• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.273-288
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• 2015

As one of the most common failure types of arch bridges, stability is one of the critical aspects for the design of arch bridges. Using 3D finite element model in ABAQUS, this paper has studied the stability performance of an arch bridge with inclined arch ribs and hangers, and the analysis also took the effects of geometrical and material nonlinearity into account. The impact of local buckling and residual stress of steel plates on global stability and the applicability of fiber model in stability analysis for steel arch bridges were also investigated. The results demonstrate an excellent stability of the arch bridge because of the transverse constraint provided by transversely-inclined hangers. The distortion of cross section, local buckling and residual stress of ribs has an insignificant effect on the stability of the structure, and the accurate ultimate strength may be obtained from a fiber model analysis. This study also shows that the yielding of the arch ribs has a significant impact on the ultimate capacity of the structure, and the bearing capacity may also be approximately estimated by the initial yield strength of the arch rib.