A Review of the Key Points in the Design of Small-Radius Curved Ramp Bridges

This article explores the fundamentals of small-radius curved ramp bridges.It covers the selection of box girder spans,support methods,and forms,along with design optimization techniques for this type of bridge structure.The purpose of this paper is to provide robust support for enhancing the design quality of these bridges and ensuring their efficacy in real-world applications.

Three-dimensional nonlinear flutter analysis of long-span suspension bridges during erection

In this work, the aerodynamic stability of the Yichang Suspension Bridge over Yangtze River during erection was determined by three dimensional nonlinear flutter analysis, in which the nonlinearities of structural dynamic characteristics and aeroelastic forces caused by large deformation are fully considered. An interesting result obtained was that the bridge was more stable when the stiffening girders were erected in a non symmetrical manner as opposed to the traditional symmetrical erection schedule. It was also found that the severe decrease in the aerodynamic stability was due to the nonlinear effects. Therefore, the nonlinear factors should be considered accurately in aerodynamic stability analysis of long span suspension bridges during erection.

A method for calculating strand tension in the anchor span of a suspension bridge considering the rotation of a splay saddle

This paper reports a method for strand tension in anchor spans considering rotation.A kind of co-moved coordinate system,a saddle local coordinate system,was set up.This system implemented the rotation of the splay saddle through the rotation of the coordinate system,and all calculations proceeded in this coordinate system.Considering the rotation of the anchoring surface by the rotation of the local coordinate system of the anchoring surface,the anchorage point coordinates of strands were transformed to the local sadle coordinate system.There was a two-layer iteration adopted in the calculation.In the inner iteration,the cable force at the end of the vertical bend was taken as the variable,and the ordinate of the anchorage point was taken as the target value.In the outer iteration,the vertical tangential angle at the end of the vertical bend was taken as the variable,and the ordinate of the anchorage point was taken as the target value.The method carried out the rotation of the splay saddle and anchor surface and was simple,convenient and without approximation.The effect of rotation was considered precisely;it showed stability during the process of two-layer iteration,powerful adaptation and higher efficiency and had been successfully applied in the construction control of the Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge,the world's first kilometer-level combined highway and railway suspension bridge.

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.

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.

Analytical investigation of bidirectional ductile diaphragms in multi-span bridges

In the AASHTO Guide Specifications for Seismic Bridge Design Provisions,ductile diaphragms are identified as Permissible Earthquake-Resisting Elements（EREs）,designed to help resist seismic loads applied in the transverse direction of bridges.When adding longitudinal ductile diaphragms,a bidirectional ductile diaphragm system is created that can address seismic excitations acting along both the bridge’s longitudinal and transverse axes.This paper investigates bidirectional ductile diaphragms with Buckling Restrained Braces（BRBs）in straight multi-span bridge with simply supported floating spans.The flexibility of the substructures in the transverse and longitudinal direction of the bridge is considered.Design procedures for the bidirectional ductile diaphragms are first proposed.An analytical model of the example bridge with bidirectional ductile diaphragms,designed based on the proposed methodology,is then built in SAP2000.Pushover and nonlinear time history analyses are performed on the bridge model,and corresponding results are presented.The effect of changing the longitudinal stiffness of the bidirectional ductile diaphragms in the end spans connecting to the abutment is also investigated,in order to better understand the impact on the bridge’s dynamic performance.

Long Term Application of a Vehicle-Based Health Monitoring System to Short and Medium Span Bridges and Damage Detection Sensitivity

Largest portion of the bridge stock in almost any country and bridge owning organisation consists on ordinary bridges that has short or medium spans and are now deteriorating due to aging, etc. Therefore, it is becoming an important social concern to develop and put to practical use simple and efficient health monitoring systems for existing short and medium span (10 - 30 m) bridges. In this paper, one practical solution to the problem for condition assessment of short and medium span bridges was discussed. A vehicle-based measurement with a public bus as part of a public transit system (called “Bus monitoring system”) has been developed to be capable of detecting damage that may affect the structural safety of a bridge from long term vibration measurement data collected while the vehicle (bus) crossed the target bridges. This paper systematically describes how the system has been developed. The bus monitoring system aims to detect the transition from the damage acceleration period, in which the structural safety of an aged bridge declines sharply, to the deterioration period by continually monitoring the bridge of interest. To evaluate the practicality of the newly developed bus monitoring system, it has been field-tested over a period of about four years by using an in-service fixed-route bus operating on a bus route in the city of Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The verification results thus obtained are also described in this paper. This study also evaluates the sensitivity of “characteristic deflection”, which is a bridge (health) condition indicator used by the bus monitoring system, in damage detection. Sensitivity of “characteristic deflection” is verified by introducing artificial damage into a bridge that has ended its service life and is awaiting removal. As the results, it will be able to make a rational long-term health monitoring system for existing short and mediumspan bridges, and then the system helps bridge administrators to establish the rational maintenance strategies.

Seismic performance evaluation for super-long span cable-stayed bridges

Based on the capacity/demand(C/D)analysis of bridge components,and life cycle and performance based seismic design principles,a practical approach is developed for the seismic performance evaluation of super-long span cable-stayed bridges.According to the approach,the seismic performance evaluation of the Sutong Bridge,which is a cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 1 088 m,is completed,and the practicality of the approach is validated.The earthquake resistance level for super-long span cable-stayed bridges is discussed,including the earthquake level,its corresponding structural performance and check indices.And a set of formula for capacity/demand ratio calculation of bridge components is proposed.

Numerical simulation of aerodynamic derivatives and critical wind speed for long-span bridges based on simplified steady wind field

Combining the computational fluid dynamics-based numerical simulation with the forced vibration technique for extraction of aerodynamic derivatives, an approach for calculating the aerodynamic derivatives and the critical flutter wind speed for long-span bridges is presented in this paper. The RNG k-ε turbulent model is introduced to establish the governing equations, including the continuity equation and the Navier-Stokes equations, for solving the wind flow field around a two-dimensional bridge section. To illustrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach, a simple application to the Hume Bridge in China is provided, and the numerical results show that the aerodynamic derivatives and the critical flutter wind speed obtained agree well with the wind tunnel test results.

Wind-induced vibration control of bridges using liquid column damper

The potential application of tuned liquid column damper (TLCD) for suppressing wind-induced vibration of long span bridges is explored in this paper.By installing the TLCD in the bridge deck,a mathematical model for the bridge-TLCD system is established.The governing equations of the system are developed by considering all three displacement components of the deck in vertical,lateral,and torsional vibrations,in which the interactions between the bridge deck,the TLCD,the aeroelastic forces,and the aerodynamic forces are fully reflected.Both buffeting and flutter analyses are carried out.The buffeting analysis is performed through random vibration approach,and a critical flutter condition is identified from flutter analysis.A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the control effectiveness of the damper and it is shown that the TLCD can be an effective device for suppressing wind-induced vibration of long span bridges,either for reducing the buffeting response or increasing the critical flutter wind velocity of the bridge.

Acomparative study between China and U.S.on seismic design philosophy and practice of a long span arch bridge

This paper presents the first of a series of case studies on the seismic design of long span bridges （cable-stayed bridges, suspension bridges and arch bridges） under a cooperative research project on seismic behavior and design of highway bridges between the State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, University at Buffalo. The objective of this series of case studies is to examine the differences and similarities on the seismic design practice of long span bridges in China and the U.S., to identify research needs and to develop design guidelines beneficial to bridge engineers in both countries. Unlike short to medium span bridges, long span bridges are not included in most seismic design specifications, mainly because they are location dependent and structurally unique. In this paper, an available model of a steel tied half through arch bridge with a main span of 550m in China is discussed. Analysis is focused on comparisons of the seismic responses due to different ground motions. Seismic design criteria and seismic performance requirements for long span bridges in both countries were first introduced and compared, and then three near field earthquake records with large vertical components were selected as the excitations to examine the seismic behavior and seismic vulnerability of the bridge. Results show that （1） the selected near field ground motions cause larger responses to key components （critical sections） of the bridge （such as arch rib ends） with a maximum increase of more than twice those caused by the site specific ground motions; （2） piers, longitudinal girders and arch crowns are more vulnerable to vertical motions, especially their axial forces; and （3） large vertical components of near field ground motions may not significantly affect the bridge＇s internal forces provided that their peak acceleration spectra ordinates only appear at periods of less than 0.2s. However, they may have more influence on the longitudinal displacements of sliding bearings due to their large displacement spectra ordinates at the fundamental period of the bridge.

Improved methods for decreasing stresses of concrete slab of large-span through tied-arch composite bridge

Mechanical behavior of concrete slab of large-span through tied-arch composite bridge was investigated by finite element analysis (FEA). Improved methods to decrease concrete stresses were discussed based on comparisons of different deck schemes, construction sequences and measures, and ratios of reinforcement. The results show that the mechanical behavior of concrete slab gets worse with the increase of composite regions between steel beams and concrete slab. The deck scheme with the minimum composite region is recommended on condition that both strength and stiffness of the bridge meet design demands under service loads. Adopting in-situ-place construction method, concrete is suggested to be cast after removing the full-supported frameworks under the bridge. Thus, the axial tensile force of concrete slab caused by the first stage dead load is eliminated. Preloading the bridge before concrete casting and removing the load after the concrete reaching its design strength, the stresses of concrete slab caused by the second stage dead load and live load are further reduced or even eliminated. At last, with a high ratio of reinforcement more than 3%, the concrete stresses decrease obviously.

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.

Effect of vehicle weight on natural frequencies of bridges measured from traffic-induced vibration

Recently,ambient vibration test(AVT)is widely used tu estimate dynamic characteristics of large civil struc- tures.Dynamic characteristics ean be affected by various envirnnmental factors such as humidity,intensity of wind,and temperature.Besides these environmental conditions,tire mass of vehicles may change the measured valnes when traffic-in- duced vibration is used as a source of AVT tor bridges.The effect of vehicle mass on dynamic characteristics is investigated through traffic-induced vibration tests on three bridges;(1)three-span suspension bridge(128m+404m+128m),(2) five-span continuous steel box girder bridge(59m+3@ 95m+59m),(3)simply supported plate girder bridge(46m). Acceleration histories of each measurement location under normal traffic are recorded for 30 minutes at field.These recor- ded histories are divided into individual vibrations and are combined into two groups aceording to the level of vibration;one by heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses and the other by light vehicles such as passenger cars.Separate processing of the two groups of signals shows that,for the middle and long-span bridges,the difference can be hardly detected,but,for the short span bridges whose mass is relatively small,the measured natural frequencies can change up to 5.4%.

Assistant pullback technique for main span closure of Sutong Bridge

Sutong Bridge is a cable-stayed steel box girder bridge with a main span of 1 088 m. The erection of upper structure adopts geometry control method and requires no change to the unit＇ s size and the structure＇ s none-stress geometry. Before main span closure, the cantilever of girder reaches 540.8 m, the structure state is noticeably influenced by extemal circumstances, the main span closure face great difficulty. By abstracting the advantage of the pullback method abroad and the domestic temperature-cutting method, a new assistant pullback method have put forward and bring into practice actually. In this paper, the analysis key point of practice conditions, key parameter of practice, main measures of the method and the performance is introduced.

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.

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.

Networked collaborative pseudo-dynamic testing of a multi-span bridge based on NetSLab

Modem dynamic tests such as networked collaborative pseudo-dynamic testing （PDT） provide new tools to study the dynamic performance of large and complex structures. In this paper, several networked collaborative PDT systems established in China and abroad are introduced, including a detailed description of the first networked collaborative platform that involved the construction of a standardized demonstration procedure for networked collaborative PDT. The example is a multi-span bridge with RC piers retrofitted by FRP, and a networked structural laboratory （NetSLab） platform is used to link distributed laboratories located at several universities together. Substructure technology is also used in the testing. The characteristics, resource sharing and collaborative work of NetSLab are described, and the results illustrate that use of the NetSLab is feasible for studying the dynamic performance of multi-span bridge structures.

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.

Non-stationary Buffeting Response Analysis of Long Span Suspension Bridge Under Strong Wind Loading

The non-stationary buffeting response of long span suspension bridge in time domain under strong wind loading is computed. Modeling method for generating non-stationary fluctuating winds with probabilistic model for non-stationary strong wind fields is first presented. Non-stationary wind forces induced by strong winds on bridge deck and tower are then given a brief introduction. Finally,Non-stationary buffeting response of Pulite Bridge in China,a long span suspension bridge,is computed by using ANSYS software under four working conditions with different combination of time-varying mean wind and time-varying variance. The case study further confirms that it is necessity of considering non-stationary buffeting response for long span suspension bridge under strong wind loading,rather than only stationary buffeting response.