Reliability analysis of long span steel arch bridges against wind-induced stability failure

An efficient method for reliability assessment of long span steel arch bridges against wind-induced stability failure is presented in this paper. The prediction of wind-induced stability of such bridge structures is performed by an eigenvalue method and the reliability estimates are determined by a generalized first-order reliability algorithm. A software strategy for interfacing the present method with ANSYS is developed via a freely available MATLAB software tool (FERUM). A numerical example involving a detailed computational model of a long span steel arch bridge with a main span of 550 m is presented to demonstrate the applicability and merits of the present method and the software strategy. Finally, the most influential random variables on the reliability of long span steel bridges against wind-induced stability failure are identified by a sensitivity analysis.