Field Load Test Based SHM System Safety Standard Determination for Rigid Frame Bridge

The deteriorated continuous rigid frame bridge is strengthened by external prestressing. Static loading tests wereconducted before and after the bridge rehabilitation to verify the effectiveness of the rehabilitation process. Thestiffness of the repaired bridge is improved, and the maximum deflection of the load test is reduced from 37.9 to27.6 mm. A bridge health monitoring system is installed after the bridge is reinforced. To achieve an easy assessmentof the bridge’s safety status by directly using transferred data, a real-time safety warning system is createdbased on a five-level safety standard. The threshold for each safety level will be determined by theoretical calculationsand the outcomes of static loading tests. The highest risk threshold will be set at the ultimate limit statevalue. The remaining levels, namely middle risk, low risk, and very low risk, will be determined usingreduction coefficients of 0.95, 0.9, and 0.8, respectively.

Load Test Analysis and Research on Long-Span Concrete Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge

Based on the as-built load test of a large bridge,this paper introduces the procedure of the prestressed concrete continuous rigid frame bridge load test.Numerical analysis of the bridge was carried out by simulating and establishing a finite element model,and comparative analysis was carried out with the measured values.The results show that the calculated values were basically consistent with the measured values,which showed that the establishment method of the model was reasonable,and the mechanical performance of the bridge met the service requirements of the designed live load.

Fatigue Safety Assessment of Concrete Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge Based on Rain Flow Counting Method and Health Monitoring Data

The fatigue of concrete structures will gradually appear after being subjected to alternating loads for a long time,and the accidents caused by fatigue failure of bridge structures also appear from time to time.Aiming at the problem of degradation of long-span continuous rigid frame bridges due to fatigue and environmental effects,this paper suggests a method to analyze the fatigue degradation mechanism of this type of bridge,which combines long-term in-site monitoring data collected by the health monitoring system(HMS)and fatigue theory.In the paper,the authors mainly carry out the research work in the following aspects:First of all,a long-span continuous rigid frame bridge installed with HMS is used as an example,and a large amount of health monitoring data have been acquired,which can provide efficient information for fatigue in terms of equivalent stress range and cumulative number of stress cycles;next,for calculating the cumulative fatigue damage of the bridge structure,fatigue stress spectrum got by rain flow counting method,S-N curves and damage criteria are used for fatigue damage analysis.Moreover,it was considered a linear accumulation damage through the Palmgren-Miner rule for the counting of stress cycles.The health monitoring data are adopted to obtain fatigue stress data and the rain flow counting method is used to count the amplitude varying fatigue stress.The proposed fatigue reliability approach in the paper can estimate the fatigue damage degree and its evolution law of bridge structures well,and also can help bridge engineers do the assessment of future service duration.

Seismic response analysis of continuous rigid frame bridge considering canyon topography effects under incident SV waves

To evaluate the importance of the canyon topography effects on large structures, based on a rigid frame bridge across a 137-m-deep and 600-m-wide canyon, the seismic response of the canyon site is analyzed using a two-dimensional finite element model under different seismic SV waves with the assumptions of vertical incidence and oblique incidence to obtain the ground motions, which are used as the excitation input on the pier foundations of the bridge with improved large mass method. The results indicate that canyon topography has significant influences on the ground motions in terms of inci- dent angle. The peak ground acceleration values vary greatly from the bottom of the canyon to the upper comers. Under ver- tical incident SV waves, at the upper comers of canyon the peak ground accelerations greatly increase; whereas the peak ground accelerations diminish at the bottom comers of canyon. Under oblique incident SV waves, the shaking of the canyon slope perpendicular to the incidence direction is much more severe than that of the opposite side of canyon. And the ground surface has been characterized by larger deformations in the case of oblique incident waves. It is also concluded that the low piers and frame of the continuous rigid frame bridge ape more sensitive to the multi-support seismic excitations than the flexible high piers. The canyon topography as well as the oblique incidence of the waves brings the continuous rigid frame bridge severe responses, which should be taken into account in bridge design.

Nonlinear Stability Analysis of Long Span Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge with Thin Wall High Piers

By utilizing the current finite element program ANSYS, two types of finite element models (FEM), the beam model (BM) and shell model (SM), are established for the nonlinear stability analysis of a practical rigid frame bridge—Longtanhe Great Bridge. In these analyses, geometrical and material nonlinearities are simultaneously taken into account. For geometrical nonlinearity, updated Lagrangian formulations are adopted to derive the tangent stiffness matrix. In order to simulate the nonlinear behavior of the plastic hinge of the piers, the multi lines spring element COMBIN39 is used in the SM while the bilinear rotational spring element COMBIN40 is employed in the BM. Numerical calculations show that satisfying results can be obtained in the stability analysis of the bridge when the double coupling nonlinearity effects are considered. In addition, the conclusion is significant for practical engineering.

Analytical Research on Deformation Monitoring of Large Span Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge during Operation

Based on a large span continuous rigid frame bridge in Chongqing of China, the main pier vertical displacement and deviation, the bridge deck alignment and the expansion joint deformation are analytically researched during operation. Firstly, the monitoring content and method of the large span continuous rigid frame bridge are clearly stated. Secondly, by finite element software Midas Civil, the relevant deformation values of the bridge are calculated. Thirdly, in practice, the relevant deformation values of the bridge are measured. Finally, the measured values in practice are compared with the calculated ones by the finite element software Midas Civil, finding that the former is less than the latter, and it can be concluded that the bridge is basically in the normal working condition. In this paper, the analytical research on the deformation monitoring can provide the basis for similar bridges, which has good practical significance.

Stability Analysis of Long-Span Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge with Thin-Wall Pier

During cantilever cast in construction of high-pier and large-span continuous rigid frame bridges, structural stability in the longest cantilevered stage is very important. Based on a practical design case of a large-span continuous rigid frame bridge in Wuhan, the longest span stability coefficient is calculated with linear-buckling and nonlinear-buckling methods, respectively. The influences of both geometrical nonlinearity and the dual nonlinearity of material and geometry are considered. Numerical results indicate that the nonlinear solution is necessary to stability analysis because linear buckling loads are much higher than those of nonlinear buckling. Thus, the edge fiber yield criterion is more convenient and faster than ultimate loading criterion when estimating nonlinear stability of structure, and can be used easily in the initial engineering design.

Time-varying Reliability Analysis of Long-span Continuous Rigid Frame bridge under Cantilever Construction Stage based on the Monitored Strain Data

In general,the material properties,loads,resistance of the prestressed concrete continuous rigid frame bridge in different construction stages are time-varying.So,it is essential to monitor the internal force state when the bridge is in construction.Among them,how to assess the safety is one of the challenges.As the continuous monitoring over a long-term period can increase the reliability of the assessment,so,based on a large number of monitored strain data collected from the structural health monitoring system(SHMS)during construction,a calculation method of the punctiform time-varying reliability is proposed in this paper to evaluate the stress state of this type bridge in cantilever construction stage by using the basic reliability theory.At the same time,the optimal stress distribution function in the bridge mid-span base plate is determined when the bridge is closed.This method can provide basis and direction for the internal force control of this type bridge in construction process.So,it can reduce the bridge safety and quality accidents in construction stages.

Research on controlling long-term performance by tensioning post tendon of long-span continuous rigid-frame bridges

The problems like cracking of the girder in the mid-span and the ever-increasing vertical deflection appear during the long term usage of the long-span continuous rigid-frame bridge.Post-tension tendon with reserved duct can increase the pre-stress of the main beam effectively,and decrease the long term span deflection in order to improve the performance of the girder.At the same time,the proper tension position is very crucial to optimise the stress distribution of the bridge and control the deflection increase.Combining with practical engineering,the authors analyze the influence of different positions of post-tension tendon(including top-,weband bottom plate tendons)on the stress and deflection of the main beam,and find out the optimal position of post tendon.

Seismic analysis of long-span continuous rigid frame bridges in cold regions:a case study of Bridge 1 in north of international tourism resort in Changbai Mountain

It is helpful to improve the seismic design theory of long-span continuous bridges for studying the seismic performance of each cantilever construction state.Taking the Bridge 1 in the north of Changbai-Mountain international tourism resort as an example,the authors studied it in shutdown phase and the cantilever construction process,established the simulation model by using Midas / civil,and analyzed time-history of each construction stage for the bridge.The study shows that long-span bridge cantilever construction in northeastern China can be divided into two-year tasks for construction(suspending in winter).It is needed to think about seismic stability of the cantilever position in shut-down phase of winter.The effect of longitudinal vibration is the most disadvantageous influence to bridge,and its calculation results can provide reference for seismic design of similar bridges in the future.

Maintenance Management Research of a Large-span Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge Based on Reliability Assessment by Using Strain Monitored Data

When the bridge components needing maintenance are the world problem at present,and the health monitoring system is considered to be a very help­ful tool for solving this problem.In this paper,a large number of strain data acquired from the structural health monitoring system(SHMS)installed on a continuous rigid frame bridge are adopted to do reliability assessment.Firstly,a calculation method of punctiform time-dependent reliability is proposed based on the basic reliability theory,and introduced how to cal­culate reliability of the bridge by using the stress data transformed from the strain data.Secondly,combined with“Three Sigma”principle and the basic pressure safety reserve requirement,the critical load effects distribu­tion function of the bridge is defined,and then the maintenance reliability threshold for controlling the unfavorable load state which appears in the early operation stage of this type bridge is suggested,and then the combi­nation of bridge maintenance management and health monitoring system is realized.Finally,the transformed stress distribution certifies that the load effects of concrete bridges practically have a normal distribution;as for the concrete continuous rigid frame bridge with C50 strength grade concrete,the retrofit reliability threshold should be valued at 6.13.The methodology suggested in this article can help bridge engineers do effective maintenance of bridges,which can effectively extend the service life of the bridge and bring better economic and social benefits.

Effect of concrete creep on pre-camber of continuous rigid-frame bridge

The effect of concrete creep on the pre-camber of a long-span pre-stressed concrete continuous rigid-frame bridge constructed by cantilever casting method was investigated.The difference of creep coefficients calculated with two Chinese codes was discussed.Based on the calculations,the pre-camber of a pre-stressed concrete continuous rigid-frame box bridge was computed for construction control purpose.The results show that the short-term creep coefficient and long-term creep coefficient calculated with the CC-1985 are larger than those calculated with the CC-2004,while the medium-term creep coefficient calculated with the CC-1985 is smaller than that calculated with the CC-2004.The difference of creep deformation calculated with these two codes is small,and the influences of concrete creep on the pre-camber for most of the segments are negligible.The deflections and stresses of the box girder measured during the construction stages agree very well with the predictions.

Topographic effects on seismic response of long-span rigid-frame bridge under SV seismic wave

Seismic ground motions of two neighboring mountains and the free surface between them are calculated under the SV seismic waves with three different incident angles. The results are then taken as the inputs of multi-point seismic excitations for the foundation of a long-span bridge built over the valley in the analysis considering the integrated influence of traveling wave and topography. On the basis of a dynamic analytical method, a finite element model is created for the seismic responses of a four-span rigid-frame bridge of 440 m. The pier-top displacement and the pier-bottom internal force of the bridge are calculated. Then the results are compared with those considering traveling-wave effect only. The conclusions can serve as a seismic design reference for the structures located on the complex mountain topography.

Seismic Analysis for Rigid-Framed Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Bridge in Tianjin Light Railway

The seismic analysis of a rigid-framed prestressed concrete bridge in Tianjin Light Railway is performed. A 3-D dynamic finite element model of the bridge is established considering the weakening effect caused by the soft soil foundation. After the dynamic characteristics are calculated in terms of natural frequencies and modes, the seismic analysis is carried out using the modal response spectrum method and the time-history method, respectively. Based on the calculated results, the reasonable design values are finally suggested as the basis of the seismic design of the bridge, and meanwhile the problems encountered were also analyzed. Finally, some conclusions are drawn as: 1) Despite the superiority of rigid-framed prestressed concrete bridge, the upper and lower ends of the piers of the bridge are proved to be the crucial parts of the bridge, which are easily destroyed under designed earthquake excitations and should be carefully analyzed and designed; 2) The soft soil foundation can possibly result in rather weakening of the lateral rigidity of the rigid-framed bridge, and should be paid considerable attention; 3) The modal response spectrum method, combined with time-history method, is suggested for the seismic analysis in engineering design of the rigid-framed prestressed concrete bridge.

A New Method on Resolving the Rotation in the Plane of Skew Bridges

The rotation of skew bridges in the plane is a common phenomenon in engineering. Traditional measure is to setup pins or limiting displacement with lateral bearings, but the result is not satisfactory. In order to solve this problem, the reason for the rotation in the plane is found by philosophy analysis and an idea regarding the application of slantleg frame skew bridges without abutment is brought forward in this paper. Theory and engineering practices indicate that slant-leg rigid frame bridges without abutment can restrain the rotation of skew bridges in the plane to the utmost extent because of its structural characteristics and can fundamentally solve the tough defect of skew bridges.

Prediction and mitigation analysis of ground vibration caused by running high-speed trains on rigid-frame viaducts

In this study a 3D numerical analysis approach is developed to predict the ground vibration around rigid-frame viaducts induced by running high-speed trains. The train-bridge-ground interaction system is divided into two subsystems： the train-bridge interaction and the soil-structure interaction. First, the analytical program to simulate bridge vibration with consideration of train-bridge interaction is developed to obtain the vibration reaction forces at the pier bottoms. The high- speed train is described by a multi-DOFs vibration system and the rigid-frame viaduct is modeled with 3D beam elements. Second, applying these vibration reaction forces as input external excitations, the ground vibration is simulated by using a general-purpose program that includes soil-structure interaction effects. The validity of the analytical procedure is confirmed by comparing analytical and experimental results. The characteristics of high-speed train-induced vibrations, including the location of predominant vibration, are clarified. Based on this information a proposed vibration countermeasure using steel strut and new barrier is found effective in reducing train-induced vibrations and it satisfies environmental vibration requirements. The vibration screening efficiency is evaluated by reduction VAL based on 1/3 octave band spectral analysis.

Dynamic Reliability Assessment of Heavy Vehicle Crossing a Prototype Bridge Deck by Using Simulation Technology and Health Monitoring Data

Overloads of vehicle may cause damage to bridge structures,and how to assess the safety influence of heavy vehicles crossing the prototype bridge is one of the challenges.In this report,using a large amount of monitored data collected from the structural health monitoring system(SHMS)in service of the prototype bridge,of which the bridge type is large-span continuous rigid frame bridge,and adopting FEM simulation technique,we suggested a dynamic reliability assessment method in the report to assess the safety impact of heavy vehicles on the prototype bridge during operation.In the first place,by using the health monitored strain data,of which the selected monitored data time range is before the opening of traffic,the quasi dynamic reliability around the embedded sensor with no traffic load effects is obtained;then,with FEM technology,the FEM simulation model of one main span of the prototype bridge is built by using ANSYS software and then the dynamic reliability when the heavy vehicles crossing the prototype bridge corresponding to the middle-span web plate is comprehensively analyzed and discussed.At last,assuming that the main beam stress state change is in the stage of approximately linear elasticity under heavy vehicle loads impact,the authors got the impact level of heavy vehicles effects on the dynamic reliability of the prototype bridge.Based on a large number of field measured data,the dynamic reliability value calculated by our proposed methodology is more accurate.The method suggested in the paper can do good for not only the traffic management but also the damage analysis of bridges.

重庆官栈河大桥主桥主墩基础锁口钢管桩围堰加固

重庆官栈河大桥主桥为(62+110+62)m三跨连续刚构桥,主墩基础采用锁口钢管桩围堰施工。围堰施工正常水位+325.300 m,施工期控制水位+330.500 m。在该桥主墩围堰完成四周锁口钢管桩插打及前4道内支撑安装后,因极端天气原因,长寿湖水位上涨到+332.200 m,危及围堰安全。为解决钢管桩围堰的安全问题,提出采用水下施工内支撑的加固方案。待围堰内部水头与外部保持一致后,将已经插打的锁口钢管桩加高至标高+334.000 m,拆除已安装好的4道内支撑,重新安装6道内支撑。采用MIDAS Civil软件分别建立加固前、后钢管桩围堰结构有限元模型,分析钢管桩及内支撑的受力安全与稳定性。结果表明:施工控制水位+330.500 m下,围堰结构最大正应力由加固前的162.6 MPa下降到加固后的82.3 MPa,下降了49.3%;承载水位可从施工控制水位+330.500 m增加到目标控制水位+333.500 m,且强度和刚度等均留有一定储备。水下施工内支撑的加固方案可提升围堰的承载能力。该桥围堰加固后整体受力效果良好,已顺利完成承台浇筑施工。

考虑墩-梁碰撞效应的连续刚构桥系统易损性与概率地震风险性分析

为研究连续刚构桥主梁与过渡墩碰撞效应对其地震系统易损性和概率地震风险性的影响,以一座主桥跨径为(120+220+120)m的连续刚构桥为研究背景,通过模拟实际施工过程以获得真实成桥内力状态,基于等效荷载法建立考虑该内力状态的动力弹塑性分析模型,采用Hertz-damp接触模型考虑包括主梁与过渡墩碰撞在内的伸缩缝处碰撞效应。选取90条具有速度脉冲的脉冲型近断层地震动沿纵桥向输入,通过时程分析解释了墩梁碰撞过程和破坏机理;采用增量动力分析法,建立考虑桥墩和支座权重系数的全桥复合系统易损性曲线,并与一阶界限法串联模型下限和并联模型上限系统易损性曲线进行对比,将场地危险性函数与易损性函数卷积,建立概率地震风险曲线,考察桥梁系统易损性、概率地震风险性及墩梁碰撞效应的影响。结果表明,若忽略过渡墩与主桥梁体的碰撞效应,将会低估过渡墩的位移反应3~5倍,低估其地震风险性概率120%;当地震动强度为0.2g~0.6g时,轻微破坏和中等破坏的损伤概率被低估了35%~80%;地震动强度为0.6g~1.5g时,严重破坏和完全破坏分别被低估13%~68%和15%~59%。

桥梁预拱度对行车舒适性的影响及桥面线形调整

为研究成桥预拱度对连续刚构桥行车舒适性的影响,以多座主跨跨径为110~200 m的连续刚构桥为研究对象,首先,采用滤波白噪声法建立桥面时域模型,并与按余弦曲线设置的成桥线形叠加模拟成桥后的桥面不平度;其次,采用MATLAB/Simlink搭建车辆-桥面系统模型,以加速度均方根值(RMS)作为桥梁边跨、中跨桥面的行车舒适性评价指标,以最大瞬态振动值(MTVV)作为边跨峰值处短时内的行车舒适性评价指标;最后,分析采取经验法按照余弦曲线设置成桥预拱度的桥梁其跨径和设计时速对边、中跨RMS值的影响,以及成桥预拱度取值对边跨3L/8处MTVV值的影响。研究结果表明:在边跨、中跨处RMS值均小于0.315 m/s^(2),说明采取经验法按照余弦曲线设置成桥预拱度并不影响中跨处的行车舒适性;在边跨3L/8处MTVV值在短时内存在大于0.345 m/s^(2)的情况,说明在边跨峰值处短时内会产生一定不舒适感。提出了一种基于桥面铺装层施工优化边跨3L/8处和边墩墩顶桥面线形的方法,改善了边跨的行车舒适性。