Aerodynamic stability of cable-stayed-suspension hybrid bridges

Three-dimensional nonlinear aerodynamic stability analysis was applied to study the aerodynamic stability of a cable-stayed-suspension (CSS) hybrid bridge with main span of 1400 meters, and the effects of some design parameters (such as the cable sag, length of suspension portion, cable plane arrangement, subsidiary piers in side spans, the deck form, etc.) on the aerodynamic stability of the bridge are analytically investigated. The key design parameters, which significantly influence the aerodynamic stability of CSS hybrid bridges, are pointed out, and based on the wind stability the favorable structural system of CSS hybrid bridges is discussed.

Optimization of Dead Load State in Earth-Anchored Cable-Stayed Bridges

In order to determine the reasonable completed dead load state in earth-anchored cable-stayed bridges,a practical method is proposed. The method is based on the rigidly supported continuous beam method and the feasible zone method,emphasizing on the mutual effect between the self-anchored structural parts and the earth-anchored ones. Three cable-stayed bridge models are designed with the main spans of 1 400 m,including a partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge,a cable-stayed-suspension bridge and a fully selfanchored cable-stayed bridge,in which the C50 concrete and Q345 steel are adopted. The partially earthanchored cable-stayed bridge and the cable-stayed-suspension bridge secure lower compressive force in the girder than the fully self-anchored cable-stayed bridge by 25 percent at least. The same is for the material consumption of the whole bridge. Furthermore,the anchor volume is more than 20% lower in the partially earthanchored cable-stayed bridge than that in the cable-stayed-suspension bridge. Consequently,the practical span of cable-stayed bridges can be accordingly extended.

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.

Seismic performance evaluation of large-span offshore cable-stayed bridges under non-uniform earthquake excitations including strain rate effect

This paper presents a novel and precise seismic performance evaluation method for large-span offshore cable-stayed(LSOCS)bridge by considering the strain rate effect of RC materials and the spatial variation effect of seafloor seismic motions. Threedimensional finite element(FE) model of a LSOCS bridge located in the southeast coast of China is constructed in the ABAQUS platform. The non-uniform ground motions at the offshore site beneath the bridge are stochastically simulated and used as seismic inputs. Moreover, a subroutine for considering the rate-dependent properties of RC materials in a fiber-based beamcolumn element model is developed to account for the strain rate effect of RC materials in the nonlinear time-history analysis.The numerical results indicate that seismic responses and fragilities of the LSOCS bridge are both considerably affected by the non-uniform seafloor seismic motions and strain rate effect. The seismic performance evaluation approach presented in this paper can provide vital support for earthquake resistant design of LSOCS bridges.