• Wind and Structures
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.125-146
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• 2006

Stonecutters Bridge of Hong Kong is a cable-stayed bridge with two single-column pylons each 298 m high and an aerodynamic twin deck. The total length of the bridge is 1596 m with a main span of 1018 m. The top 118 m of the tower will comprise structural steel and concrete composite while the bottom part will be of reinforced concrete. The bridge deck at the central span will be of steel whilst the side spans will be of concrete. Stonecutters Bridge has adopted a twin-girder deck design with a wide clear separation of 14.3 m between the two longitudinal girders. Although a number of studies have been conducted to investigate the aerodynamic performance of twin-girder deck, the actual real life application of this type of deck is extremely limited. This therefore triggered the need for conducting the present studies, the main objective of which is to investigate the performance of Stonecutters Bridge against flutter at its in-service stage as well as during construction. Based on the flutter derivatives obtained from the 1:80 scale rigid section model experiment, flutter analysis was carried out using 3-D finite element based single parameter searching method developed by the second author of this paper. A total of 6 finite element models of the bridge covering the in-service stage as well as 5 construction stages were established. The dynamic characteristics of the bridge associated with these stages were computed and applied in the analyses. Apart from the critical wind speeds for the onset of flutter, the dominant modes of vibration participating in the flutter vibration were also identified. The results indicate that the bridge will be stable against flutter at its in-service stage as well as during construction at wind speeds much higher than the verification wind speed of 95 m/s (1-minute mean).

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

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.3D
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• pp.421-431
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• 2011

In this paper, actual bridges constructed with SMA (Stone Mastic Asphalt) deck pavement and virtual bridges substituted the deck pavement with polymer concrete under the same conditions were statically analyzed to investigate applicability of the thin polymer concrete bridge deck pavements. PSC (prestressed Concrete) girder bridge, steel box girder bridge, PSC box girder bridge, and RC (Reinforced Concrete) rahmen bridge constructed with the SMA deck pavement were analyzed and compared to evaluate various types of the bridge. The bridge deck and pavement were assumed to be fully bonded and the stress and deformation during the construction were ignored while those due to pavement weight and vehicle loading were analyzed. According to the analysis results, the stress and deformation of the bridges using the polymer concrete due to the pavement weight were smaller than those using the SMA because of smaller self weight due to lighter unit weight and thinner thickness of the pavement. The stress and deformation of the bridges using the polymer concrete due to the vehicle loading were larger than those using the SMA because of the smaller area moment of inertia due to the thinner pavement thickness. In case that the pavement weight and vehicle loading applied simultaneously, the stress and deformation of the bridges using the polymer concrete were smaller because effect of self weight reduction was more dominant. Investigation of performance of the bridge deck pavement and analysis of economical efficiency are warranted.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.39-56
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• 2023

To ensure the wind stability of a long-span suspension bridge during deck erection under skew wind, based on the aerostatic and self-excited aerodynamic force models under skew wind, a computational approach of refined flutter analysis for long-span bridges under skew wind is firstly established, in which the effects of structural nonlinearity, the static wind action and full-mode coupling etc are fully considered, and the corresponding computational procedure is programmed. By taking the Runyang suspension bridge over the Yangtze River as example, the flutter stability of the bridge in completion under skew wind is then analyzed with the aerodynamic parameters of a similar bridge deck measured from the sectional model wind tunnel test under skew wind. Finally, through simulating the girder segments erected symmetrically from the midspan to towers, from the towers to midspan and simultaneously from the towers and midspan to the quarter points, respectively, the evolutions of flutter stability limits during the deck erection under skew wind are investigated numerically, the favorable aerodynamically deck erection sequence is proposed, and the influences of skew wind and static wind effect on the flutter stability of suspension bridge under construction are ascertained.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.691-709
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• 2012

This paper provides a variety of viewpoints to illustrate the mechanism of the deck-stay interaction with the appropriate initial shapes of cable-stayed bridges. Based on the smooth and convergent bridge shapes obtained by the initial shape analysis, the one-element cable system (OECS) and multi-element cable system (MECS) models of the Kao Ping Hsi Bridge in Taiwan are developed to verify the applicability of the analytical model and numerical formulation from the field observations in the authors' previous work. For this purpose, the modal analysis of the two finite element models are conducted to calculate the natural frequency and normalized mode shape of the individual modes of the bridge. The modal coupling assessment is also performed to obtain the generalized mass ratios among the structural components for each mode of the bridge. The findings indicate that the coupled modes are attributed to the frequency loci veering and mode localization when the "pure" deck-tower frequency and the "pure" stay cable frequency approach one another, implying that the mode shapes of such coupled modes are simply different from those of the deck-tower system or stay cables alone. The distribution of the generalized mass ratios between the deck-tower system and stay cables are useful indices for quantitatively assessing the degree of coupling for each mode. These results are demonstrated to fully understand the mechanism of the deck-stay interaction with the appropriate initial shapes of cable-stayed bridges.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.185-192
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• 2003

This study presents the Optimum Evaluation of PS Concrete Deck and High Strength Two Plate Girder System. Recently, for the simplification of structure and the long length of bridge, a small number girder bridge which minimized a number of girder by two is much designed and constructed. For the structural analysis, a finite element formulation considering with even the matter of torsion in the three-dimensional problem is presented. And connectively, for the design of optimum section, an algorithm of optimum design is developed. The section of a small number girder bridge which constituted of two girders and PS Concrete Deck is optimized by using optimum program developed in this study. and two girders bridge refered in this study is proved a efficiency and a economy by being compared and checked to the general plate girder bridge with five girder and Reinforced Concrete Deck.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.405-430
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• 2017

The aerodynamic characteristics of vehicles are critical to assess vehicle safety and passenger comfort for vehicles running on long span bridges in a windy environment. However, in previous wind-vehicle-bridge (WVB) system analysis, the aerodynamic interference between the vehicle and the bridge was seldom considered, which will result in changing aerodynamic coefficients. In this study, the aerodynamic coefficients of a high-sided truck on the ground (ground case) and a typical bridge deck (bridge deck case) are determined in a wind tunnel. The effects of existent structures including the bridge deck and bridge accessories on the high-sided vehicle's aerodynamic characteristics are investigated. A three-dimensional analytical framework of a fully coupled WVB system is then established based on the finite element method. By inputting the aerodynamic coefficients of both cases into the WVB system separately, the vehicle safety and passenger comfort are assessed, and the critical accidental wind speed for the truck on the bridge in a windy environment is derived. The differences in the bridge response between the windward case and the leeward case are also compared. The results show that the bridge deck and the accessories play a positive role in ensuring vehicle safety and improving passenger comfort, and the influence of aerodynamic interference on the response of the bridge is weak.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.325-336
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• 2019

Concrete placement and temporary formwork of bridge deck overhangs result in unbalanced eccentric loads that cause exterior girders to rotate during construction. These construction loads affect the global and local stability of the girders and produce permanent girder rotation after construction. In addition to construction loads, the skew angle of the bridge also contributes to girder rotation. To prevent rotation (in both skewed and non-skewed bridges), a number of techniques have been suggested to temporarily brace the girders using transverse tie bars connecting the top flanges and embedded in the deck, temporary horizontal and diagonal steel pipes placed between the webs of the exterior and first interior girders, and permanent cross frames. This study includes a rigorous three-dimensional finite element analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of several bracing systems for non-skewed and several skewed bridges. In this paper, skew angles of $0^{\circ}$, $20^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, and $45^{\circ}$ were considered for single- and three-span bridges. The results showed that permanent cross frames worked well for all bridges, whereas temporary measures have limited application depending on the skew angle of the bridge.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.525-535
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• 1999

In this study, a new method of fabricated concrete deck bridge construction is proposed. This paper details the method in which concrete multi-girders and fabricated concrete decks are rested on the upper flange of the girder and the female to female type sheat-key is formed to connect girder and deck. The finite element analysis is performed to verify the accuracy of the structural behaviors of the fabricated concrete deck bridge by comparing with experimental results. The first task performed is the analysis of the equilibrium of the member force occurring between the deck and the girder. After verifying equilibrium of the member force determined by the finite element analysis, this process is applied to the analysis of maximum member force as the position of design load. This task is utilized to determine the safety of each member according to the same scale finite element model. The final process in this study is to compare the deflection of girders used in experiment with that of the same scale finite element model to verify the strength of fabricated cincrete deck bridge. By this comparison, it is shown that the behavior of the fabricated concrete deck bridge is almost same as the finite element analysis. The second task is to analyze the load distribution effect according to the number of diaphragms and the composite effect due to the cinnection of the deck and girder by the finite element analysis. From the results of second task, it is found that the load distribution effect is not related to the number of diaphragms in case of the central loading, but is related to the number of diaphragms for eccentric loading. Analysis of the load distribution indicates that the effective number of diaphragm is three. It is also shown that the maximum deflection is decreased to almost one half due to the composite action of the deck and girder.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.385-392
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• 2001

The stiffness of pavement is scarcely considered in structural analysis of the superstructure bridge. It will be reasonable in the case of asphalt concrete pavement over concrete deck plate because stiffness of the pavement compared with concrete deck plate can be ignored. Additionally, it is considered correct to do a design with a safety. However, various pavement materials which have even value reaching to the elastic modulus of concrete are applied to the orthotropic steel deck plate which has a relatively less stiffness comparing with the concrete deck plate. In this paper, the steel plate deck of the bridge of real project was modeled considering the pavement stiffness for the FEM analysis and the linear elastic analysis was performed. It was assumed to be perfectly bonded between the steel plate deck and the pavement and the temperature effect was ignored. It was analyzed on the vertical deflection of steel deck plate influencing to the serviceability of pavement and the bending stress of steel deck plate related to the fatigue life. As a result, It was indicated that the structural behavior of the orthotropic steel deck plate could be affected by the stiffness of pavement in some cases.