• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.297-303
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• 2018

Seismic behavior of Osmanli and Senyuva stone bridges was addressed in this study. A combination of FEM and DEM was employed for getting closer to the real behavior of the bridge. One of the unique features of this combinational method is simulation close to reality. Modal numerical analysis was also used to verify the modeling. At the end of earthquake, a part of two lateral walls of Osmanli bridge was broken. The growth of arch cracks also increased during the earthquake. A part of right-hand wall of Senyuva Bridge was destructed during the earthquake. The left-hand side of the bridge wall was damaged during the earthquake but was not destructed.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제5권2_3_4호
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• pp.101-114
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• 2002

Both a Finite Volume and a Discrete Vortex technique to solve the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations have been employed to study the air flow around long-span bridge decks. The implementation and calibration of both methods is described alongside a quasi-3D extension added to the DVM solver. Applications to the wind engineering of bridge decks include flow simulations at different angles of attack, calculation of aerodynamic derivatives and fluid-structure interaction analyses. These are being presented and their specific features described. If a numerical method shall be employed in a practical design environment, it is judged not only by its accuracy but also by factors like versatility, computational cost and ease of use. Conclusions are drawn from the analyses to address the question of whether computer simulations can be practical design tools for the wind engineering of bridge decks.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.463-477
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• 2014

In this paper, seismic performance of Kozyatagi Bridge is evaluated by employing nonlinear elasto-plastic dynamic analysis and the deformation-based performance. The time-history records of the 1999 Izmit, 1971 San Fernando and 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes are modified by adopting a probability of exceedance of 2% in 50 years corresponding to the return period of 2475 years. The analysis is carried out for three different bearing cases which are movable bearings, restrained bearings, and movable bearings with viscous fluid dampers in the radial direction. The analysis results show that the bridge can be retrofitted with viscous fluid dampers. In this case the reinforced concrete piers need not be strengthened by any jacketing techniques in order to preserve the original architectural appearance of the bridge. The retrofitting design of the bridge with viscous fluid dampers is also presented in detail.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제66권4호
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• pp.515-529
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• 2018

Multiple hazards (multihazard) conditions may cause significant risk to structures that are originally designed for individual hazard scenarios. Such a multihazard condition arises when an earthquake strikes to a bridge pre-exposed to scour at foundations due to flood events. This study estimates the impact spectrum of flood-induced scour on seismic vulnerability of bridges. Characteristic river-crossing highway bridges are formed based on the information obtained from bridge inventories. These bridges are analyzed under earthquake-only and the abovementioned multihazard conditions, and bridge fragility curves are developed at component and system levels. Research outcome shows that bridges having pile shafts as foundation elements are protected from any additional seismic vulnerability due to the presence of scour. However, occurrence of floods can increase seismic fragility of bridges at lower damage states due to the adverse impact of scour on bridge components at superstructure level. These findings facilitate bridge design under the stated multihazard condition.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.317-345
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• 2012

Cable-stayed bridges are often used in modern bridge engineering for connecting two geographical points of long distance. A special load case to cable-stayed bridges is earthquake, which can produce horizontal as well as vertical movements on the pylons of the bridge. These movements may be transient in nature, i.e., only resulting in the transient vibration of the bridge, but causing no damage consequences. In some extreme cases, they may cause permanent subsidence on one or more pylons of the bridge. In this paper, the effect of pylons' subsidence on the dynamic deformations of the bridge and on the cables' strength is thoroughly studied. Conclusions useful to the design of cable-stayed bridges will be drawn from the numerical study.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.501-516
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• 2014

The rocking pier system (RPS) allows the columns to rock on beam or foundation surfaces during the attacks of a strong earthquake. Literatures have proved that seismic energy dissipated by the RPS through the column impact is limited. To enhance the energy dissipation capacity of a RPS bridge substructure, frictional hinge dampers (FHDs) were installed and evaluated by shaking table tests. The supplemental FHDs consist of two brass plates sandwiched by three steel plates. The strategy of self-centering design is to isolate the seismic energy by RPS at the columns and then dissipate the energy by FHDs at the bridge deck. Component tests of FHD were first conducted to verify the friction coefficient and dynamic characteristic of the FHDs. In total, 32 shaking table tests were conducted to investigate parameters such as wave forms of the earthquake (El Centro 1940 and Kobe 1995) and normal forces applied on the friction dampers. An analytical model was also proposed to compare with the tested damping of the bridge sub-structure with or without FHDs.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.559-576
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• 2016

This study is intended to propose a precast bridge deck system, which has ribbed loop joints between the decks and lacks internal tendons to improve the workability of existing precast deck system. A composite bridge deck specimen was fabricated using the proposed precast deck system, and static and fatigue load tests were conducted to evaluate the structural behavior and the crack pattern of the deck. Leakage test of the deck joints was also conducted and finite element analysis was carried out to compare with the test results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.397-413
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• 2009

Composite bridges offer many advantages compared to current steel and aluminum bridges. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive on-going research program to develop innovative Diagnostic Prognostic System (DPS) and a structural evaluation of Composite Army Bridge (CAB) system. The DPS is founded on three technologies: optical fiber sensing, remote data transmission, and virtual testing. In developing this system, both laboratory and virtual test were used in different damage scenarios. Health monitoring with DPS entailed comparing live strain data to archived strained data in various bridge locations. For field repairs, a family of composite chords was subjected to simple ramp loads in search of ultimate strength. As such, composite bridge specimens showcased their strengths, heralded the viability of virtual testing, highlighted the efficacy of field repair, and confirmed the merits of health monitoring.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.427-442
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• 2009

In this paper, the acceptability of system identification results for health monitoring of instrumented bridges is addressed. This is conducted by comparing the confidence intervals of identified modal parameters for a bridge in California, namely Truckee I80/Truckee river bridge, with the change of these parameters caused by several damage scenarios. A challenge to the accuracy of the identified modal parameters involves consequences regarding the damage detection and health monitoring, as some of the identified modal information is essentially not useable for acquiring a reliable damage diagnosis of the bridge system. Use of strong motion data has limitations that should not be ignored. The results and conclusions underline these limitations while presenting the opportunities offered by system identification using strong motion data for better understanding and monitoring the health of bridge systems.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.369-379
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• 2009

The sudden collapse of Interstate 35 Bridge in Minneapolis gave a wake-up call to US municipalities to re-evaluate aging bridges. In this situation, structural health monitoring (SHM) technology can provide the essential help needed for monitoring and maintaining the nation's infrastructure. Monitoring long span bridges such as cable-stayed bridges effectively requires the use of a large number of sensors. In this article, we introduce a probabilistic approach to identify optimal locations of sensors to enhance damage detection. Probability distribution functions are established using an artificial neural network trained using a priori knowledge of damage locations. The optimal number of sensors is identified using multi-objective optimization that simultaneously considers information entropy and sensor cost-objective functions. Luling Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge over the Mississippi River, is selected as a case study to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.