Application of LRB isolation technology in continuous girder bridges

This paper summarizes the superiority of lead-rubber beating （LRB） continuous girder bridges. The research method for isolation performance is discussed when pile-soil interaction is considered. By the finite element method and self-compiling program, a systematic study of the reliability of LRB continuous girder bridges is given by the use of different indicators, including the riding comfort of the LRB system, the pounding and dynamic stability when the LRB system is subjected to seismic excitations, and the reliability of the LRB system when subjected to other common horizontal loads. The results show that the LRB system has obvious advantages over the traditional continuous girder structure. The LRB isolation effect remains good even when pile-soil interaction is considered; the vertical rigidity of the LRB guarantees desirable riding comfort. The LRB demonstrates good reliability when subjected to the effects of braking, wind loads and temperature. However, it is also pointed out that the pounding of the LRB system subjected to earthquakes must be avoided, and the dynamic stability may be reduced when the LRB system has higher piers and generates a larger displacement in a strong earthquake. Useful advice and guidance are proposed for engineering application.

Study of the seismic performance of expansion double spherical seismic isolation bearings for continuous girder bridges

The development of an expansion double spherical seismic isolation (DSSI) bearing by modifying the fixed DSSI bearing is described in this paper. The expansion DSSI bearing is characterized by its good energy dissipation and horizontal displacement capacity and has been successfully integrated into the seismic design of several important engineering projects in China. It is envisioned to be used as a substitute for ordinary expansion bearings in continuous girder bridges to distribute the longitudinal earthquake action among all the piers. Its development, configuration and working mechanism are introduced first. The test method and the seismic performance of an expansion DSSI bearing are then briefly described. A theoretical analysis followed by a numerical analysis for an actual four-span continuous girder bridge are provided as an example, and it is concluded that the expansion DSSI bearing can be integrated into the seismic design of continuous girder bridges.

Weakening effect of vertical prestress ducts on web sections in prestressed concrete box girder bridges

Based on experimental study result of two simply supported beams,which were prestressed by vertical tendons,the research on the weakening effect of vertical prestress ducts on web sections of prestressed concrete box girder was carried out. The test result shows that in the condition without grouting into the ducts,the cracking load is evidently lower than that with full grouting,and stirrup stress and principal tension stress at the surface of concrete will increase obviously. Meanwhile,the finite element analysis has been done to the test beams. The research is consistent with the analysis of finite element. The research tells that strengthening the detection and management for the vertical prestress grouting quality have an important meaning to prevent cracking of the prestressed concrete box girder bridge and provide one theoretical and testing basis for analyzing the cracking reason of such bridges.

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.

Dynamic Response Impact of Vehicle Braking on Simply Supported Beam Bridges with Corrugated Steel Webs Based on Vehicle-Bridge Coupled Vibration Analysis

A novel approach for analyzing coupled vibrations between vehicles and bridges is presented,taking into account spatiotemporal effects and mechanical phenomena resulting fromvehicle braking.Efficient modeling and solution of bridge vibrations induced by vehicle deceleration are realized using this method.The method’s validity and reliability are substantiated through numerical examples.A simply supported beam bridge with a corrugated steel web is taken as an example and the effects of parameters such as the initial vehicle speed,braking acceleration,braking location,and road surface roughness on the mid-span displacement and impact factor of the bridge are analyzed.The results show that vehicle braking significantly amplifies mid-span displacement and impact factor responses in comparison to uniform vehicular motion across the bridge.Notably,the influence of wheelto-bridge friction forces is of particular significance and cannot be overlooked.When the vehicle initiates braking near the middle of the span,both the mid-span displacement and impact factor of the bridge exhibit substantial increases,further escalating with higher braking acceleration.Under favorable road surface conditions,the midspan displacement and the impact factor during vehicle braking may exceed the design values stipulated by codes.It is important to note that road surface roughness exerts a more pronounced effect on the impact factor of the bridge in comparison to the effects of vehicle braking.

Damage identification method of girder bridges based on finite element model updating and modal strain energy

A timely and accurate damage identification for bridge structures is essential to prevent sudden failures/collapses and other catastrophic accidents.Based on response surface model(RSM)updating and element modal strain energy(EMSE)damage index,this paper proposes a novel damage identification method for girder bridge structures.The effectiveness of the proposed damage identification method is investigated using experiments on four simply supported steel beams.With Xiabaishi Bridge,a prestressed continuous rigid frame bridge with large span,as the engineering background,the proposed damage identification method is validated by using numerical simulation to generate different bearing damage scenarios.Finally,the efficiency of the method is justified by considering its application to identifying cracking damage for a real continuous beam bridge called Xinyihe Bridge.It is concluded that the EMSE damage index is sensitive to the cracking damage and the bearing damage.The locations and levels of multiple cracking damages and bearing damages can be also identified.The results illuminate a great potential of the proposed method in identifying damages of real bridge structures.

Computer Simulation of Dynamic Interactions Between Vehicle and Long Span Box Girder Bridges

Moving vehicle loads, associated with roadway traffic can induce significant dynamic effects on the structural behaviours of bridges, especially for long-span bridges. The main objective of current research is to study traffic induced dynamic responses of long-span box-girder bridges. The finite element method has been employed in this study to obtain a three-dimensional mathematical model for the bridge system. For vehicle-bridge dynamic interaction analysis, the vehicle is modeled as a more realistic three-axle, six-wheel system, and the corresponding dynamic interaction equations have been derived. The bridge-vehicle interaction is affected by many factors. The current study has been focused on such factors as: vehicle speed, vehicle damping ratio, multiple traffic lanes, mass ratio of vehicle and bridge, and dynamic characteristics of bridge. Case studies have been conducted to investigate these factors by using several box girder bridge examples including Confederation Bridge, the longest box girder bridge in the world.

Research review on steel–concrete composite joint of railway hybrid girder cable-stayed bridges

Purpose–This study aims to research the development trend,research status,research results and existing problems of the steel–concrete composite joint of railway long-span hybrid girder cable-stayed bridge.Design/methodology/approach–Based on the investigation and analysis of the development history,structure form,structural parameters,stress characteristics,shear connector stress state,force transmission mechanism,and fatigue performance,aiming at the steel–concrete composite joint of railway long-span hybrid girder cable-stayed bridge,the development trend,research status,research results and existing problems are expounded.Findings–The shear-compression composite joint has become the main form in practice,featuring shortened length and simplified structure.The length of composite joints between 1.5 and 3.0 m has no significant effect on the stress and force transmission laws of the main girder.The reasonable thickness of the bearing plate is 40–70 mm.The calculation theory and simplified calculation formula of the overall bearing capacity,the nonuniformity and distribution laws of the shear connector,the force transferring ratio of steel and concrete components,the fatigue failure mechanism and structural parameters effects are the focus of the research study.Originality/value–This study puts forward some suggestions and prospects for the structural design and theoretical research of the steel–concrete composite joint of railway long-span hybrid girder cable-stayed bridge.

Wind tunnel measurement of aerodynamic characteristics of trains passing each other on a simply supported box girder bridge

The aerodynamic performance of high-speed trains passing each other was investigated on a simply supported box girder bridge,with a span of 32 m,under crosswinds.The bridge and train models,modeled at a geometric scale ratio of 1:30,were used to test the aerodynamic forces of the train,with the help of a designed moving test rig in the XNJD-3 wind tunnel.The effects of wind speed,train speed,and yaw angle on the aerodynamic coefficients of the train were analyzed.The static and moving model tests were compared to demonstrate how the movement of the train influences its aerodynamic characteristics.The results show that the sheltering effect introduced by trains passing each other can cause a sudden change in force on the leeward train,which is further influenced by the wind and running speeds.Detailed analyses related to the effect of wind and train speeds on the aerodynamic coefficients were conducted.The relationship between the change in aerodynamic coefficients and yaw angle was finally described by a series of proposed fitting formulas.

Numerical Simulation for Progressive Collapse of Continuous Girder Bridge Subjected to Ship Impact

The three-stage simulation method based on LS-DYNA was introduced in this study to simulate the progressive collapse of a continuous girder bridge after a ship-bridge collision. The pile-soil dynamic interaction and the initial stress and deformation of the whole bridge before the collision were considered. By analyzing the damage, deformation, stress distribution and collapse process of the whole bridge, the results show that the displacement response of the cap beam lags behind the pile cap. The response order of the whole bridge's components depends on their distances from the collision region. The plastic deformation of soil around piles has a positive effect on delaying the further increase in the displacement of piles. The impacted pier's losing stability and its superstructure's excessive deformation are the main reasons leading to the progressive collapse of the continuous girder bridge.

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.

Temperature distributions in concrete box girders due to heat of concrete hydration

Based on heat transfer theory,a two-dimensional complex exponential function was used to compute heat of concrete hydration.A concrete box girder consisting of a single box with two cells used on Harbin Songpu Bridge was measured on site.The two coefficients in the complex exponential function were determined to best fit the field measured data.ABAQUS program was used to simulate the heat transfer and determine the temperature distribution in the concrete box girders during concrete setting.The calculated temperature distribution in the box girders were compared with the field measured data and good agreement was observed.The temperature distribution and gradient in the entire box section,webs and bottom slab were analyzed using the measured and calculated results during the course of concrete hydration.

Preliminary Estimation of Torsion of Curved Bridges Subjected to Earthquake Loading

This paper focuses on the seismic response of the curved and post-tensioned concrete box girder bridges. More specifically, it investigates how the curvature influences the response of a bridge subjected to earthquake. Parametric analysis of different radius of curvature is performed and the internal forces, torsion moment, axial and shear along the bridge are calculated. Two types of connections are investigated, the monolithic connection and deck connection with bents and abutments with rubber bearing. The response spectrum seismic analysis was performed. The models were designed, according to the provisions of EC8-part 2, EC2 and the Greek regulations E39/99. Diagrams relating the curvature with the torsion moment have been obtained from the results of parametric analysis. These diagrams could be used by engineers for preliminary design of such kind of bridges.

Closure technique for the hybrid girder cable stayed bridge of Edong Bridge

Based on Edong Yangtze River Bridge, which is the second longest hybrid girder cable stayed bridge with 926 m long main span, the influencing factors and crucial techniques of the main span closure method for long span hybrid girder cable stayed bridge are studied. After theoretical analysis, numerical evaluation and practical test, the loading assistant closure method is employed in Edong Yangtze River Bridge. The loading assistant closure method, with better thermal adaptability and less influence on bridge line and the forced status, can meet the requirements of the unstressed state control method. Based on the mentioned advantages, the loading assistant closure method is applicable to long span hybrid girder cable stayed bridges. The conclusion can provide a reference for the further design of the similar brid^es.

Study on the seismic performance of a double spherical seismic isolation bearing

In this paper, the configuration and working mechanism of the recently developed double spherical seismic isolation （DSSI） bearing are introduced in detail. Then, vertical displacement of the DSSI bearing due to sliding on a spherical surface is analyzed. The results from seismic performance testing of the bearing are given, and a numerical analysis of a four span continuous girder bridge is performed. The numerical analysis compares the influence of three different bearing arrangement schemes on the structural seismic response, and the results show that the DSSI bearing is effective in increasing the vertical load bearing capacity, reducing the vertical displacement, and controlling the energy dissipation capacity within a certain range.

Seismic performance of fabricated continuous girder bridge with grouting sleeve-prestressed tendon composite connections

The seismic performance of a fully fabricated bridge is a key factor limiting its application.In this study,a fiber element model of a fabricated concrete pier with grouting sleeve-prestressed tendon composite connections was built and verified.A numerical analysis of three types of continuous girder bridges was conducted with different piers:a cast-in-place reinforced concrete pier,a grouting sleeve-fabricated pier,and a grouting sleeve-prestressed tendon composite fabricated pier.Furthermore,the seismic performance of the composite fabricated pier was investigated.The results show that the OpenSees fiber element model can successfully simulate the hysteresis behavior and failure mode of the grouted sleeve-fabricated pier.Under traditional non-near-fault ground motions,the pier top displacements of the grouting sleeve-fabricated pier and the composite fabricated pier were less than those of the cast-in-place reinforced concrete pier.The composite fabricated pier had a good self-centering capability.In addition,the plastic hinge zones of the grouting sleeve-fabricated pier and the composite fabricated pier shifted to the joint seam and upper edge of the grouting sleeve,respectively.The composite fabricated pier with optimal design parameters has good seismic performance and can be applied in high-intensity seismic areas;however,the influence of pile-soil interaction on its seismic performance should not be ignored.

Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of bridge quality based on analytical hierarchy process

Bridge quality assessment is an important part in the final acceptance of new bridge construction,and it is also the main basis for the reinforcement or removal of old bridges.We evaluated the weight of each affecting factor to the upper events using progressive analytical hierarchy process(AHP)with the adoption of 3 scaling,reduced the calculation in analytical process,and precluded the nonuniformity of the scaling system.We obtained a comprehensive evaluation system of bridge quality, and verified its pra...

Refined analysis and construction parameter calculation for full-span erection of the continuous steel box girder bridge with long cantilevers

To accurately control the full-span erection of continuous steel box girder bridges with complex cross-sections and long cantilevers, both the augmented finite element method(A-FEM) and the degenerated plate elements are adopted in this paper. The entire construction process is simulated by the A-FEM with the mesh-separation-based approximation technique, while the degenerated plate elements are constructed based on 3D isoparametric elements, making it suitable for analysis of a thin-walled structure. This method significantly improves computational efficiency by avoiding numerous degrees of freedom(DoFs) when analyzing complex structures. With characteristics of the full-span erection technology, the end-face angle of adjacent girder segments, the preset distance of girder segments from the design position, and the temperature difference are selected as control parameters, and they are calculated through the structural response of each construction stage. Engineering practice shows that the calculation accuracy of A-FEM is verified by field-measured results. It can be applied rapidly and effectively to evaluate the matching state of girder segments and the stress state of bearings as well as the thermal effect during full-span erection.

Review and discussion on fire behavior of bridge girders

This paper presents an overview on fire behavior of bridge girders mainly including prestressed concrete(PC) bridge girders and steel bridge girders. The typical fire accidents occurred on bridges are illustrated and, the seriousness of posing threats to bridge structures resulted from increasing traffic fires, specially intense hydrocarbon fires generated from petrol-chemicals, is highlighted. The current researches, embracing high-temperature properties of constituent materials, prestress state, measurement in fire tests, numerical methods, structural fire resistance, and so forth, taken on coping with problems existing in fire behavior and structural fire behavior in bridge girders are reviewed and discussed. Further, strategies for enhancing fire resistance of bridge girders followed with failure criterion and mode in types of bridge structures are provided. Future research area along with emerging trends in structural fire behavior of bridge girders is also recommended for mitigating fire hazards occurred on bridge girders. Herein, it can be attained a conclusion from review and discussion that prestressed concrete bridge girders with thin webs, specially T-shaped bridge girder, are prone to unstable under fire exposure conditions. High-strength concrete utilized in prestressed concrete bridge girders is vulnerable to spalling at elevated temperature. Steel-truss bridge girder present a more significant fragility to fire exposure compared than other steel bridge girders.

Environmental noise beside an elevated box girder bridge for urban rail transit

Noise generated by trains running on elevated lines creates many disturbances to the normal lives of surrounding residents. Investigations have shown that people living along elevated lines complain that the noise is sometimes unbearable. To better control the noise and optimize the acoustic environment, noise spectrum characteristics were analyzed and compared with a field test and a numerical simulation. Through an energy analysis of the noise on the bridge side, the energy distribution characteristics of the noise at specific measuring points in different frequency bands were obtained. The influence of the Doppler effect on frequency shift was analyzed. Based on the partial coherence theory, a multi-input and single-output program was compiled to calculate the correlation and contribution degree of the bridge structure-borne noise and wheel/rail noise at the one-third octave center frequency. The results show that the peak noises of the bridge and the wheel/rail are concentrated at 31.5–63 Hz and 400–800 Hz, respectively. For environmental noise on the bridge side, the frequency band above 250 Hz is mainly affected by the wheel/rail noise. In areas of noise source strength, the relative ratio of noise energy above 250 Hz can reach 83.4%. Noise in the near ground and far bridge area is mainly low-frequency, and the relative energy ratio is about 8.9%. The Doppler effect has an influence of less than 6% on the frequency shift with a speed of 67.9 km/h. In the low-frequency band below 250 Hz, the noise in the acoustic shadow area near the bridge and the ground is mainly contributed to by the vibration-radiated noise of the bridge, of which the contribution of the bottom panel is the most prominent. The noise in the comprehensive noise area of the far bridge is mainly caused by the structure-borne noise of the bridge, and the contribution of each bridge panel is different. This study can provide a reference for finding the source of elevated rail noise in some challenging frequency ranges and for then determining optimal designs and measures for noise reduction.