• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.347-359
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• 2019

This paper aims to evaluate the behavior of Dorim-Goh bridge in Seoul, Korea, under static and dynamic loads effects by ambient trucks. The prestressed concrete (PSC) girders and reinforcement concrete (RC) slab of the bridge are evaluated and assessed. A short period monitoring system is designed which comprises displacement, strain and accelerometer sensors to measure the bridge performance under static and dynamic trucks loads. The statistical analysis is used to assess the static behavior of the bridge and the wavelet analysis and probabilistic using Weibull distribution are used to evaluate the frequency and reliability of the dynamic behavior of the bridge. The results show that the bridge is safe under static and dynamic loading cases. In the static evaluation, the measured neutral axis position of the girders is deviated within 5% from its theoretical position. The dynamic amplification factor of the bridge girder and slab are lower than the design value of that factor. The Weibull shape parameters are decreased, it which means that the bridge performance decreases under dynamic loads effect. The bridge girder and slab's frequencies are higher than the design values and constant under different truck speeds.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.311-329
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• 2015

A method for analyzing the coupled wind-vehicle-bridge system is proposed that also considers the shielding effect of the bridge tower with triangular wind barriers. The static wind load and the buffeting wind load for both the bridge and the vehicle are included. The shielding effects of the bridge tower and the triangular wind barriers are incorporated by taking the surface integral of the wind load. The inter-history iteration is adopted to solve the vehicle-bridge dynamic equations with time-varying external loads. The results show that after installing the triangular wind barriers in the area of the bridge tower, the bridge response and the vehicle safety factors change slightly. The peak value of the train car body acceleration is significantly reduced when the wind barrier size is increased.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.435-450
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• 2024

The geometry change of railway tracks significantly influences the safety and ride comfort of high-speed trains. This paper presents an analytical method to map the thermal deformations of a long-span arch bridge to the geometry of CRTS Type I double-block ballastless tracks for high-speed railways. A mechanical model of the bridge-track coupled system was developed to derive analytical formulae of the deformations of the track. The analytical formulae explicitly consider the mechanical properties of the bridge-track coupled system and the temperature profile. A three-dimensional finite element model was established to evaluate the predictions obtained from the analytical formulae. The results show that the analytical formulae provide accurate predictions of the track deformations caused by the thermal deformations of bridges. This research will promote the design, evaluation, and operation of high-speed railway bridges for improved safety and ride comfort in engineering practices.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.621-652
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• 2016

A new cable-supported bridge model consisting of suspension parts, self-anchored cable-stayed parts and earth-anchored cable-stayed parts is presented. The new bridge model can be used for suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridges, cable-stayed suspension bridges, and partially earth-anchored cable-stayed bridges by varying parameters. Based on the assumption that each structural member is in either an axial compressive or tensile state, and the stress in each member is equal to the allowable stress of the material, the material quantity for each component is calculated. By introducing the unit cost of each type of material, the estimation formula for the cost of the new bridge model is developed. Numerical examples show that the results from the estimation formula agree well with that from the real projects. The span limit of cable supported bridge depends on the span-to-height ratio and the density-to-strength ratio of cables. Finally, a parametric study is illustrated aiming at the relations between three key geometrical parameters and the cost of the bridge model. The optimization of the new bridge model indicates that the self-anchored cable-stayed part is always the dominant part with the consideration of either the lowest total cost or the lowest unit cost. It is advisable to combine all three mentioned structural parts in super long span cable supported bridges to achieve the most excellent economic performance.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.649-662
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• 2020

The existence of a dam has potential effects on the surrounding wind environment especially when it is located in mountainous areas. In this situation, the long-span bridge over the reservoir can easily be exposed to non-uniform incoming flows, affecting its wind-resistance performance. This paper presents a study on the aerostatic stability of such a bridge. Wind tunnel tests were first carried out to investigate the wind environment above a mountainous reservoir. The results show that the angle of attack and the wind speed along the bridge axis show obvious non-uniform characteristics, which is related to the inflow direction. When winds come from the south where the river is winding, the angle of attack varies along the span direction significantly. The finite element model for the bridge was established using ANSYS software, and effects of non-uniform wind loads on the aerostatic stability were computed. Non-uniform angle of attack and wind speed are unfavorable to the aerostatic stability of the bridge, especially the former. When the combined action of non-uniform angle of attack and wind speed is considered, the critical wind speed of aerostatic instability is further reduced. Moreover, the aerostatic stability of the bridge is closely related to the dam height.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.683-701
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• 2016

Safety is the prime concern for a high-speed railway bridge, especially when it is subjected to a collision. In this paper, an analysis framework for the dynamic responses of train-bridge systems under collision load is established. A multi-body dynamics model is employed to represent the moving vehicle, the modal decomposition method is adopted to describe the bridge structure, and the time history of a collision load is used as the external load on the train-bridge system. A (180+216+180) m continuous steel trussed-arch bridge is considered as an illustrative case study. With the vessel collision acting on the pier, the displacements and accelerations at the pier-top and the mid-span of the bridge are calculated when a CRH2 high-speed train running through the bridge, and the influence of bridge vibration on the running safety indices of the train, including derailment factors, offload factors and lateral wheel/rail forces, are analyzed. The results demonstrate that under the vessel collision load, the dynamic responses of the bridge are greatly enlarged, threatening the running safety of high-speed train on the bridge, which is affected by both the collision intensity and the train speed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.393-402
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• 2020

Long-span bridges with high flexibility and low structural damping are very susceptible to the vortex-induced vibration (VIV), which causes extremely negative impacts on the ride comfort of vehicles running on the bridges. To assess the ride comfort of vehicles running on the long-span bridges subjected to VIV, a coupled wind-vehicle-bridge system applicable to the VIV case is firstly developed in this paper. In this system, the equations of motion of the vehicles and the bridge subjected to VIV are established and coupled through the vehicle-bridge interaction. Based on the dynamic responses of the vehicles obtained by solving the coupled system, the ride comfort of the vehicles can be evaluated using the method given in ISO 2631-1. At last, the proposed framework is applied to several case studies, where a long-span suspension bridge and two types of vehicles are taken into account. The effects of vehicle speed, vehicle type, road roughness and vehicle number on the ride comfort are investigated.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.667-680
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• 2020

This study aims at reporting a systematic procedure for evaluating the static and dynamic structural performance of steel bridges based on a short-period structural health monitoring measurement. Sungsu bridge located in Korea is considered as a case study presenting the most recent tests carried out to examine the bridge condition. Short-period measurements of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system were used during the bridge testing phase. A novel symmetry index is introduced using statistical analyses of deflection and strain measurements. Frequency Domain Decomposition (FDD) is implemented to the strain measurements to estimate the bridge mode shapes and damping ratios. Furthermore, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is also implemented to examine the reliability of bridge performance while ambient design trucks are in static or moving at different speeds. Strain, displacement and acceleration were measured at selected locations on the bridge. The results show that the symmetry index can be an efficient and useful measure in assessing the steel bridge performance. The results from the used method reveal that the performance of the Sungsu bridge is safe under operational conditions.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.775-796
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• 2014

This study presents a vibration-based health monitoring strategy for short span bridges utilizing an inspection vehicle. How to screen the health condition of short span bridges in terms of a drive-by bridge inspection is described. Feasibility of the drive-by bridge inspection is investigated through a scaled laboratory moving vehicle experiment. The feasibility of using an instrumented vehicle to detect the natural frequency and changes in structural damping of a model bridge was observed. Observations also demonstrated the possibility of diagnosis of bridges by comparing patterns of identified bridge dynamic parameters through periodical monitoring. It was confirmed that the moving vehicle method identifies the damage location and severity well.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.177-191
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• 2019

The local topography has a significant effect on the characteristics of seismic ground motion. This paper investigates the influence of topographic effects on the seismic response of a train-bridge system. A 3-D finite element model with local absorbing boundary conditions is established for the local site. The time histories of seismic ground motion are converted into equivalent loads on the artificial boundary, to obtain the seismic input at the bridge supports. The analysis of the train-bridge system subjected to multi-support seismic excitations is performed, by applying the displacement time histories of the seismic ground motion to the bridge supports. In a case study considering a bridge with a span of 466 m crossing a valley, the seismic response of the train-bridge system is analyzed. The results show that the local topography and the incident angle of seismic waves have a significant effect on the seismic response of the train-bridge system. Leaving these effects out of consideration may lead to unsafe analysis results.