• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.95-102
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• 1997

Jointless bridge is a new construction method applicable to bridge of short length. In the jointless bridge expansion of superstructure due to thermal effect was absorbed in the flexible pile-type abutment in stead of expansion joint in the conventional bridges. By removing expansion joint, it retards deterioration and extends life time of bridge. In this paper, jointless bridge of steel box girder type was studied through finite element analysis. Stress variations of superstructure and pile due to thermal effect was studied for the two span continuous integral bridge of 80m length and the results of analysis was presented.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.469-488
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• 2015

Thermal loads, especially thermal gradients, have a considerable effect on the behaviors of large-scale bridges throughout their lifecycles. Bridge design specifications provide minimal guidance regarding thermal gradients for simple bridge girders and do not consider transversal thermal gradients in wide girder cross-sections. This paper investigates the three-dimensional thermal gradients of arch bridge girders by integrating long-term field monitoring data recorded by a structural health monitoring system, with emphasis on the vertical and transversal thermal gradients of wide concrete-steel composite girders. Based on field monitoring data for one year, the time-dependent characteristics of temperature and three-dimensional thermal gradients in girder cross-sections are explored. A statistical analysis of thermal gradients is conducted, and the probability density functions of transversal and vertical thermal gradients are estimated. The extreme thermal gradients are predicted with a specific return period by employing an extreme value analysis, and the profiles of the vertical thermal gradient are established for bridge design. The transversal and vertical thermal gradients are developed to help engineers understand the thermal behaviors of concrete-steel composite girders during their service periods.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.29-43
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• 2023

This study investigates the possibility of damage detection of a real bridge by means of a modal parameter-based finite element (FE) model update. Field moving vehicle experiments were conducted on an actual steel plate girder bridge. In the damage experiment, cracks were applied to the bridge to simulate damage states. A fast Bayesian FFT method was employed to identify and quantify uncertainties of the modal parameters then these modal parameters were used in the Bayesian model update. Material properties and boundary conditions are taken as uncertainties and updated in the model update process. Observations showed that although some differences existed in the results obtained from different model classes, the discrepancy between modal parameters of the FE model and those experimentally obtained was reduced after the model update process, and the updated parameters in the numerical model were indeed affected by the damage. The importance of boundary conditions in the model updating process is also observed. The capability of the MCMC model update method for application to the actual bridge structure is assessed, and the limitation of FE model update in damage detection of bridges using only modal parameters is observed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.1A
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• pp.173-181
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• 2006

Many isolated bridges are designed and constructed after the introduction of the seismic design. However those bridges designed in engineering fields have unnecessarily high serviceability limit and brittle failure mechanism, which do not satisfy the seismic design concept. Such design results are due to the excessive substructure stiffness of the conventional design method as well as the misunderstanding of the seismic design method. In this study an isolated bridge designed with the conventional design method is selected and the same bridge with steel bearings is modelled for the comparative seismic design. From the comparison, the seismic design procedures satisfying the required performance levels are provided for the two bridges. It is confirmed that the isolated bridge requires more complicated design procedure with trial and error methods and reanalyses but provides higher serviceability limit compared to the bridge with steel bearings. However, because the required serviceability limit can also be obtained by adjusting substructure stiffness, it is a resonable seismic design process that an isolated bridge is to be considered as an alternative design when the ductile failure mechanism is not obtained with a bridge with steel bearings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1221-1236
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• 2016

Modular structures consist of standardized modules and their connections. A modular bridge pier is proposed to accelerate bridge construction. Multiple concrete-filled steel tubes (CFTs) using commercial steel tubes were chosen as the main members. Buckling restrained bracings and enhanced connection details were designed to prevent premature low-cycle fatigue failure upon cyclic loading. The pier had a height of 7.95 m, widths of 2.5 m and 2.0 m along the strong and weak axis, respectively. Cyclic tests were performed on the modular pier to investigate structural performance. Test results showed that four CFT columns reached yielding without a premature failure of the bracing connections. The ultimate capacity of the modular pier was reasonably estimated based on the plastic-hinge-analysis concept. The modular CFT pier with enhanced bracing showed improved displacement ductility without premature failure at the welding joints.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2007

To gain understanding of the applicability of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) cable in cable-supported bridges, based on the Runyang Bridge and Jinsha Bridge, a suspension bridge using CFRP cables and a cable-stayed bridge using CFRP stay cables are schemed, in which the cable's cross-sectional area is determined by the principle of equivalent axial stiffness. Numerical investigations on the dynamic behavior, aerostatic and aerodynamic stability of the two bridges are conducted by 3D nonlinear analysis, and the effect of different cable materials on the wind resistance is discussed. The results show that as CFRP cables are used in cable-supported bridges, (1) structural natural frequencies are all increased, and particularly great increase of the torsional frequency occurs for suspension bridges; (2) under the static wind action, structural deformation is increased, however its aerostatic stability is basically remained the same as that of the case with steel cables; (3) for suspension bridge, its aerodynamic stability is superior to that of the case with steel cables, but for cable-stayed bridge, it is basically the same as that of the case with steel stay cables. Therefore as far as the wind resistance is considered, the use of CFRP cables in cable-supported bridges is feasible, and the cable's cross-sectional area should be determined by the principle of equivalent axial stiffness.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.613-625
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• 2012

Since railway bridge frequently have a chance of passing train load close to design load, it is necessary to reflect sufficiently fatigue property in early design phase for many structural details. Nevertheless fatigue cracks are reported partly in deck plate girder of railway steel bridge because of the weight and arrangement of axial load acting on railway bridge, the application of improper structural details for fatigue problem etc.. One of main cause for fatigue crack at the welded part of upper flange and web is caused by the eccentricity action of train load due to the difference of center to center spacing between the main girder supporting sleeper and the rail acting train load. For the existing deck plate girder of railway steel bridge, in this study, field survey, field measurement and a series of structural analysis were performed. In addition, the characteristics of structural behavior, the causes and repair/ retrofit of fatigue crack were examined in the target bridge.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.343-355
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• 2013

Shear failure and core concrete crushing at plastic hinge region are the two main failure modes of bridge piers, which can make repair impossible and cause the collapse of bridge. To avoid the two types of failure of pier, a composite pier was proposed, which was formed by embedding high strength concrete filled steel tubular (CFT) column in reinforced concrete (RC) pier. Through cyclic loading tests, the seismic performances of the composite pier were studied. The experimental results show that the CFT column embedded in composite pier can increase the flexural strength, displacement ductility and energy dissipation capacity, and decrease the residual displacement after undergoing large deformation. The analytical analysis is performed to simulate the hysteretic behavior of the composite pier subjected to cyclic loading, and the numerical results agree well with the experimental results. Using the analytical model and time-history analysis method, seismic responses of a continuous girder bridge using composite piers is investigated, and the results show that the bridge using composite piers can resist much stronger earthquake than the bridge using RC piers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.8 no.3 s.28
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• pp.117-125
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• 1996

The stress patterns of vertical stiffener of plate girder bridge were examined by existing data of actual measurement stress for steel bridges and the structural details of vertical stiffener of plate girder bridge having seeked rationalization and abbreviation were investigated by 1/2 bridge model. As the results, the out-of-plane stress occur in the upper parts of vertical stiffner and fatigue cracks by the action of alternative stress is apt to occur in web plate of lower parts vertical stiffener. Also, the gap between lower parts of vertical stiffner and lower flange of plate girder bridge seeking rationalization and abbreviation is effective to adopt 100mm.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.391-404
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• 2023

In this study, the modeling of the transverse connection of fully precast steel-UHPC (Ultra-High-Performance Concrete) lightweight composite bridges were conducted. The transverse connection between precast components plays a critical role in the overall performance and safety of the bridge. To achieve an accurate and reliable simulation of the interface behavior, the cohesive model in ABAQUS was employed, considering both bending-tension and compression-shear behaviors. The parameters of the cohesive model are obtained through interface bending and oblique shear tests on UHPC samples with different surface roughness. By validating the numerical simulation against actual joint tests, the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed model in capturing the interface behavior of the fully precast steel-UHPC lightweight composite bridge were demonstrated.