various analysis scales are formulated, which verify the damage alarming reliability using the proposed WPES with preferable damage sensitivity and noise robusticity.

Developments and Prospects of Long-Span High-Speed Railway Bridge Technologies in China

With the rapid developments of the high-speed railway in China, a great number of long-span bridges have been constructed in order to cross rivers and gorges. At present, the longest main span of a constructed high-speed railway bridge is only 630 m. The main span of Hutong Yangtze River Bridge and of Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge, which are under construction, will be much longer, at 1092 m each. In order to overcome the technical issues that originate from the extremely large dead loading and the relatively small structural stiffness of long-span high-speed railway bridges, many new technologies in bridge construction, design, materials, and so forth have been developed. This paper carefully reviews progress in the construction technologies of multi-function combined bridges in China, including com- bined highway and railway bridges and multi-track railway bridges. Innovations and practices regarding new types of bridge and composite bridge structures, such as bridges with three cable planes and three main trusses, inclined main trusses, slab-truss composite sections, and steel-concrete composite sections, are introduced. In addition, investigations into high-performance materials and integral fabrication and erection techniques for long-span railway bridges are summarized. At the end of the paper, prospects for the future development of long-span high-speed railwav bridges are provided.

Longitudinal force in continuously welded rail on long-span tied arch continuous bridge carrying multiple tracks

Considering arch rib, lateral brace, suspender, girder, pier and track position, the model for the interaction between long-span tied arch continuous bridge and multiple tracks was established by using steel-concrete composite section beam element to simulate concrete-filled steel tube(CFST) arch rib, using the beam element with rigid arm to simulate the prestressed concrete girder and using nonlinear bar element to simulate longitudinal constraint between track and bridge. Taking a(77+3×156.8+77) m tied arch continuous bridge with four tracks on the Harbin-Qiqihar Passenger Dedicated Line as an example, the arrangement of continuously welded rail(CWR) was explored. The longitudinal force in CWR on the tied arch continuous bridge, the pier top horizontal force and torque due to the unbalance load case, were analyzed under the action of temperature, vertical live load, train braking and wind load.Studies show that, it can significantly reduce track displacement to set the track expansion devices at main span arch springing on both sides; the track stress due to arch temperature variation can reach 40.8 MPa; the track stress, pier top horizontal force and torque are related to the number of loaded tracks and train running direction, and the bending force applied to unloaded track is close to the loaded track, while the braking force applied to unloaded track is 1/4 to 1/2 of the loaded track; the longitudinal force of track due to the wind load is up to 12.4 MPa, which should be considered.

Effects of fundamental factors on coupled vibration of wind-rail vehicle-bridge system for long-span cable-stayed bridge

In a wind-vehicle-bridge(WVB) system,there are various interactions among wind,vehicle and bridge.The mechanism for coupling vibration of wind-vehicle-bridge systems is explored to demonstrate the effects of fundamental factors,such as mean wind,fluctuating wind,buffeting,rail irregularities,light rail vehicle vibration and bridge stiffness.A long cable-stayed bridge which carries light rail traffic is regarded as a numerical example.Firstly,a finite element model is built for the long cable-stayed bridge.The deck can generally be idealized as three-dimensional spine beam while cables are modeled as truss elements.Vehicles are modeled as mass-spring-damper systems.Rail irregularities and wind fluctuation are simulated in time domain by spectrum representation method.Then,aerodynamic loads on vehicle and bridge deck are measured by section model wind tunnel tests.Eight vertical and torsional flutter derivatives of bridge deck are identified by weighting ensemble least-square method.Finally,dynamic responses of the WVB system are analyzed in a series of cases.The results show that the accelerations of the vehicle are excited by the fluctuating wind and the track irregularity to a great extent.The transverse forces of wheel axles mainly depend on the track irregularity.The displacements of the bridge are predominantly determined by the mean wind and restricted by its stiffness.And the accelerations of the bridge are enlarged after adding the fluctuating wind.

Structural health monitoring of long-span suspension bridges using wavelet packet analysis

During the service life of civil engineering structures such as long-span bridges, local damage at key positions may continually accumulate, and may finally result in their sudden failure. One core issue of global vibration-based health monitoring methods is to seek some damage indices that are sensitive to structural damage, This paper proposes an online structural health monitoring method for long-span suspension bridges using wavelet packet transform （WPT）. The WPT- based method is based on the energy variations of structural ambient vibration responses decomposed using wavelet packet analysis. The main feature of this method is that the proposed wavelet packet energy spectrum （WPES） has the ability to detect structural damage from ambient vibration tests of a long-span suspension bridge. As an example application, the WPES-based health monitoring system is used on the Runyang Suspension Bridge under daily environmental conditions. The analysis reveals that changes in environmental temperature have a long-term influence on the WPES, while the effect of traffic loadings on the measured WPES of the bridge presents instantaneous changes because of the nonstationary properties of the loadings. The condition indication indices VD reflect the influences of environmental temperature on the dynamic properties of the Runyang Suspension Bridge. The field tests demonstrate that the proposed WPES-based condition indication index VD is a good candidate index for health monitoring of long-span suspension bridges under ambient excitations.

Seismic spatial effects on long-span bridge response in nonstationary inhomogeneous random fields

The long-span bridge response to nonstationary multiple seismic random excitations is investigated using the PEM (pseudo excitation method). This method transforms the nonstationary random response analysis into ordinary direct dynamic analysis, and therefore, the analysis can be solved conveniently using the Newmark, Wilson-9 schemes or the precise integration method. Numerical results of the seismic response for an actual long-span bridge using the proposed PEM are given and compared with the results based on the conventional stationary analysis. From the numerical comparisons, it was found that both the seismic spatial effect and the nonstationary effect are quite important, and that both stationary and nonstationary seismic analysis should pay special attention to the wave passage effect.

Seismic spatial effects on dynamic response of long-span bridges in stationary inhomogeneous random fields

The seismic analysis of long-span bridges subjected to multiple ground excitations is an important problem. The conventional response spectrum method neglects the spatial effects of ground motion,and therefore may result in questionable conclusions.The random vibration approach has been regarded as more reliable.Unfortunately,so far, computational difficulties have not yet been satisfactorily resolved.In this paper,an accurate and efficient random vibration approach—pseudo excitation method (PEM),by which the above difficulties are overcome,is presented.It has been successfully used in the three dimensional seismic analysis of a number of long-span bridges with thousands of degrees of freedom and dozens of supports.The numerical results of a typical bridge show that the seismic spatial effects~ particularly the wave passage effect,are sometimes quite important in evaluating the safety of long-span bridges.

Numerical analysis of dynamic response of vehicle–bridge coupled system on long-span continuous girder bridge

To systematically study the vehicle-bridge coupled dynamic response and its change rule with different parameters, a vehicle model with seven degrees of freedom was built and the total potential energy of vehicle space vibration system was deduced. Considering the stimulation of road roughness, the dynamic response equation of vehicle-bridge coupled system was established in accordance with the elastic system principle of total potential energy with stationary value and the ＂set-in-right-position＂ rule. On the basis of the self-compiled Fortran program and bridge engineering, the dynamic response of long- span continuous girder bridge under vehicle load was studied. This study also included the calculation of vehicle impact coefficient, evaluation of vibration comfort, and analysis of dynamic response parameters. Results show the impact coefficient changes with lane number and is larger than the value calculated by the ＂general code for design of highway bridges and culverts （China）＂. The Dieckmann index of bridge vibration is also related to lane number, and the vibration comfort evaluation is good in normal conditions. The relevant conclusions from parametric analyses have practical significance to dynamic design and daily operation of long-span continuous girder bridges in expressways. Safety and comfort are expected to improve significantly with further control of the vibration of vehicle-bridge system.

Damage alarming of long-span suspension bridge based on GPS-RTK monitoring

Structure damage identification and alarming of long-span bridge were conducted with three-dimensional dynamic displacement data collected by GPS subsystem of health monitoring system on Runyang Suspension Bridge.First,the effects of temperature on the main girder spatial position coordinates were analyzed from the transverse,longitudinal and vertical directions of bridge,and the correlation regression models were built between temperature and the position coordinates of main girder in the longitudinal and vertical directions;then the alarming indices of coordinate residuals were conducted,and the mean-value control chart was applied to making statistical pattern identification for abnormal changes of girder dynamic coordinates;and finally,the structural damage alarming method of main girder was established.Analysis results show that temperature has remarkable correlation with position coordinates in the longitudinal and vertical directions of bridge,and has weak correlation with the transverse coordinates.The 3%abnormal change of the longitudinal coordinates and 5%abnormal change of the vertical ones caused by structural damage are respectively identified by the mean-value control chart method based on GPS dynamic monitoring data and hence the structural abnormalities state identification and damage alarming for main girder of long-span suspension bridge can be realized in multiple directions.

GPS Dynamic Monitoring Experiment and Result Analysis of Long-Span Cable-Stayed Bridge

For the sake of timely appraising the working con di tion of the bridge, measuring the dynamic characteristics of the bridge structur e is very important and necessary. A GPS dynamic monitoring test was carried out in the Wuhan Baishazhou Bridge, which is one of the longest span cable-stayed bridges having been built in China. This paper introduces the experimental imple menting scheme and data processing method. The vibration characteristics of the middle span of cable-stayed bridge are availably obtained by use of the spectra l analytic approach. The measuring results are very identical to the theoretical designed values. The research demonstrates that, with GPS receiver of the high sampling rate and suitable data processing method, the vibration characteristics of the bridge structure can be determined with high accuracy.

Study of the aerostatic and aerodynamic stability of super long-span cable-stayed bridges

With the increase of span length, the bridge tends to be more flexible, and the wind stability be- comes an important problem for the design and construction of super long-span cable-stayed bridges. By taking a super long-span cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 1 400 m as example, the aerostatic and aerodynamic stability of the bridge are investigated by three-dimensional nonlinear aerostatic and aerodynamic stability analy- sis, and the results are compared with those of a suspension bridge with a main span of 1 385 m, and from the aspect of wind stability, the feasibility of using cable-stayed bridge in super long-span bridge with a main span above l 000 m is discussed. In addition, the influences of design parameters including the depth and width of the girder, the tower structure, the tower height-to-span ratio, the side-to-main span ratio, the auxiliary piers in the side span and the anchorage system of stay cables, etc on the aerostatic and aerodynamic stability of su- per long-span cable-stayed bridges are investigated numerically; the key design parameters are pointed out, and also their reasonable values are proposed.

Analysis on influence of seismic travelling wave effect on semi-active control for long-span rigid-continuous bridge

The analysis approach of semi-active control for long-span rigid-continuous bridge under seismic travelling wave input is established. Magnetorheological dampers are set on the positions of the bridge beatings. The semi-active control calculation and analysis are performed for a five-span rigid-continuous bridge under seismic travelling waves with different apparent surface velocities. The results indicate that travelling wave effect remarkably influences the uncontrolled seismic responses, the semi-active control seismic responses and vibration control effects for the long-span rigid-continuous bridge. It is disadvantageous to the responses of the beams and the piers under the travelling wave input with lower apparent surface velocity, and travelling wave effect can decrease the vibration control effects evidently. Therefore, the travelling wave effect should be considered for the selection of the parameter values of semi-active control system in order to get the designing control effect.