• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• 제21권5호
• /
• pp.549-559
• /
• 2018

The dynamic behaviors of the bridge structures have great effects on the comfortability and safety of running high-speed trains, which can also reflect the structural degradation. This paper aims to reveal the characteristics of the dynamic behaviors induced by train loadings for a combined highway and railway bridge. Monitoring-based analysis of the acceleration and dynamic displacement of the bridge girder is carried out. The effects of train loadings on the vertical acceleration of the bridge girder are analyzed; the spatial variability of the train-induced lateral girder displacement is studied; and statistical analysis has been performed for the daily extreme values of the train-induced girder deflections. It is revealed that there are great time and spatial variabilities for the acceleration induced by train loadings for the combined highway and railway cable-stayed bridge. The daily extreme values of the train-induced girder deflections can be well fitted by the general extreme value distribution.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• 제21권5호
• /
• pp.537-548
• /
• 2018

A tunnel deformation monitoring system is developed with the use of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technique, aiming at providing continuous monitoring of railway tunnel deformation in the long term, and early warning for the rail service maintainers and authorities to avoid catastrophic consequences when significant deformation occurs. Specifically, a set of FBG bending gauges with the ability of angle measurement and temperature compensation is designed and manufactured for the purpose of online monitoring of tunnel deformation. An overall profile of lateral tunnel displacement along the longitudinal direction can be obtained by implementing an array of the FBG bending gauges interconnected by rigid rods, in conjunction with a proper algorithm. The devised system is verified in laboratory experiments with a test setup enabling to imitate various patterns of tunnel deformation before the implementation of this system in an in-service high-speed railway (HSR) tunnel.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• 제31권3호
• /
• pp.255-267
• /
• 2020

A systematic set of low-speed wind tunnel experiments was performed at Re = 6.5×10⁴ and 1.1×10⁵ to study the mean wind loading experienced by surface-mounted finite-height square prisms for different aspect ratios, incidence angles, and boundary layer thicknesses. The aspect ratio of the prism was varied from AR = 1 to 11 in small increments and the incidence angle was changed from α = 0° to 45° in increments of 1°. Two different boundary layer thicknesses were used: a thin boundary layer with δ/D = 0.8 and a thick boundary layer with δ/D = 2.0-2.2. The mean drag and lift coefficients were strong functions of AR, α, and δ/D, while the Strouhal number was mostly influenced by α. The critical incidence angle, at which the prism experiences minimum drag, maximum lift, and highest vortex shedding frequency, increased with AR, converged to a value of α_c = 18° ± 2° once AR was sufficiently high, and was relatively insensitive to changes in δ/D. A local maximum value of mean drag coefficient was identified for higher-AR prisms at low α. The overall behaviour of the force coefficients and Strouhal number with AR suggests the possibility of three flow regimes.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제20권2호
• /
• pp.103-112
• /
• 2020

The dynamic response of crossing tunnels under heavy-haul train loads is still not fully understood. In this study, based on the case of a high-speed tunnel underneath an existing heavy-haul railway tunnel, a model experiment was performed to research the dynamic response characteristics of crossing tunnels. It is found that the under-crossing changes the dynamic response of the existing tunnel and surrounding rock. The acceleration response of the existing tunnel enhances, and the dynamic stress of rock mass between crossing tunnels decreases after the excavation. Both tunneling and the excitation of heavy-haul train loads stretch the tunnel base, and the maximum tensile strain is 18.35 µε in this model test. Then, the measured results were validated by numerical simulation. Also, a parametric study was performed to discuss the influence of the relative position between crossing tunnels and the advanced support on the dynamic behavior of the existing tunnel, where an amplifying coefficient of tunnel vibration was introduced to describe the change in acceleration due to tunneling. These results reveal the dynamic amplifying phenomenon of the existing tunnel during the new tunnel construction, which can be referred in the dynamic design of crossing tunnels.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• 제1권2호
• /
• pp.121-142
• /
• 2009

The paper deals with the applications of spectral finite element method to the dynamic analysis of framed foundations supporting high speed machines. Comparative performance of approximate dynamic stiffness methods formulated using static stiffness and lumped or consistent or average mass matrices with the exact spectral finite element for a three dimensional Euler-Bernoulli beam element is presented. The convergence of response computed using mode superposition method with the appropriate dynamic stiffness method as the number of modes increase is illustrated. Frequency proportional discretisation level required for mode superposition and approximate dynamic stiffness methods is outlined. It is reiterated that the results of exact dynamic stiffness method are invariant with reference to the discretisation level. The Eigen-frequencies of the system are evaluated using William-Wittrick algorithm and Sturm number generation in the $LDL^T$ decomposition of the real part of the dynamic stiffness matrix, as they cannot be explicitly evaluated. Major's method for dynamic analysis of machine supporting structures is modified and the plane frames are replaced with springs of exact dynamic stiffness and dynamically flexible longitudinal frames. Results of the analysis are compared with exact values. The possible simplifications that could be introduced for a typical machine induced excitation on a framed structure are illustrated and the developed program is modified to account for dynamic constraint equations with a master slave degree of freedom (DOF) option.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• 제5권2호
• /
• pp.193-207
• /
• 2009

A framework for structural health monitoring (SHM) systems is presented utilizing a recent 3.5 generation mobile telecommunication technology, HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access). It may be effectively applied to monitoring bridges, cut-slopes, and other facilities located in rural areas where the conventional Internet service is not readily available, since HSDPA is currently commercialized in 86 countries to make the Internet access possible in anywhere the mobile phone service is available. The proposed SHM framework is also incorporating remote desktop software to have remote control/operation of the SHM systems. The feasibility of the proposed framework has been demonstrated by field tests on a highway bridge in operation. One can expect that fast advances in the mobile telecommunication technology will further enhance the performance of the SHM network using the proposed framework for bridges and other facilities located in remote areas without the conventional wired Internet service.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• 제20권1호
• /
• pp.59-74
• /
• 2015

A coupled model system for Wind Resource Assessment (WRA) was studied. Using a mesoscale meteorological model, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, global-scale data were downscaled to the inner nested grid scale (typically a few kilometers), and then through the coupling Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) mode, FLUENT. High-resolution results (50 m in the horizontal direction; 10 m in the vertical direction below 150 m) of the wind speed distribution data and ultimately refined wind farm information, were obtained. The refined WRF/FLUENT system was then applied to assess the wind resource over complex terrain in the northern Poyang Lake region. The results showed that the approach is viable for the assessment of wind energy.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• 제22권6호
• /
• pp.685-701
• /
• 2016

Downbursts are of great harm to transmission lines and many towers can even be destroyed. The downburst wind field model by Chen and Letchford was applied, and the wind loads of two typical transmission towers in inland areas and littoral areas were calculated separately. Spatial finite element models of the transmission towers were established by elastic beam and link elements. The wind loads as well as the dead loads of conductors and insulators were simplified and applied on the suspension points by concentrated form. Structural analysis on two typical transmission towers under normal wind and downburst was completed. The bearing characteristics and the failure modes of the transmission towers under downburst were determined. The failure state of tower members can be judged by the calculated stress ratios. It shows that stress states of the tower members were mainly controlled by 45 degree wind load. For the inland areas with low deign wind velocity, though the structural height is not in the highest wind velocity zone of downburst, the wind load under downburst is much higher than that under normal wind. The main members above the transverse separator of the legs will be firstly destroyed. For the littoral areas with high deign wind velocity, the wind load under downburst is lower than under normal wind. Transmission towers are not controlled by the wind loads from downbursts in design process.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• 제20권6호
• /
• pp.1369-1389
• /
• 2016

This paper investigates the flexural stiffness of simply supported steel-concrete composite I-beams under positive bending moment through combined experimental, numerical, and different standard methods. 14 composite beams are tested for experimental study and parameters including shear connection degree, transverse and longitudinal reinforcement ratios, loading way are also investigated. ABAQUS is employed to establish finite element (FE) models to simulate the flexural behavior of composite beams. The influences of a few key parameters, such as the shear connection degree, stud arrangement, stud diameter, beam length, loading way, on the flexural stiffness is also studied by parametric study. In addition, three widely used standard methods including GB, AISC, and British standards are used to estimate the flexural stiffness of the composite beams. The results are compared with the experimental and numerical results. The findings have provided comprehensive understanding of the flexural stiffness and the modelling of the composite beams. The results also indicate that GB 50017-2003 could provide better results in comparison to the other standards.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• 제14권1호
• /
• pp.55-70
• /
• 2011

This study investigates the design criteria required for wind barriers to protect vehicles running on an expressway under a high side wind. At the first stage of this study, the lateral deviations of vehicles in crosswinds were computed from the commercial software, CarSim and TruckSim, and the critical wind speeds for a car accident were then evaluated from a predefined car accident index. The critical wind speeds for driving stability were found to be 35 m/s for a small passenger car, yet 30 m/s for a truck and a bus. From the wind tunnel tests, the minimum height of a wind barrier required to reduce the wind speed by 50% was found to be 12.5% of the road width. In the case of parallel bridges, the placement of two edge wind barriers plus one wind barrier at center was recommended for a separation distance larger than 20 m (four lanes) and 10 m (six lanes) respectively, otherwise two wind barriers were recommended.