• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.407-424
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• 2015

To explore the favorable structural system of cable-stayed bridges with ultra-kilometer main span, based on a fully self-anchored cable-stayed bridge with 1400 m main span, a partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge scheme with the same main span is designed. Numerical investigation on the dynamic characteristics, aerostatic and aerodynamic stability of both two bridge schemes is conducted, and the results are compared to those of a suspension bridge with similar main span, and considering from the aspect of wind stability, the feasibility of using partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge in super long-span bridges with ultra-kilometer main span is discussed. Moreover, the effects of structural design parameters including the length of earth-anchored girder, the number of auxiliary piers in side span, the height and width of girder, the tower height etc on the dynamic characteristics, aerostatic and aerodynamic stability of a partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge are analyzed, and their reasonable values are proposed. The results show that as compared to fully self-anchored cable-stayed bridge and suspension bridge with similar main span, the partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge has greater structural stiffness and better aerostatic and aerodynamic stability, and consequently becomes a favorable structural system for super long-span bridges with ultra-kilometer main span. The partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge can achieve greater stiffness and better wind stability under the cases of increasing the earth-anchored girder length, increasing the height and width of girder, setting several auxiliary piers in side span and increasing the tower height.

• 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.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.189-198
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• 2019

This paper aims to study the mechanical performance of three-tower four-span suspension bridges with steel truss girders, including the static and dynamic characteristics of the bridge system, and more importantly, the influence of structural parameters including the side-main span ratio, sag-to-span ratio and the girder stiffness on key mechanical indices. For this purpose, the Oujiang River North Estuary Bridge which is a three-tower four-span suspension bridge with two main spans of 800m under construction in China is taken as an example in this study. This will be the first three-tower suspension bridge with steel truss girders in the world. The mechanical performance study and parametric analysis are conducted based on a validated three-dimensional spatial truss finite element model established for the Oujiang River North Estuary Bridge using MIDAS Civil. It is found that a relatively small side-main span ratio seems to be quite appropriate from the perspective of mechanical performance. And decreasing the sag-to-span ratio is an effective way to reduce the horizontal force subjected to the midtower and improve the antiskid safety of the main cable, while the vertical stiffness of the bridge will be reduced. However, the girder stiffness is shown to be of minimal significance on the mechanical performance. The findings from this paper can be used for design of three-tower suspension bridges with steel truss girders.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.90 no.2
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• pp.159-175
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• 2024

In order to solve the problem of calculating the reasonable completed bridge state of a self-anchored hybrid cable-stayed suspension bridge (SA-HCSB), this paper proposes an analytical method. This method simplifies the main beam into a continuous beam with multi-point rigid supports and solves the support reaction forces. According to the segmented catenary theory, it simultaneously solves the horizontal forces of the main span main cables and the stay cables and iteratively calculates the equilibrium force system on the main beam in the collaborative system bridge state while completing the shape finding of the main span main cable and stay cables. Then, the horizontal forces of the side span main cables and stay cables are obtained based on the balance of horizontal forces on the bridge towers, and the shape finding of the side spans are completed according to the segmented catenary theory. Next, the difference between the support reaction forces of the continuous beam with multiple rigid supports obtained from the initial and final iterations is used to calculate the load of ballast on the side span main beam. Finally, the axial forces and strains of each segment of the main beam and bridge tower are obtained based on the loads applied by the main cable and stay cables on the main beam and bridge tower, thereby obtaining analytical data for the bridge in the reasonable completed state. In this paper, the rationality and effectiveness of this analytical method are verified through a case study of a SA-HCSB with a main span of 720m in finite element analysis. At the same time, it is also verified that the equilibrium force of the main beam under the reasonably completed bridge state can be obtained through iterative calculation. The analytical algorithm in this paper has clear physical significance, strong applicability, and high accuracy of calculation results, enriching the shape-finding method of this bridge type.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.187-208
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• 2011

Based on the ANSYS, an approach of full-mode aerodynamic flutter analysis for long-span suspension bridges has been presented in this paper, in which the nonlinearities of structure, aerostatic and aerodynamic force due to the deformation under the static wind loading are fully considered. Aerostatic analysis is conducted to predict the equilibrium position of a bridge structure in the beginning, and then flutter analysis of such a deformed bridge structure is performed. A corresponding computer program is developed and used to predict the critical flutter wind velocity and the corresponding flutter frequency of a long-span suspension bridge with double main span. A time-domain analysis of the bridge is also carried out to verify the frequency-domain computational results and the effectiveness of the approach proposed in this paper. Then, the nonlinear effects on aerodynamic behaviors due to aerostatic action are discussed in detail. Finally, the results are compared with those of traditional suspension bridges with single main span. The results show that the aerostatic action has an important influence on the flutter stability of long-span suspension bridges. As for a suspension bridge with double main spans, the flutter mode is the first anti-symmetrical torsional vibration mode, which is also the first torsional vibration mode in natural mode list. Furthermore, a double main-span suspension bridge is better in structural dynamic and aerodynamic performances than a corresponding single main-span structure with the same bridging capacity.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1203-1221
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• 2015

By taking a cable-stayed-suspension hybrid bridge with main span of 1400 m as example, seismic response of the bridge under the horizontal and vertical seismic excitations is investigated numerically by response spectrum analysis and time history analysis, its seismic performance is discussed and compared to the cable-stayed bridge and suspension bridge with the same main span, and considering the aspect of seismic performance, the feasibility of using cable-stayed-suspension hybrid bridge in super long-span bridges is discussed. Under the horizontal seismic action, the effects of structural design parameters including the cable sag to span ratio, the suspension to span ratio, the side span length, the subsidiary piers in side spans, the girder supporting system and the deck form etc on the seismic performance of the bridge are investigated by response spectrum analysis, and the favorable values of these design parameters are proposed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.767-781
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• 2012

The residual capacity against collapse of a main shock-damaged bridge can be coupled with the aftershock ground motion hazard to make an objective decision on its probability of collapse in aftershocks. In this paper, a steel tower suspension bridge with a main span of 2000 m is adopted for a case-study. Seismic responses of the bridge in longitudinal and transversal directions are analyzed using dynamic elasto-plastic finite displacement theory. The analysis is conducted in two stages: main shock and aftershocks. The ability of the main shock-damaged bridge to resist aftershocks is discussed. Results show that the damage caused by accumulated plastic strain can be ignored in the long-span suspension bridge. And under longitudinal and transversal seismic excitations, the damage is prone to occur at higher positions of the tower and the shaft-beam junctions. When aftershocks are not large enough to cause plastic strain in the structure, the aftershock excitation can be ignored in the seismic damage analysis of the bridge. It is also found that the assessment of seismic damage can be determined by superposition of damage under independent action of seismic excitations.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Advanced Composite Structures
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.30-36
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• 2013

Partially earth anchored (PEA) can improve the structural safety and economic feasibility of multiple span cable stayed bridge (CSB). The PEA-CSB can restrain axial compressive load acting on a tower and reduce the global buckling length of a stiffened girder. For these reasons, structural members subject to axial forces can be effectively utilized and material quantity required for a steel deck can be reduced to save construction cost. In this study, the PEA system was verified for its application on a multiple span CSB. The CSB is a four-tower multi-span bridge which has a main span length of 500 m. As high tensile stress was generated at the top of the bridge decks at the mid-span between two main columns, a hybrid deck system for enhancing the bridge deck sections was proposed. While the composite sections made of concrete and steel were used near to the main columns, steel sections were used at the mid-span between two main columns.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.1
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• pp.99-111
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• 2019

To investigate the seismic performance of long-span partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge, a super long-span partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge scheme with main span of 1400m is taken as example, structural response of the bridge under E1 seismic action is investigated numerically by the multimode seismic response spectrum and time-history analysis, seismic behavior and also the effect of structural geometric nonlinearity on the seismic responses of super long-span partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridges are revealed. The seismic responses are also compared to those of a fully self-anchored cable-stayed bridge with the same main span. The effects of structural parameters including the earth-anchored girder length, the girder width, the girder depth, the tower height to span ratio, the inclination of earth-anchored cables, the installation of auxiliary piers in the side spans and the connection between tower and girder on the seismic responses of partially ground-anchored cable-stayed bridges are investigated, and their reasonable values are also discussed in combination with static performance and structural stability. The results show that the horizontal seismic excitation produces significant seismic responses of the girder and tower, the seismic responses of the towers are greater than those of the girder, and thus the tower becomes the key structural member of seismic design, and more attentions should be paid to seismic design of these sections including the tower bottom, the tower and girder at the junction of tower and girder, the girder at the auxiliary piers in side spans; structural geometric nonlinearity has significant influence on the seismic responses of the bridge, and thus the nonlinear time history analysis is proposed to predict the seismic responses of super long-span partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridges; as compared to the fully self-anchored cable-stayed bridge with the same main span, several stay cables in the side spans are changed to be earth-anchored, structural stiffness and natural frequency are both increased, the seismic responses of the towers and the longitudinal displacement of the girder are significantly reduced, structural seismic performance is improved, and therefore the partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridge provides an ideal structural solution for super long-span cable-stayed bridges with kilometer-scale main span; under the case that the ratio of earth-anchored girder length to span is about 0.3, the wider and higher girder is employed, the tower height-to-span ratio is about 0.2, the larger inclination is set for the earth-anchored cables, 1 to 2 auxiliary piers are installed in each of the side spans and the fully floating system is employed, better overall structural performance is achieved for long-span partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridges.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.367-384
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• 2017

The Maanshan Bridge over Yangtze River in China is a new long-span suspension bridge with double main spans of $2{\times}1080m$ and a closed streamline cross-section of single box deck. The flutter and buffeting performances were investigated via wind tunnel tests of a full bridge aeroelastic model at a geometric scale of 1:211. The tests were conducted in both smooth wind and simulated boundary layer wind fields. Emphasis is placed on studying the interference effect of adjacent span via installing a wind deflector and a wind separating board to shelter one span of the bridge model from incoming flow. Issues related to effects of mid-tower stiffness and deck supporting conditions are also discussed. The testing results show that flutter critical wind velocities in smooth flow, with a wind deflector, are remarkably lower than those without. In turbulent wind, torsional and vertical standard deviations for the deck responses at midspan in testing cases without wind deflector are generally less than those at the midspan exposed to wind in testing cases with wind deflector, respectively. When double main spans are exposed to turbulent wind, the existence of either span is a mass damper to the other. Furthermore, both effects of mid-tower stiffness and deck supporting conditions at the middle tower on the flutter and buffeting performances of the Maanshan Bridge are unremarkable.