铁路斜拉桥钢桁梁桁片制作技术

合福铁路铜陵长江大桥主桥钢梁采用国内首次应用的整体桁片式结构设计,钢梁工厂制作、桥位安装。我国铁路钢桥从散拼杆件制作向整体节点杆件和桁片制作发展,钢桥建造逐步走向大型化、工厂化,技术水平稳步提高。总结了铜陵公、铁两用斜拉桥钢桁梁桁片制作技术,可为我国铁路钢桥向大型化、工厂化发展提供一些借鉴。     

异形索桁架结构浮动式连接可行性研究

针对异形索桁架特殊的结构形式,从拉索结构适应温度变化、对主体结构产生影响、应力及挠度控制和造价几个方面出发,提出异形索桁架通常的硬性连接和新型的两种浮动式连接方式,并对这3种方案形式的构造和受力分别做了分析,利用通用的有限元程序,对3种方案的结构形式在各种工况条件下分别进行静力计算和对主体结构产生影响的分析,同时对3种结构形式的动力响应进行分析,系统地对3种连接方案的异形索桁架从温度变化、对结构产生的影响、挠度控制和工程造价方面分别做了对比性说明,对3种索桁架的动力特性做了具体对比,提出合理的建议,可作为今后索桁架节点设计的参考。     

Geometric nonlinear analysis of tall building structures with outriggers

In this paper, the geometric nonlinear behavior of wall‐frame tall building structures is analyzed. The governing equations of the wall‐frame systems with outrigger trusses are formulated through the continuum approach, and the whole structure is idealized as a shear‐flexural cantilever with rotational spring. The effect of shear and flexural deformation of the wall frame and outrigger trusses are considered and incorporated in the formulation of the governing equations. Geometric nonlinearity in the sense of von Karman is included in the formulation, and Newton–Raphson iterative method is employed to solve the nonlinear equations. A displacement‐based one‐dimensional nonlinear finite element model is developed. Numerical results for wall frame and mega‐column structures with outriggers are obtained and compared with the finite element package MIDAS. The proposed method is found to be simple and efficient, providing reasonably accurate results in early design stages of tall building structures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Monte Carlo simulation of extreme traffic loading on short and medium span bridges

The accurate estimation of site-specific lifetime extreme traffic load effects is an important element in the cost-effective assessment of bridges. A common approach is to use statistical distributions derived from weigh-in-motion measurements as the basis for Monte Carlo simulation of traffic loading. However, results are highly sensitive to the assumptions made, not just with regard to vehicle weights but also to axle configurations and gaps between vehicles. This paper presents a comprehensive model for Monte Carlo simulation of bridge loading for free-flowing traffic and shows how the model matches results from measurements on five European highways. The model has been optimised to allow the simulation of many years of traffic and this greatly reduces the variance in calculating estimates for lifetime loading from the model. The approach described here does not remove the uncertainty inherent in estimating lifetime maximum loading from data collected over relatively short time periods.     

Nonlinear seismic assessment of isolated high-speed railway bridge subjected to near-fault earthquake scenarios

Abstract

An iterative framework is introduced in this present study to detect seismic isolation precursors of the shortcut calculation method for the isolated benchmark high-speed railway RC bridge. The spatial finite element (FE) analysis model of a benchmark isolated high-speed railway reinforced concrete (RC) bridge system under high-speed railway vehicles is set up based on the equivalent linear method. The vehicle with two bogies is assumed to be represented by a 3?D discrete rigid multi-body system with 23 degrees of freedoms (DOFs). The present study compares the nonlinear seismic response of a high-speed railway bridge with and without isolation bearings. Numerical results demonstrate that the isolation system with the optimal parameters can simultaneously reduce the deck displacement and the internal force of the isolated railway bridge under near-fault (NF) ground motions with various peak accelerations and peak velocity ratios, to ensure the adequate isolation efficiency of isolated structures. Specifically, the study shows that the seismic response of the seismically isolated bridge (IB) and the running safety indexes of the train are primarily dominated by the contents around the fundamental frequency of the train-bridge system subjected to the earthquakes.     

Designing bridge maintenance on the network and project levels

If management is perceived as the execution of informed decisions, bridge management supplies the decision support. Ideally, its task should fall in the domain of optimisation; however, the constraints and objectives for such a treatment frequently diverge between the network and the project levels. Nevertheless, working models are in evidence. Over the last 15 years New York City appears to have maintained an equilibrium between the average bridge condition ratings of its 800 bridges and the related capital expenditures. Management must therefore inquire if these expenditures can be rendered more effective. The particular contribution of preventive maintenance (PM) to this ‘steady state’ is explored with several objectives. An attempt is made to compare the relative cost-effectiveness of different maintenance tasks. The information needed in order to verify such comparisons to a satisfactory degree is identified, as are the strengths and limitations of the network (top-down) and project (ground-up) management viewpoints. Recommendations about short- and long-term maintenance strategies are formulated.     

Corrosion initiation time updating by epistemic uncertainty as an alternative to schedule the first inspection time of pre-stressed concrete vehicular bridge beams

As traffic demands grow constantly and some vehicle bridges deteriorate because of corrosion issues, bridge agencies require non-expensive procedures to support decisions about cost-effective maintenance schedules. In this article, a reliability-based formulation is proposed for the prediction of the optimal first inspection time including both the corrosion deterioration and the epistemic uncertainty on the corrosion initiation time. For the identification of the bridge integrity state, where little or no follow-up has been previously developed, the prediction of a damage state implies a great deal of epistemic uncertainty. The impact of this kind of uncertainty on the corrosion initiation time prediction is appraised in order to include the conservative estimations of such a time, according to the bridge revenues/cost ratio of further and more detailed studies. The time-varying bridge reliability is calculated in terms of the bridge corrosion deterioration, which induces a moment capacity reduction of the bridge beams. Epistemic uncertainty is introduced in the corrosion initiation time, and the optimal first inspection time is obtained as a probability distribution. Consequently, a procedure to calculate the first time for inspection on girder bridges has been proposed, based on updating a known distribution after considering the effect of epistemic uncertainty, using a lognormal distributed factor as ‘evidence’, by means of the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique.     

A simplified management procedure for bridge network maintenance

Structural problems due to corrosion, ageing, durability, aggressive environments, materials defects, lack of ductility and unforeseen behaviour under seismic loads may significantly compromise the resistance and safety of bridges. Scheduled maintenance of bridges becomes important to ensure complete serviceability of the road network. Among existing bridge management systems (BMSs), this work is a contribution to the evaluation criteria of bridge condition by means of visual inspection, prediction of future structural condition and planning of maintenance intervention. After a brief review of some existing BMSs, a simple new procedure for evaluation of bridge condition by means of visual inspection, aimed at general planning of maintenance in a BMS framework, is presented in this paper. This procedure is applied to stock, including about 200 bridges and viaducts, of the Veneto region road network in the north-eastern part of Italy, and is then discussed.     

Finite element model development,validation and probabilistic seismic performance evaluation of Vincent Thomas suspension bridge

Based on recent findings, the main span of the Vincent Thomas suspension bridge crosses directly over the Palos Verdes fault, which has the capacity to produce a devastating earthquake. In spring 2000, the bridge underwent a major retrofit using visco-elastic dampers. This study focuses on seismic vulnerability of the retrofitted bridge. Three-dimensional member-based detailed and panel-based simplified finite element models of the bridge are developed. In order to show the appropriateness of these models, eigenproperties of the bridge are evaluated and compared with the system identification results obtained using ambient vibration data. In addition, a model validation is performed by simulating the dynamic response during the 1994 Northridge earthquake and comparing with the measured response. Finally, considering a set of strong ground motions in the Los Angeles area, nonlinear time history analyses are performed and the ductility demands of critical sections are presented in terms of fragility curves. The study shows that a ground motion with peak ground acceleration of 0.9 g or greater will result in plastic hinge formation at one or more locations with a probability of exceedance of 50%. Also, it is found that the effect of dampers is minimal for low to moderate earthquakes and high for strong earthquakes.     

Application of shape memory alloy bars in self-centring precast segmental columns as seismic resistance

The objective of this study is to investigate analytically the performance of self-centring precast segmental bridge columns with shape memory alloy (SMA) starter bars under nonlinear static and lateral seismic loading. For this purpose, a 3D finite element model for hybrid post-tensioned bridge column has been developed. The precast post-tensioned segmental bridge columns possessing a central tendon and adequate transverse confinement provided by the steel tube jacketing as self-centring bridge columns have an undesirable high lateral seismic demand due to their low energy dissipation. In order to eliminate this deficiency while keeping the residual displacement small, SMA starter bars are applied in this system. The effect of post-tensioning (PT) forces of the central strands and SMA bar size are investigated. The results indicate that in high seismicity zones, bridge columns with SMA bars at a higher level of PT forces have a superior performance against earthquake loading.