• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.419-439
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• 2014

In this study, the structural performance of a seven span masonry arch bridge was evaluated. Investigations were performed on Aspendos (Belkis) Masonry Arch Bridge which was located on road of Aspendos Acropolis City in Antalya, Turkey. The old bridge was constructed in the early of fourth century AD, but it was exposed to the earthquakes in this region and the overloading by the river water. The old bridge was severely damaged and collapsed by probably an earthquake many years ago and a new bridge was then reconstructed on the remains of this old bridge by Seljuk in the 13th century. The bridge has also been affected from overflowing especially in the spring of each year, so some protective measures should be taken for this monumental bridge. Therefore, the structural performance under these loading has to be known. For this purpose, an initial finite element model was developed for the bridge and it was calibrated according to ambient vibration test results. After that, it was analyzed for different load cases such as dead, live, earthquake and overflow. Three load combinations were taken into account by deriving from these load cases. The displacements and the stresses for these combination cases were attained and compared with each other. The structural performance of Aspendos Masonry Arch Bridge was determined by considering the demand-capacity ratio for the tensile stress of the mortar used in Aspendos Masonry Arch Bridge. After these investigations, some concluding remarks and offers were presented at the end of this study.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.683-701
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• 2016

Safety is the prime concern for a high-speed railway bridge, especially when it is subjected to a collision. In this paper, an analysis framework for the dynamic responses of train-bridge systems under collision load is established. A multi-body dynamics model is employed to represent the moving vehicle, the modal decomposition method is adopted to describe the bridge structure, and the time history of a collision load is used as the external load on the train-bridge system. A (180+216+180) m continuous steel trussed-arch bridge is considered as an illustrative case study. With the vessel collision acting on the pier, the displacements and accelerations at the pier-top and the mid-span of the bridge are calculated when a CRH2 high-speed train running through the bridge, and the influence of bridge vibration on the running safety indices of the train, including derailment factors, offload factors and lateral wheel/rail forces, are analyzed. The results demonstrate that under the vessel collision load, the dynamic responses of the bridge are greatly enlarged, threatening the running safety of high-speed train on the bridge, which is affected by both the collision intensity and the train speed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.533-544
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• 2020

Effective bridge maintenance reduces bridge operation costs and extends its service life. The possibility of storing bridge life-cycle data in a 3D parametric model of the bridge through Bridge Information Modeling (BrIM) provides new opportunities to enhance current practices of bridge maintenance management. This study develops a Decision Support System (DSS), namely BrDSS, which employs BrIM and an efficient optimization model for bridge maintenance planning. The BrIM model in BrDSS extracts basic data of elements required for the optimization process and visualizes the inspection data and the optimization results to the user to help in decision makings. In the optimization module of the DSS, the specifically formulated Genetic Algorithm (GA) eliminates the chances of producing infeasible solutions for faster convergence. The practicality of the presented DSS was explored by utilizing the DSS in the maintenance planning of a bridge under operation in the southwest of Iran.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.361-372
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• 2024

Reinforced concrete (RC) bridge columns are typically designated as the primary source of energy dissipation for a bridge structure during an earthquake. Therefore, seismic repair of RC bridge columns has been studied extensively during the past several decades. On the other hand, few studies have been conducted to evaluate how repaired column members influence the system-level response of an RC bridge structure in subsequent earthquakes. In this study, a numerical model was established to simulate the response of two large-scale RC columns, repaired using different techniques, reported in the literature. The columns were implemented into a prototype bridge model that was subjected to earthquake loading. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) and fragility analysis were conducted on numerical bridge models to evaluate the efficacy of the repairs and the post-repair seismic performance of the prototype bridge that included one or more repaired columns in various locations. For the prototype bridge herein modeled, the results showed that a confinement-enhanced oriented repair would not affect the seismic behavior of the prototype bridge. Increasing the strength of the longitudinal reinforcement could effectively reduce the drift of the prototype bridge in subsequent earthquakes. A full repair configuration for the columns was the most effective method for enhancing the seismic performance of the prototype bridge. To obtain a positive effect on seismic performance, a minimum of two repaired columns was required.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.703-718
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• 2016

Masonry arch bridges present a large segment of Iranian railway bridge stock. The ever increasing trend in traffic requires constant health monitoring of such structures to determine their load carrying capacity and life expectancy. In this respect, the performance of one of the oldest masonry arch bridges of Iranian railway network is assessed through field tests. Having a total of 11 sensors mounted on the bridge, dynamic tests are carried out on the bridge to study the response of bridge to test train, which is consist of two 6-axle locomotives and two 4-axle freight wagons. Finite element model of the bridge is developed and calibrated by comparing experimental and analytical mid-span deflection, and verified by comparing experimental and analytical natural frequencies. Analytical model is then used to assess the possibility of increasing the allowable axle load of the bridge to 25 tons. Fatigue life expectancy of the bridge is also assessed in permissible limit state. Results of F.E. model suggest an adequacy factor of 3.57 for an axle load of 25 tons. Remaining fatigue life of Veresk is also calculated and shown that a 0.2% decrease will be experienced, if the axle load is increased from 20 tons to 25 tons.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.389-403
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• 2010

Based on the Model Coupled Method (MCM), a case study has been carried out on a Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) tied arch bridge to investigate the vibration problem. The mathematical model assumed a finite element representation of the bridge together with beam, shell, and link elements, and the vehicle simulation employed a three dimensional linear vehicle model with seven independent degrees-of-freedom. A well-known power spectral density of road pavement profiles defined the road surface roughness for Perfect, Good and Poor roads respectively. In virtue of a home-code program, the dynamic interaction between the bridge and vehicle model was simulated, and the dynamic amplification factors were computed for displacement and internal force. The impact effects of the vehicle on different bridge members and the influencing factors were studied. Meanwhile the acceleration responses of some of the components were analyzed in the frequency domain. From the results some valuable conclusions have been drawn.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.343-363
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• 2010

The present paper is concerned with vibrations of an elastic bridge loaded by a moving elastic beam of a finite length, which is an extension of the authors' previous study where the second beam was modeled as a semi-infinite beam. The second beam, which represents a train, moves with a constant speed along the bridge and is assumed to be connected to the bridge by the limiting case of a rigid interface such that the deflections of the bridge and the train are forced to be equal. The elastic stiffness and the mass of the train are taken into account. The differential equations are developed according to the Bernoulli-Euler theory and formulated in a non-dimensional form. A solution strategy is developed for the flexural vibrations, bending moments and shear forces in the bridge by means of symbolic computation. When the train travels across the bridge, concentrated forces and moments are found to take place at the front and back side of the train.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.595-614
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• 2016

By taking the Runyang Highway Bridge over the Yangtze River with 1490 m main span as example, structural response of the bridge under the horizontal and vertical seismic excitations is investigated by the response spectrum and time-history analysis of MIDAS/Civil software respectively, the seismic behavior and the influence of structural nonlinearity on the seismic response of the bridge are revealed. Considering the aspect of seismic performance, the suitability of employing the suspension bridge in super long-span bridges is investigated as compared to the cable-stayed bridge and cable-stayed-suspension hybrid bridge with the similar main span. Furthermore, the effects of structural parameters including the span arrangement, the cable sag to span ratio, the side to main span ratio, the girder height, the central buckle and the girder support system etc on the seismic performance of the bridge are investigated by the seismic response spectrum analysis, and the favorable earthquake-resistant structural system of suspension bridges is also discussed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.391-399
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• 2019

Residual deformation of high-speed railway bridge piers is cumulative under repeated earthquakes, and influences the safety and ride comfort of high-speed trains. This paper investigates the effects of the peak ground acceleration, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, and axial compression ratio on the cumulative deformation through finite element analysis. A simply-supported beam bridge pier model is established using nonlinear beam-column elements in OpenSees, and validated against a shaking table test. Repeated earthquakes were input in the model. The results show that the cumulative deformation of the bridge piers under repeated earthquakes increases with the peak ground acceleration and the axial compression ratio, and decreases with the longitudinal reinforcement ratio.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.61-68
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• 2017

Bridge decks are members that rapidly deteriorated due to various environmental factors such as heavy vehicle and deicing salt, etc. As the lifespan of bridges built in Korea increases, it is expected that the demand for replacing the deteriorated bridge decks will increase. In other countries, Accelerated Bridge Construction technology using precast decks is already actively being used as a countermeasure for replacement demand of deteriorated bridge decks. In this study, bridge decks deterioration models are proposed by collecting and analysing the condition index data of domestic bridge decks. Also, the future replacement demands of deteriorated bridge decks in terms of replacement time and replacement scale are predicted.