• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.457-468
• /
• 2017

When studying the vibration of a suspension bridge based on the traffic-bridge coupled system, most researchers ignored the contribution of the pavement response. For example, the pavement was simplified as a rigid base and the deformation of pavement was ignored. However, the action of deck pavement on the vibration of vehicles or bridges should not be neglected. This study is mainly focused on establishing a new methodology fully considering the effects of bridge deck pavement, probabilistic traffic flows, and varied road roughness conditions. The bridge deck pavement was modeled as a boundless Euler-Bernoulli beam supported on the Kelvin model; the typical traffic flows were simulated by the improved Cellular Automaton (CA) traffic flow model; and the traffic-pavement-bridge coupled equations were established by combining the equations of motion of the vehicles, pavement, and bridge using the displacement and interaction force relationship at the contact locations. The numerical studies show that the proposed method can more rationally simulate the effect of the pavement on the vibrations of bridge and vehicles.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.161-175
• /
• 2018

In this study, in-situ dynamic tests of the world's longest steel box tied-arch bridge over the Yangtze River, China, are reported. The double deck bridge supports highway and monorail systems at upper and lower levels, respectively. Strain, displacement, and acceleration responses were measured and used to investigate the vibration characteristics of the bridge when excited by running trains and/or trucks at a speed of 5-60 km/h, train braking, and truck bouncing. Impact factors were correlated with the running speed of trains and trucks. A three-dimensional finite element model of the coupled monorail-train-bridge vibration system accounting for track irregularities was established to understand the system behavior and validated by the experimental results. Truck bouncing was the dominant impact factor on bridge responses. The running speed of vehicles determined the riding comfort of traveling trains.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.145-167
• /
• 2014

Wind-vehicle-bridge (WVB) interaction can be regarded as a coupled vibration system. Aerodynamic forces and moment on vehicles and bridge decks play an important role in the vibration analysis of the coupled WVB system. High-speed vehicle motion has certain effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of a vehicle-bridge system under crosswinds, but it is not taken into account in most previous studies. In this study, a new testing system with a moving vehicle model was developed to directly measure the aerodynamic forces and moment on the vehicle and bridge deck when the vehicle model moved on the bridge deck under crosswinds in a large wind tunnel. The testing system, with a total length of 18.0 m, consisted of three main parts: vehicle-bridge model system, motion system and signal measuring system. The wind speed, vehicle speed, test objects and relative position of the vehicle to the bridge deck could be easily altered for different test cases. The aerodynamic forces and moment on the moving vehicle and bridge deck were measured utilizing the new testing system. The effects of the vehicle speed, wind yaw angle, rail track position and vehicle type on the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle and bridge deck were investigated. In addition, a data processing method was proposed according to the characteristics of the dynamic testing signals to determine the variations of aerodynamic forces and moment on the moving vehicle and bridge deck. Three-car and single-car models were employed as the moving rail vehicle model and road vehicle model, respectively. The results indicate that the drag and lift coefficients of the vehicle tend to increase with the increase of the vehicle speed and the decrease of the resultant wind yaw angle and that the vehicle speed has more significant effect on the aerodynamic coefficients of the single-car model than on those of the three-car model. This study also reveals that the aerodynamic coefficients of the vehicle and bridge deck are strongly influenced by the rail track positions, while the aerodynamic coefficients of the bridge deck are insensitive to the vehicle speed or resultant wind yaw angle.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.306-320
• /
• 2010

Modern ultra-large container carriers can be exposed to the unprecedented springing excitation from ocean waves due to their relatively low torsional rigidity. Large deck opening on the deck of container carriers tends to cause warping distortion of hull structure under wave-induced excitation, eventually leading to the higher chance of resonance vibration between its torsional response and incoming waves. To handle this problem, a higher-order B-spline Rankine panel method and Vlasov-beam FE model was directly coupled in the time domain, and the coupled equation was solved by using an implicit iterative method. In order to capture the complicated behavior of thin-walled open section girder, a sophisticated beam-based finite element model was developed, which takes into account warping distortion and shear-on-wall effect. Then, the developed beam model was directly coupled with the time-domain Rankine panel method for hydrodynamic problem by using the fixed-point iteration method. The developed computational scheme was validated through the comparison with the frequency-domain solution on the container carrier model in linear springing regime.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.287-306
• /
• 2017

In the present study, a new assessment simulation of ride safety based on a new wind-traffic-pavement-bridge coupled vibration system is developed considering stochastic characteristics of traffic flow and bridge surface. Compared to existing simulation models, the new assessment simulation focuses on introducing the more realistic three-dimensional vehicle model, stochastic characteristics of traffic, vehicle accident criteria, and bridge surface conditions. A three-dimensional vehicle model with 24 degrees-of-freedoms (DOFs) is presented. A cellular automaton (CA) model and the surface roughness are introduced. The bridge deck pavement is modeled as a boundless Euler-Bernoulli beam supported on the Kelvin model. The wind-traffic-pavement-bridge coupled equations are established by combining the equations of both the vehicles in traffic, pavement, and bridge using the displacement and interaction force relationship at the patch contact. The numerical simulation shows that the proposed method can simulate rationally useful assessment and prevention information for traffic, and define appropriate safe driving speed limits for vulnerable vehicles under normal traffic and bridge surface conditions.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.163-175
• /
• 2019

Multispan suspension bridges make a good alternative to single-span ones if the crossed strait or river width exceeds 2-3 km. However, multispan three-tower suspension bridges are found to be very sensitive to the wind load due to the lack of effective longitudinal constraint at their central tower. Moreover, at certain critical wind speed values, the aerostatic instability with sharply deteriorating dynamic characteristics may occur with catastrophic consequences. An attempt of an in-depth study on the aerostatic stability mode and damage mechanism of three-tower suspension bridges is made in this paper based on the assessment of strain energy and dynamic characteristics of three particular three-tower suspension bridges in China under different wind speeds and their further integration into the aerostatic stability analysis. The results obtained on the three bridges under study strongly suggest that their aerostatic instability mode is controlled by the coupled action of the anti-symmetric torsion and vertical bending of the two main-spans' deck, together with the longitudinal bending of the towers, which can be regarded as the first-order torsion vibration mode coupled with the first-order vertical bending vibration mode. The growth rates of the torsional and vertical bending strain energy of the deck after the aerostatic instability are higher than those of the lateral bending. The bending and torsion frequencies decrease rapidly when the wind speed approaches the critical value, while the frequencies of the anti-symmetric vibration modes drop more sharply than those of the symmetric ones. The obtained dependences between the critical wind speed, strain energy, and dynamic characteristics of the bridge components under the aerostatic instability modes are considered instrumental in strength and integrity calculation of three-tower suspension bridges.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.505-520
• /
• 2002

Based on the modal coordinates of the structure, a finite-element and CQC (complete quadratic combination) method for analyzing the coupled buffeting response of long-span bridges is presented. The formulation of nodal equivalent aerodynamic buffeting forces is derived based on a reasonable assumption. The power spectral density and variance of nodal displacements and elemental internal forces of the bridge structure are computed using the finite-element method and the random vibration theory. The method presented is very efficient and can consider the arbitrary spectrum and spatial coherence of natural winds and the multimode and intermode effects on the buffeting responses of bridge structures. A coupled buffeting analysis of the Jiangyin Yangtse River Suspension Bridge with 1385 in main span is performed as an example. The results analyzed show that the multimode and intermode effects on the buffeting response of the bridge deck are quite remarkable.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.135-144
• /
• 1994

The coupled vibration of the deck house and stern structure, which was experienced on a 12,900 TDW Ro/Ro ship, has been studied. It was a large-scale vibration problem where the structure resonates with the propeller excitation at the first blade passing frequency. After discussing the structural characteristics of the ship, the vibration characteristics measured ducting the sea-trial are presented and compared with the analysis results which are based on a 3 dimensional finite element(FE) model. The FE model is also used to verify various reinforcement options and to predict their effectiveness. A substantial reduction or the vibration was confirmed during the sea-trial after installing a few selected reinforcement. The forced vibration response, which is computed using the FE model, is compared with the measured data. The change of the vibration characteristics according to loading conditions is also studied.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.523-538
• /
• 2017

A series of field vibration tests are conducted on the Runyang Suspension Bridge during both the construction and operational stages. The purpose of this study is devoted to the analysis of the dynamic characteristics of the suspension tower. After the tower was erected, an array of accelerometers was deployed to study the evolution of its modal parameters during the construction process. Dynamic tests were first performed under the freestanding tower condition and then under the tower-cable condition after the superstructure was installed. Based on the identified modal parameters, the effect of the pile-soil-structure interaction on dynamic characteristics of the suspension tower is investigated. Moreover, the stiffness of the pile foundation is successfully identified using a probabilistic finite model updating method. Furthermore, challenges of identifying the dynamic properties of the tower from the coupled responses of the tower-cable system are discussed in detail. It's found that compared with the identified results from the freestanding tower, the longitudinal and torsional natural frequencies of the tower in the tower-cable system have changed significantly, while the lateral mode frequencies change slightly. The identified modal results from measurements by the structural health monitoring system further confirmed that the vibrations of the bridge subsystems (i.e., the tower, the suspended deck and the main cable) are strongly coupled with one another.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.275-292
• /
• 2015

The presence of traffic on a slender long-span bridge deck will modify the cross-section profile of the bridge, which may influence the flutter derivatives and in turn, the critical flutter wind velocity of the bridge. Studies on the influence of vehicles on the flutter derivatives and the critical flutter wind velocity of bridges are rather rare as compared to the investigations on the coupled buffeting vibration of the wind-vehicle-bridge system. A typical streamlined cross-section for long-span bridges is adopted for both experimental and analytical studies. The scaled bridge section model with vehicle models distributed on the bridge deck considering different traffic flow scenarios has been tested in the wind tunnel. The flutter derivatives of the modified bridge cross section have been identified using forced vibration method and the results suggest that the influence of vehicles on the flutter derivatives of the typical streamlined cross-section cannot be ignored. Based on the identified flutter derivatives, the influence of vehicles on the flutter stability of the bridge is investigated. The results show that the effect of vehicles on the flutter wind velocity is obvious.