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

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

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

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.1-18
• /
• 2001

The classical two-degree-of-freedom (2-d-o-f) "sectional model" is currently used to study the dynamics of suspension bridges. Taking into account the first pair of vertical and torsional modes of the bridge, it describes well global oscillations caused by wind actions on the deck and yields very useful information on the overall behaviour and the aerodynamic and aeroelastic response, but does not consider relative oscillation between main cables and deck. The possibility of taking into account these relative oscillations, that can become significant for very long span bridges, is the main purpose of the 4-d-o-f model, proposed by the Authors in previous papers and fully developed here. Longitudinal deformability of the hangers (assumed linear elastic in tension and unable to react in compression) and external loading on the cables are taken into account: thus not only global oscillations, but also relative oscillations between cables and deck can be described. When the hangers go slack, large nonlinear oscillations are possible; if the hangers remain taut, the oscillations are small and essentially linear. This paper describes the model proposed for small and large oscillations, and investigates in detail the limit condition for linear response under harmonic actions on the cables (e.g., like those that could be generated by vortex shedding). These results are sufficient to state that, with geometric and mechanical parameters in a range corresponding to realistic cases of large span suspension bridges, large relative oscillations between main cables and deck cannot be excluded, and therefore should not be neglected in the design. Forthcoming papers will investigate more general cases of loading and dynamic response of the model.

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

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.451-470
• /
• 2003

The classical two-degree-of-freedom (2-d-o-f) "sectional model" is of common use to study the dynamics of suspension bridges. It takes into account the first pair of vertical and torsional modes of the bridge and describes well global oscillations caused by wind actions on the deck, yielding very useful information on the overall behaviour and the aerodynamic and aeroelastic response; however, it does not consider relative oscillations between main cables and deck. On the contrary, the 4-d-o-f model described in the two Parts of this paper includes longitudinal deformability of the hangers (assumed linear elastic in tension and unable to react in compression) and thus allows to take into account not only global oscillations, but also relative oscillations between main cables and deck. In particular, when the hangers go slack, large nonlinear oscillations are possible; if the hangers remain taut, the oscillations remain small and essentially linear: the latter behaviour has been the specific object of Part I (Sepe and Augusti 2001), while the present Part II investigates the nonlinear behaviour (coexisting large and/or small amplitude oscillations) under harmonic actions on the cables and/or on the deck, such as might be generated by vortex shedding. Because of the discontinuities and strong nonlinearity of the governing equations, the response has been investigated numerically. The results obtained for sample values of mechanical and forcing parameters seems to confirm that relative oscillations cannot a priori be excluded for very long span bridges under wind-induced loads, and they can stimulate a discussion on the actual possibility of such phenomena.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.62 no.1
• /
• pp.85-95
• /
• 2017

This paper presents an explicit analytical iteration method for form-finding analysis of suspension bridges. By extending the conventional analytical form-finding method predicated on the elastic catenary theory, two nonlinear governing equations are derived for calculating the accurate unstrained lengths of the entire cable systems both the main cable and the hangers. And for the gradient-based iteration method, the derivation of explicit calculation for the Jacobian matrix while solving the nonlinear governing equation enhances the computational efficiency. The results from sensitivity analysis show well performance of the explicit Jacobian matrix compared with the traditional finite difference method. According to two numerical examples of long span suspension bridges studied, the proposed method is also compared with those reported approaches or the fundamental criterions in suspension bridge structural analysis, which eventually confirms the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed approach.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.939-957
• /
• 2015

In this paper, a new approach based on the continuum model is proposed to estimate the main cable tension force of suspension bridges from measured natural frequencies. This approach considered the vertical vibration of a main cable hinged at both towers and supported by an elastic girder and hangers along its entire length. The equation reflected the relationship between vibration frequency and horizontal tension force of a main cable was derived. To avoid to generate the additional cable tension force by sag-extensibility, the analytical solution of characteristic equation for anti-symmetrical vibration mode of the main cable was calculated. Then, the estimation of main cable tension force was carried out by anti-symmetric characteristic frequency vector. The errors of estimation due to characteristic frequency deviations were investigated through numerical analysis of the main cable of Taizhou Bridge. A field experiment was conducted to verify the proposed approach. Through measuring and analyzing the responses of a main cable of Taizhou Bridge under ambient excitation, the horizontal tension force of the main cable was identified from the first three odd frequencies. It is shown that the estimated results agree well with the designed values. The proposed approach can be used to conduct the long-term health monitoring of suspension bridges.

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

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