• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.894-901
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• 2006

In general, the tension fores of hanger cable in suspension bridges play an important role in evaluating the bridge state. The vibration method, as a conventional one, has been widely applied to estimate the tension fores by using the measured frequencies on hanger cables. However, the vibration method is not applicable to short hanger cables because the frequency of short cables is severely sensitive to the flexural rigidity. Thus, in this study, the tension forces of short hanger cables, of which the length is shorter than 10meters, were estimated through back analysis of the cable frequencies measured from Gwang-An suspension bridge in Korea. Direct approach to rock analysis is adopted using the univariate method among the direct search methods as an optimization technique. The univariate method is able to search the optimal tension forces without regard to the initial ones and has a rapid convergence rate. To verify the feasibility of back analysis, the results from back analysis and vibration method are compared with the design tension forces. From the comparison, it can be inferred that back analysis results are more reasonable agreement with the design tension forces of short hanger cable. Therefore, it is concluded that back analysis applied in this study is an appropriate tool for estimating tension forces of short hanger cables.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.349-375
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• 2016

The tension of an arch bridge hanger is estimated using a number of experimentally identified modal frequencies. The hanger is connected through metallic plates to the bridge deck and arch. Two different categories of model classes are considered to simulate the vibrations of the hanger: an analytical model based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, and a high-fidelity finite element (FE) model. A Bayesian parameter estimation and model selection method is used to discriminate between models, select the best model, and estimate the hanger tension and its uncertainty. It is demonstrated that the end plate connections and boundary conditions of the hanger due to the flexibility of the deck/arch significantly affect the estimate of the axial load and its uncertainty. A fixed-end high fidelity FE model of the hanger underestimates the hanger tension by more than 20 compared to a baseline FE model with flexible supports. Simplified beam models can give fairly accurate results, close to the ones obtained from the high fidelity FE model with flexible support conditions, provided that the concept of equivalent length is introduced and/or end rotational springs are included to simulate the flexibility of the hanger ends. The effect of the number of experimentally identified modal frequencies on the estimates of the hanger tension and its uncertainty is investigated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.869-877
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• 2013

Tension force of hanger ropes has been recognized and utilized as an important parameter for health monitoring of suspension bridges. Conventional vibration method based on string theory has been utilized to estimate tension forces of relatively long hanger ropes without any problem, however it is convinced that the vibration method is not applicable for shorter hanger ropes in which the influence of flexural stiffness is not ignorable. Therefore, as an alternative of vibration method, a number of feasibility studies of system identification(SI) technique considering flexural stiffness of the hanger ropes are recently performed. In this study, the influence of support condition of the finite element model utilized for the SI method is investigated with numerical examples. The numerical examples are prepared with the specification of the Kwang-Ahn bridge hanger ropes, and it is revealed that the estimation result of the tension force can be varied from -21.6 % to +35.3 % of the exact value according to the consideration of the support condition of FE model. Therefore, it is concluded that the rotational stiffness of the support spring should be included to the list of the identification parameters of the FE model to improve the result of tension estimation.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.120-129
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• 2023

Hanger cable tension is a major response that can determine the integrity and safety of suspension bridges. In general, the vibration method is used to estimate hanger cable tension on operational suspension bridges. It measures natural frequencies from hanger cables and indirectly estimates tension using the geometry conditions of the hanger cables. This study estimated the hanger cable tension of the Palyeong Bridge using a vision-based system. The vision-based system used digital camcorders and tripods considering the convenience and economic efficiency of measurement. Measuring the natural frequencies for high-order modes required for the vibration method is difficult because the hanger cable response measured using the vision-based system is displacement-based. Therefore, this study proposed a back analysis technique for estimating tension using the natural frequencies of low-order modes. Optimization for the back analysis technique was performed by defining the difference between the natural frequencies of hanger cables measured in the field and those calculated using finite element analysis as the objective function. The direct search method that does not require the partial derivatives of the objective function was applied as the optimization method. The reliability and accuracy of the back analysis technique were verified by comparing the tension calculated using the method with that estimated using the vibration method. Tension was accurately estimated using the natural frequencies of low-order modes by applying the back analysis technique.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.3 s.55
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• pp.1-10
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• 2007

In general, the tension forces of hanger cable in suspension bridges play an important role in evaluating the bridge conditions. The vibration method, as a conventional one, has been widely applied to estimate the tension forces by using the measured frequencies on hanger cables. However, the vibration method is not applicable to short hanger cables because the fiequencies of short cables are severely sensitive to flexural rigidity. Thus, in this study, the tension forces of short hanger cables, of which the length is shorter than 10 meters, were estimated through back analysis of the cable fiequencies measured from Gwang-An suspension bridge in Korea. Direct approach to back analysis is adopted using the univariate method among the direct search methods as an optimization technique. The univariate method is able to search the optimal tension forces without regard to the initial ones and has a rapid convergence rate. To verify the feasibility of back analysis, the results from back analysis and vibration method are compared with the design tension forces. From the comparison, it can be inferred that back analysis results are more reasonable agreement with the design tension forces of short hanger cable. Therefore, it is concluded that back analysis applied in this study is an appropriate tool for estimating tension forces of short hanger cables.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.112-121
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• 2020

In suspension bridges, hanger cables are the main load-supporting members. The tension of the hanger cables of a suspension bridge is a very important parameter for assessing the integrity and safety of the bridge. In general, indirect methods are used to measure the tension of the hanger cables of a suspension bridge in traffic use. A representative indirect method is the vibration method, which extracts modal frequencies from the cables' responses and then measures the cable tension using the cables' geometric conditions and the modal frequencies. In this study, the image processing technique is applied to facilitate the estimation of the dynamic responses of the cables using the image signal, for which a portable digital camcorder was used due to its convenience and cost-efficiency. Ambient vibration tests were conducted on a suspension bridge in traffic use to verify the validity of the back analysis method, which can estimate the tension of remote hanger cables using the modal frequencies as a parameter. In addition, the tension estimated through back analysis method, which was conducted to minimize the difference between the modal frequencies calculated using finite element analysis of the hanger cables and the measured modal frequencies, was compared with that measured using the vibration method.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.2A
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• pp.215-222
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• 2008

This paper introduces an experimental verification of a tension estimation method based on system identification approach for a double hanger system on a suspension bridge. A laboratory model of such double hanger system has been made for this study. Total nine cases of the vibration tests have been conducted with respect to three levels of applied tension and three cases of the location of clamp. For a set of the collected acceleration response data, modal analysis has been followed in order to extract the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the selected cable systems. For the extracted modal parameters, the existing tension estimation methods based on the string theory and axially loaded beam theory have been firstly applied to estimate the tensile force on the double hanger cable system. Next, the tensile force on cables has been estimated by the system identification approach. It is seen that the errors in the tension estimation using the frequency-based system identification technique are about 3% for all cases while the estimation error using the existing method is up to 53.1%.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.241-255
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• 2014

The girder of self-anchored suspension bridge is subjected to large compression force applied by main cables. So, serious damage of the girder due to breakage of hangers may cause collapse of the whole bridge. With the time increasing, the hangers may break suddenly for their resistance capacities decrease due to corrosion. Using nonlinear static and dynamic analysis methods and adopting 3D finite element model, the responses of a concrete self-anchored suspension bridge to sudden breakage of hangers are studied in this paper. The results show that the sudden breakage of a hanger has significant effects on tensions of the hangers next to the broken hanger, bending and torsion moments of the girder, moments of the towers and reaction forces of the bearings. The results obtained from dynamic analysis method are very different from those obtained from static analysis method. The maximum tension of hanger produced by breakage of a hanger exceeds 2.2 times of its initial value, the maximum dynamic amplification factor reaches 2.54, which is larger than the value of 2.0 recommended for cable-stayed bridge in PTI codes. If two adjacent hangers on the same side of bridge break one after another, the maximum tension of other hangers exceeds 3.0 times of its initial value. If the safety factor adopted to design hanger is too small, or the hangers have been exposed to corrosion, the bridge may collapse due to breakage of two adjacent hangers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.16 no.2 s.69
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• pp.285-293
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• 2004

As a special infrastructure, it is important that the suspension bridges which were designed by using the cable are carefully maintained and safely inspected after their construction, more than what is done in other cases of bridge structures. However, the structural analysis for their design and maintenance has considered only the simplified geometric shape of the structure. Particularly, it is not easy to make the modeling analyze the bridge structure including detailed steel deck plates. In this paper, we evaluated the structural behaviors and performances of the completed earth-anchored suspension bridge that was in a completed state through both the tension of hanger member and their computational analysis. We considered the frame system and the detailed steel deck plates that were especially added into the modeling to take more precision analysis about it. We also applied hanger tensions converted by the natural frequency and the natural frequency of the bridge when in normal vibration. Results of the vehicle loading test were used in the analysis. We compared the results by using our modeling with the result of the loading test and the hanger tension. Our prediction on the behavior of the structure emulates the behavior of the real structure. In applying the data measured by the typhoon "Maemi" which arrived in-land last year, we confirmed our analysis model for the possibility of applying effectively into the preliminary design and maintenance plan.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.1A
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• pp.1-10
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• 2012

Along with the development of coasts, islands and mountains, the demand of long-span bridges increases which, in turn, brings forth the construction of cable-supported bridges like suspension and cable-stayed bridges. There are various types of statically indeterminate structures widely applied that supported the main girder with stay cables, main cables, hanger cables with aesthetic structural appearance. As to the cable-supported bridges, the health monitoring of a bridge can be identified by measuring tension force on cable repeatedly. The tension force on cable is measured either by direct measurement of stress of cable using load cell or hydraulic jack, or by vibration method estimating tension force using cable shape and measured dynamic characteristics. In this study, a method to estimate dynamic characteristics of hanger cables by using a digital image processing is suggested. Digital images are acquired by a portable digital camcorder, which is the sensor to remotely measure dynamic responses considering convenient and economical aspects for use. A digital image correlation(DIC) technique is applied for digital image processing, and an image transform function(ITF) to correct the geometric distortion induced from the deformed images is used to estimate subpixel. And, the correction of motion of vision-based measurement system using a fixed object in an image without installing additional sensor can be enhanced the resolution of dynamic responses and modal frequencies of hanger cables.