• International Journal of Railway
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2012

Open steel plate girder (OPSG) bridges are the most prevalent railroad bridge type in Korea, constituting about 40% of all railroad bridges. Solid steel bearings, known as line type bearings, are placed in most OSPG railway bridges. However, the line type rigid bearings generate several problems with the bridge's dynamic behavior and maintenance in service. To compare and investigate the dynamic behaviors of line type, spherical and disk bearings, the vertical displacements of each bearing, including fixed and expansion type, under running vehicles are measured and analyzed. The displacements of disk and spherical bearings are measured after replacing the line type bearings with spherical and disk bearings. This study also analyzed dynamic behaviors of bridges. Furthermore, the deformation of the PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) plate that is placed inside of expansion type spherical and disk bearings is measured and its effect on the dynamic behavior of the bridges is discussed. The up-lift phenomenon at the bearings installed for the steel bridges is estimated. The vertical displacements at mid-span of the bridges are compared according to the bearing types. Finally, the 1st mode natural frequencies are estimated, and the relationship to the vertical displacement is discussed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.479-500
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• 2022

In this study, a new type of isolation bearing is proposed by combining S-shaped steel plate dampers (SSDs) with a spherical steel bearing, and the seismic control effect of a five-span standard high-speed railway bridge is investigated. The advantages of the proposed S-shaped steel damping friction bearing (SSDFB) are that it cannot only lengthen the structural periods, dissipate the seismic energy, but also prevent bridge unseating due to the restraint effectiveness of SSDs in the large relative displacements between the girders and piers. This study first presents a detailed description and working principle of the SSDFB. Then, mechanical modeling of the SSDFB was derived to fundamentally define its cyclic behavior and obtain key mechanical parameters. The numerical model of the SSDFB's critical component SSD was verified by comparing it with the experimental results. After that, parameter studies of the dimensions and number of SSDs, the friction coefficient, and the gap length of the SSDFBs were conducted. Finally, the longitudinal seismic responses of the bridge with SSDFBs were compared with the bridge with spherical bearing and spherical bearing with strengthened shear keys. The results showed that the SSDFB can not only significantly mitigate the shear force responses and residual displacement in bridge substructures but also can effectively reduce girder displacement and prevent bridge unseating, at a cost of inelastic deformation of the SSDs, which is easy to replace. In conclusion, the SSDFB is expected to be a cost-effective option with both multi-stage energy dissipation and restraint capacity, making it particularly suitable for seismic isolation application to high-speed railway bridges.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.265-274
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• 2023

The spherical steel bearings (SSBs) has been gradually replaced traditional rubber bearings and extensively applied to high-speed railway (HSR) bridges in China, due to their durability and serviceability. Nevertheless, SSB is generally simplified to the ordinary constraints in the finite element model, which cannot reflect its detailed mechanical characteristics, especially its seismic performance. To provide a more precisely simulation, an innovative and simplified finite element simulation method is proposed and the combined element group is developed in ANSYS. The primary parameters were determined by means of the performance test of SSB. The finite element model of SSB applied to a single-span HSR simply supported girder bridge was established through the proposed method. The seismic performance of the SSB was further investigated. A shake table test was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed simulation method. It is found that the numerical results could have a good agreement with the experiment, namely, the proposed method is feasible and efficient.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.165-175
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• 2008

Line type rigid bearings for Open-Steel-Plate-Girder railway bridges have several problems in service, and they are unstable structurally. A series of lateral resistance tests were performed for a retrieved line type bearing. A spherical bearing with advanced maintenance-capability and a device to resist the up-lift was developed and replaced the existing ones. An experiment of maintenance for a new spherical bearing under real Open-Steel-Plate-Girder bridge was conducted and their good maintenance performance was proved. Also, a test against up-lift was performed for the bearing. The dynamic behavior of the bridge was measured and analyzed for the two cases of the existing and replaced bearings. Therefore, the suitability of the new spherical bearings on the railway bridge was improved.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.1697-1702
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• 2010

It has been recognized for decades that the spherical bearing which is sliding on curved surface in the intrinsic behavior is optimized for the railway bridge requiring a large slope deflection. However, the spherical bearing is easily corrosived at the PSC girder bridge which is exposed to the outside so the normal function of bridge bearing is not fulfilled fully. It is common that the corrosion is happened at the operating plate of steel bridge bearing and generally it is necessary to replace the bridge bearing after 20~25 years. Accordingly, It costs multi billion dollars for maintenance each year and the necessity of improvement become a issue. Korea Rail Network Authority(KR) suggested to apply the Elastomeric bearing instead of Spherical bearing through the task of construction site of 2006. But the normal Elastomeric bearing is optimized for the Highway bridge so it needs the special consideration to satisfy each design condition required by railway bridge. As the result of examination of Elastomeric bearing at the railway bridge construction site, the stress is decreased by effective dispersion of earthquakes and the maintenance fee is also decreased.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.2
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• pp.137-149
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• 2023

In this study, to explore the working performance of the CFST split spherical node wind power tower, two groups of CFST split spherical joint plane towers with different web wall thicknesses and a set of space systems were analyzed. The tower was subjected to a low-cycle repeated load test, and the hysteresis and skeleton curves were analyzed. ABAQUS finite element simulation was used for verification and comparison, and on this basis parameter expansion analysis was carried out. The results show that the failure mode of the wind power tower was divided into weld tear damage between belly bar, high strength bolt thread damage and belly rod flexion damage. In addition, increasing the wall thickness of the web member could render the hysteresis curve fuller. Finally, the bearing capacity of the separated spherical node wind power tower was high, but its plastic deformation ability was poor. The ultimate bearing capacity and ductility coefficient of the simulated specimens are positively correlated with web diameter ratio and web column stiffness ratio. When the diameter ratio of the web member was greater than 0.13, or the stiffness ratio γ of the web member to the column was greater than 0.022, the increase of the ultimate bearing capacity and ductility coefficient decreased significantly. In order to maximize the overall mechanical performance of the tower and improve its economy, it was suggested that the diameter ratio of the ventral rod be 0.11-0.13, while the stiffness ratio γ should be 0.02-0.022.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2012

Dynamic behaviors of line type bearings, spherical bearings and disk bearings which are being used for railway steel bridges are investigated, and that of the bridges is also analyzed. For the purpose, the vertical displacements of the three bearings including fixed and expansion type are measured and analyzed. Also, the deformation of the PTFE plate placed inside of spherical and disk bearings of expansion type is measured and its effect on the dynamic behavior of the bridges is discussed. The up-lift phenomenon at the bearings installed for the steel bridges is estimated. The vertical displacements at mid-span of the bridges are compared according to the bearing types. Finally, the 1st mode natural frequencies are estimated and the relationship to the vertical displacement is discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.813-833
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• 2015

Spherical reticulated shells are widely applied in structural engineering due to their good bearing capability and attractive appearance. Parametric modeling of spherical reticulated shells is the basis of internal analysis and optimization design. In the present study, generation methods of nodes and the corresponding connection methods of rod elements are proposed. Modeling programs are compiled by adopting the ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL). A shape optimization method based on the two-stage algorithm is presented, and the corresponding optimization program is compiled in FORTRAN environment. Shape optimization is carried out based on the objective function of the minimum total steel consumption and the restriction condition of strength, stiffness, slenderness ratio, stability. The shape optimization of four typical Schwedler spherical reticulated shells is calculated with the span of 30 m~80 m and rise to span ratio of 1/7~1/2. Compared with the shape optimization results, the variation rules of total steel consumption along with the span and rise to span ratio are discussed. The results show that: (1) The left and right rod-Schwedler spherical reticulated shell is the most optimized and should be preferentially adopted in structural engineering. (2) The left diagonal rod-Schwedler spherical reticulated shell is second only to left and right rod regarding the mechanical behavior and optimized results. It can be applied to medium and small-span structures. (3) Double slash rod-Schwedler spherical reticulated shell is advantageous in mechanical behavior but with the largest total weight. Thus, this type can be used in large-span structures as far as possible. (4) The mechanical performance of no latitudinal rod-Schwedler spherical reticulated shell is the worst and with the second largest weight. Thus, this spherical reticulated shell should not be adopted generally in engineering.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.96-106
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• 2014

The increased vibration level of the railway bridge could make significant noise and, also, cause structural damages such as fatigue cracks. Related to these subjects, a spherical elastomeric bridge bearing, which is layered by hemispherical rubber and steel plates, was investigated in terms of its vibration performance. Several different shape factors could be considered by changing the curvature of hemispherical surface and size in rubber and steel plate thicknesses in the manufacturing stage. The performance of the spherical elastomeric bearing for the reduction in vibration was compared with that of the conventional bearing by performing vibration experiments on a scale-downed model. The rubber material characteristics and spherical shape are found to be important parameters in reducing the bridge vibration.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.211-220
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• 2023

Welded hollow spherical joints are commonly used joints in space grid structures. An internal stiffener is generally adopted to strengthen the joints when large hollow spheres are used. To further strengthen it, external stiffeners can be used at the same time. In this study, axial compression tests are conducted on four full-scale 550 mm spherical joints. The failure modes and strengths of the tested joints are investigated. It shows that the external stiffeners are able to increase the strength of the joint up to 25%. A numerical model for large spherical joints with stiffeners is established and verified against the experimental results. Parametric studies are executed considering six main design factors using the verified model. It is found that the strength of the spherical joint increases as the thickness, height and number of the external stiffeners increase, and the hollow sphere's diameter has a neglectable effect on the enhancement caused by the external stiffeners. Based on the experimental and numerical results, a practical formula for the compressive bearing capacity of large welded hollow spherical joints with both internal and external stiffeners is proposed. The proposed formula gives a conservative prediction on the compressive capacity of large welded hollow spherical joints with both internal and external stiffeners.