• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.15-29
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• 2019

This paper addresses the problem of damage detection in suspension bridge hangers, with an emphasis on the modal flexibility method. It aims at evaluating the capability and the accuracy of the modal flexibility method to detect and locate single and multiple damages in suspension bridge hangers, with different level of severity and various locations. The study is conducted numerically and experimentally on a laboratory suspension bridge mock-up. First, the covariance-driven stochastic subspace identification is used to extract the modal parameters of the bridge from experimental data, using only output measurements data from ambient vibration. Then, the method is demonstrated for several damage scenarios and compared against other classical methods, such as: Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion (COMAC), Enhanced Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion (ECOMAC), Mode Shape Curvature (MSC) and Modal Strain Energy (MSE). The paper demonstrates the relative merits and shortcomings of these methods which play a significant role in the damage detection ofsuspension bridges.

• 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.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1309-1317
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• 1994

Because the stiffening girders are constructed after the installation of hangers for typical suspension bridge, no additional tensioning to hangers in construction is necessary for this bridge type in which main cable is earth-anchored. However, for self-anchored suspension bridge, hangers are installed after temporarily supporting stiffening girders constructed in previous stage. Therefore, initial tension is required on installing hangers. Tension of hangers varies as the construction proceeds. Hence, it is necessary to determine the most efficient method of installing hangers among several methods. This study presents finite element procedures and the algorithms of construction stage analysis to simulate construction processes. Geometric nonlinear analysis scheme is also included. The most effective method regarding the installation of hangers is presented through the examples of actual bridge model.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.683-693
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• 2019

In August 2012, during the passage of the typhoon Haikui (1211), large amplitude vibrations were observed on long hangers of the Xihoumen suspension Bridge, which destroyed a few viscoelastic dampers originally installed to connect a pair of hanger ropes transversely. The purpose of this study is to identify the cause of vibration and to develop countermeasures against vibration. Field measurements have been conducted in order to correlate the wind and vibration characteristics of hangers. Furthermore, a replica aeroelastic model of prototype hangers consisting of four parallel ropes was used to study the aeroelastic behavior of hanger ropes and to examine the effect of the rigid spacers on vibration mitigation. It is shown that the downstream hanger rope experiences the most violent elliptical vibration for certain wind direction, and the vibration is mainly attributed to wake interference of parallel hanger ropes. Based on wind tunnel tests and field validation, it is confirmed that four rigid spacers placed vertically at equal intervals are sufficient to suppress the wake-induced vibrations. Since the deployment of spacers on hangers, server hanger vibrations and clash of hanger ropes are never observed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.39-61
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• 2017

Buffeting induced resonance (BIR) of hangers on long-suspension bridges is briefly reviewed, including mechanism and experimental verification. Taken the Xihoumen suspension bridge as a numerical example, sensitivities of the BIR of hangers to wind properties are investigated, including types of wind spectrum, turbulence intensity, and spacial coherence of wind fluctuations. Numerical simulations indicate that the BIR of hangers occur to both cases of different wind spectra, showing that it is insensitive to types of wind spectrum. On the other hand, it is found that the turbulence intensity affects buffeting of main cables almost in a linear manner, and so it does to the BIR of the hangers; however, the resonance factors, namely the ratio of the response of the hanger to that of the main cable, are little affected by the turbulence intensity. The spacial coherence of the wind fluctuations, although plays an important role on the buffeting responses of the main structure, has no substantial effects on the BIR of the hangers. Finally, replacement of steel strand with CFRP material has been verified as a very effective countermeasure against the BIR of hangers.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.786-793
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• 2006

For the purpose of developing a vibration-based tension force evaluation procedure for hangers in suspension bridges, a 3D finite element model of hangers is constructed in this paper. With the developed finite element formulation, a frequency-based sensitivity-updating algorithm is applied to identify the target cable system the proposed method is also able to identify the flexural rigidity. the axial rigidity, and the torsion rigidity of a cable. For a field application, a vibration test on hangers of the Yong Jong Grand Suspension Bridge is carried out and the collected data is used to verify the proposed method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.70 no.3
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• pp.311-324
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• 2019

Long-span steel suspension bridges develop significant vibrations under the effect of external time-variable loadings because their slenderness. This causes significant stresses variations that could induce fatigue problems in critical components of the bridge. The research outcome presented in this paper includes a fatigue analysis of a long suspension bridge with 3300 meters central suspended span under wind action and train transit. Special focus is made on the counterintuitive interaction effects between train and wind loads in terms of fatigue damage accumulation in the hanger ropes. In fact the coupling of the two actions is shown to have positive effects for some hangers in terms of damage accumulation. Fatigue damage is evaluated using a linear accumulation model (Palmgren-Miner rule), analyses are carried out in time domain by a three-dimensional non-linear finite element model of the bridge. Rational explanation regarding the above-mentioned counterintuitive behavior is given on the basis of the stress time histories obtained for pertinent hangers under the effects of wind and train as acting separately or simultaneously. The interaction between wind and train traffic loads can be critical for a some hanger ropes therefore interaction phenomena within loads should be considered in the design.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.2
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• pp.169-180
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• 2019

The underlying mechanism of the wind-induced vibration of the hangers of the suspension bridges is still not fully understood at present and hence is comprehensively examined in this study. More specifically, a series of field measurements on the No. 2 hanger of the Xihoumen Bridge was first carefully conducted. Large amplitude vibrations of the hanger were found and the oscillation amplitude of the leeward cable was obviously larger than that of the windward cables. Furthermore, the trajectory of the leeward cable was close to an ellipse, which agreed well with the major characteristics of wake-induced vibration. Then, a theoretical model for the wake-induced vibration based on a 3-D continuous cable was established. To obtain the responses of the leeward cable, the finite difference method (FDM) was adopted to numerically solve the established motion equation. Finally, numerical simulations by using the structural parameters of the No. 2 hanger of the Xihoumen Bridge were carried out within the spatial range of $4{\leq}X{\leq}10$ and $0{\leq}Y{\leq}4$ with a uniform interval of ${\Delta}X={\Delta}Y=0.25$. The results obtained from numerical simulations agreed well with the main features obtained from the field observations on the Xihoumen Bridge. This observation indicates that the wake-induced vibration might be one of the reasons for the hanger oscillation of the suspension bridge. In addition, the effects of damping ratio and windward cable movement on the wake-induced vibration of the leeward cable were numerically investigated.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.301-308
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• 2014

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the beam is suspended by load-bearing cables. There are two classifications: the self-anchored suspension bridge has the main cable anchored to the bridge girders, and the earth-anchored suspension bridge has the main cable anchored to a large anchorage. Although a suspension bridge is structurally safe, it is prone to be damaged by various actions such as hurricanes, tsunamis and terrorist incidents because its cables are exposed. If damage to a cable eventually leads to the cable rupture, the bridge may collapse. To avoid these accidents, studies on the dynamic behavior of cable bridges due to the cable rupture have been carried out. Design codes specify that the calculated DAF (dynamic amplification factor) should not exceed a certain value. However, it has been difficult to determine DAFs effectively from dynamic analysis, and thus no systematic approach has been suggested. The current study provides a guideline to determine DAFs reliably from the dynamic analysis results and summarizes the results by applying the method to an earth-anchored suspension bridge. In the study, DAFs were calculated at the location of four structural parts, girders, pylons, main cable and hangers, with variations in the rupture time.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2023

Bridge hangers, such as those in suspension and cable-stayed bridges, suffer from cumulative fatigue damage caused by dynamic loads (e.g., cyclic traffic and wind loads) in their service condition. Thus, the identification of damage to hangers is important in preserving the service life of the bridge structure. This study develops a new method for condition assessment of bridge hangers. The tension force of the bridge and the damages in the element level can be identified using the Bayesian optimization method. To improve the number of observed data, the additional mass method is combined the Bayesian optimization method. Numerical studies are presented to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. The influence of different acquisition functions, which include expected improvement (EI), probability-of-improvement (PI), lower confidence bound (LCB), and expected improvement per second (EIPC), on the identification of damage to the bridge hanger is studied. Results show that the errors identified by the EI acquisition function are smaller than those identified by the other acquisition functions. The identification of the damage to the bridge hanger with various types of boundary conditions and different levels of measurement noise are also studied. Results show that both the severity of the damage and the tension force can be identified via the proposed method, thereby verifying the robustness of the proposed method. Compared to the genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and nonlinear least-square method (NLS), the Bayesian optimization (BO) performs best in identifying the structural damage and tension force.