• Wind and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2011

The cable system is generally considered to be a structural solution to increase the spanning capacity of suspension bridges. In this work, based on the Runyang Bridge over the Yangtze River, three case suspension bridges with different 3D cable systems are designed, structural dynamic characteristics, the aerostatic and aerodynamic stability are investigated numerically by 3D nonlinear aerostatic and aerodynamic analysis, and the cable system favorable to improve the wind-induced instability of long-span suspension bridges is also proposed. The results show that as compared to the example bridge with parallel cable system, the suspension bridge with inward-inclined cable system has greater lateral bending and tensional frequencies, and also better aerodynamic stability; as for the suspension bridge with outward-inclined cable system, it has less lateral bending and tensional frequencies, and but better aerostatic stability; however the suspension bridge is more prone to aerodynamic instability, and therefore considering the whole wind-induced instability, the parallel and inward-inclined cable systems are both favorable for long-span suspension bridges.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.121-132
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• 2009

A systematic reliability evaluation approach for torsional divergence analysis of long span suspension bridges is proposed, consisting of the first order reliability method and a simplified torsional divergence analysis method. The proposed method was implemented in the deterministic torsional divergence analysis program SIMTDB through a new strategy involving interfacing the proposed method with SIMTDB via a freely available MATLAB software tool (FERUM). A numerical example involving a detailed computational model of a long span suspension bridge with a main span of 888 m is presented to demonstrate the applicability and merits of the proposed method and the associated software strategy. Finally, the most influential random variables on the reliability of long span suspension bridges against torsional divergence failure are identified by a sensitivity analysis.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1252-1264
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• 2018

Long span bridges such as steel cable stayed and suspension bridges are usually more flexible than short to medium span bridges and expected to have large deformations. Deflections due to live load for long span bridges are important since it controls the overall heights of the bridge for securing the clearance under the bridge and serviceability for securing the comfort of passengers or pedestrians. In case of sea-crossing bridges, the clearance of bridges is determined considering the height of the ship master from the surface of the water, the trim of the ship, the psychological free space, the tide height, and live load deflection. In the design of bridges, live load deflection is limited to a certain value to minimize the vibrations. However, there are not much studies that consider the live load deflection and its effects for long span bridges. The purpose of this study is to investigate the suitability of live load deflection limit and its actual effects on serviceability of bridges for steel cable-stayed and suspension bridges. Analytical study is performed to calculate the natural frequencies and deflections by design live load. Results are compared with various design limits and related studies by Barker et al. (2011) and Saadeghvaziri et al. (2012). Two long span bridges are selected for the case study, Yi Sun-Sin grand bridge (suspension bridge, main span length = 1545 m) and Young-Hung grand bridge (cable stayed bridge, main span length = 240 m). Long-term measured deflection data by GNSS system are collected from Yi Sun-Sin grand bridge and compared with the theoretical values. Probability of exceedance against various deflection limits are calculated from probability distribution of 10-min maximum deflection. The results of the study on the limitation of live load deflection are expected to be useful reference for the design, the proper planning and deflection review of the long span bridges around the world.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2005

A simplified analysis able to point out the most relevant geometrical and aerodynamic parameters that can influence the flutter of long span modern bridges is the aim of the paper. With this goal, by using a continuous model of the suspension bridge and by a quasi stationary approach, a simple formula of the combined vertical/torsional flutter wind speed is given. A good agreement is obtained comparing the predictions from the proposed formula with the flutter speeds of three modern suspension or cable stayed bridges: the Great Belt East Bridge, the Akashi and Normandie bridges. The paper ends with some comments and comparisons with the well known Selberg formula.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2020

The aerostatic stability analysis of a long-span suspension bridge by the Element-free Galerkin (EFG) method is presented in this paper. Nonlinear effects due to wind structure interactions should be taken into account in determining the aerostatic behavior of long-span suspension bridges. The EFG method is applied to investigate torsional divergence of suspension bridges, based on both the three components of wind loads and nonlinearities of structural geometric. Since EFG methods, which are based on moving least-square (MLS) interpolation, require only nodal data, the description of the geometry of bridge structure and boundaries consist of defining a set of nodes. A numerical example involving the three-dimensional EFG model of a suspension bridge with a span length of 888m is presented to illustrate the performance and potential of this method. The results indicate that presented method can effectively be applied for modeling suspension bridge structure and the computed results obtained using present modeling strategy for nonlinear suspension bridge structure under wind flow are encouragingly acceptable.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.405-420
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• 2016

Section model wind tunnel test is currently the main technique to investigate the flutter performance of long-span bridges. Further study about applying the wind tunnel test results to the aerodynamic optimization is still needed. Systematical parameters and test principle of the bridge section model are determined by using three long-span steel truss suspension bridges. The flutter critical wind at different attack angles is obtained through section model flutter test. Under the most unfavorable working condition, tests to investigate the effects that upper central stabilized plate, lower central stabilized plate and horizontal stabilized plate have on the flutter performance of the main beam were conducted. According to the test results, the optimal aerodynamic measure was chosen to meet the requirements of the bridge wind resistance in consideration of safety, economy and aesthetics. At last the credibility of the results is confirmed by full bridge aerodynamic elastic model test. That the flutter reduced wind speed of long-span steel truss suspension bridges stays approximately between 4 to 5 is concluded as a reference for the investigation of the flutter performance of future similar steel truss girder suspension bridges.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.195-207
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• 2006

An efficient and accurate algorithm is proposed to estimate cable safety factor of suspension bridges satisfying prescribed reliability levels. Uncertainties in the structure and load parameters are incorporated. The proposed algorithm integrates the concepts of the inverse reliability method and deterministic method for assessing cable safety factors of suspension bridges. The unique feature of the proposed method is that it offers a tool for cable safety assessment of suspension bridges, when the reliability level is specified as a target to be satisfied by the designer. After the accuracy and efficiency of the method are demonstrated through two numerical examples, the method is used to estimate cable safety factors of suspension bridges with span length ranging from 2000 to 5000 m. The results show that the deterministic method overestimates cable safety factor of suspension bridges because of neglecting the parameter uncertainty effects. The actual cable safety factor of suspension bridges should be estimated based on the proposed method.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.553-564
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• 2013

By using the nonlinear aerostatic stability theory together with the method of mean wind decomposition, a method for nonlinear aerostatic stability analysis is proposed for long-span suspension bridges under yaw wind. A corresponding program is developed considering static wind load nonlinearity and structural nonlinearity. Taking a suspension bridge with three towers and double main spans as an example, the full range aerostatic instability is analyzed under wind at different attack angles and yaw angles. The results indicate that the lowest critical wind speed of aerostatic instability is gained when the initial yaw angle is greater than $0^{\circ}$, which suggests that perhaps yaw wind poses a disadvantage to the aerostatic stability of a long span suspension bridge. The results also show that the main span in upstream goes into instability first, and the reason for this phenomenon is discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.595-614
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• 2016

By taking the Runyang Highway Bridge over the Yangtze River with 1490 m main span as example, structural response of the bridge under the horizontal and vertical seismic excitations is investigated by the response spectrum and time-history analysis of MIDAS/Civil software respectively, the seismic behavior and the influence of structural nonlinearity on the seismic response of the bridge are revealed. Considering the aspect of seismic performance, the suitability of employing the suspension bridge in super long-span bridges is investigated as compared to the cable-stayed bridge and cable-stayed-suspension hybrid bridge with the similar main span. Furthermore, the effects of structural parameters including the span arrangement, the cable sag to span ratio, the side to main span ratio, the girder height, the central buckle and the girder support system etc on the seismic performance of the bridge are investigated by the seismic response spectrum analysis, and the favorable earthquake-resistant structural system of suspension bridges is also discussed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.41-61
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• 2015

The flutter stability of long-span suspension bridges during erection can be more problematic and more susceptible to be influenced by many factors than in the final state. As described in this paper, numerical flutter stability analyses were performed for the construction process of Zhongdu Bridge over Yangtze River using the commercial FE package ANSYS. The effect of the initial wind attack angle, the sequence of deck erection, the stiffness reduction of stiffening girders, the structural damping, and the cross cables are discussed in detail. It was found that the non-symmetrical sequence of deck erection was confirmed to be aerodynamically favourable for the deck erection of long-span suspension bridges and the best erection sequence should be investigated in the design phase. While the initial wind attack angle of $-3^{\circ}$ is advantageous for the aerodynamic stability, $+3^{\circ}$ is disadvantageous compared with the initial wind attack angle of $0^{\circ}$ during the deck erection. The stiffness reduction of the stiffening girders has a slight effect on the flutter wind speed of the suspension bridge during erection, but structural damping has a great impact on it, especially for the early erection stages.