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Response of Cable-Stayed and
Suspension Bridges to Moving Vehicles
Analysis methods and practical modeling techniques
Raid Karoumi

TRITA-BKN. Bulletin 44, 1998
ISSN 1103-4270
ISRN KTH/BKN/B--44--SE
Doctoral Thesis

146 m 146 m 335 m
v = 110 km/h
Royal Institute of Technology
Department of Structural Engineering

Response of Cable-Stayed and Suspension
Bridges to Moving Vehicles

Raid Karoumi

S-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

Akademisk avhandling

Som med tillstnd av Kungl Tekniska Hgskolan i Stockholm framlgges till offentlig
granskning fr avlggande av teknologie doktorsexamen fredagen den 12 februari
1999 kl 10.00 i Kollegiesalen, Valhallavgen 79, Stockholm. Avhandlingen frsvaras
p svenska.

Fakultetsopponent: Docent Sven Ohlsson
Huvudhandledare: Professor Hkan Sundquist

ISSN 1103-4270

Stockholm 1999

Response of Cable-Stayed and Suspension
Bridges to Moving Vehicles

Raid Karoumi

S-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden

_____________________________________________________________________
ISSN 1103-4270

Doctoral Thesis

To my wife, Lena,
to my daughter and son, Maria and Marcus,
and to my parents, Faiza and Sabah.

Akademisk avhandling som med tillstnd av Kungliga Tekniska Hgskolan i
Stockholm framlgges till offentlig granskning fr avlggande av teknologie
doktorsexamen fredagen den 12 februari 1999.

Raid Karoumi 1999
KTH, TS- Tryck & Kopiering, Stockholm 1999
i
______________________________________________________________________
Abstract
______________________________________________________________________
This thesis presents a state-of-the-art-review and two different approaches for solving
the moving load problem of cable-stayed and suspension bridges.

The first approach uses a simplified analysis method to study the dynamic response of
simple cable-stayed bridge models. The bridge is idealized as a Bernoulli-Euler beam
on elastic supports with varying support stiffness. To solve the equation of motion of
the bridge, the finite difference method and the mode superposition technique are used.

The second approach is based on the nonlinear finite element method and is used to
study the response of more realistic cable-stayed and suspension bridge models
considering exact cable behavior and nonlinear geometric effects. The cables are
modeled using a two-node catenary cable element derived using exact analytical
expressions for the elastic catenary. Two methods for evaluating the dynamic response
are presented. The first for evaluating the linear traffic load response using the mode
superposition technique and the deformed dead load tangent stiffness matrix, and the
second for the nonlinear traffic load response using the Newton-Newmark algorithm.

The implemented programs have been verified by comparing analysis results with
those found in the literature and with results obtained using a commercial finite
element code. Several numerical examples are presented including one for the Great
Belt suspension bridge in Denmark. Parametric studies have been conducted to
investigate the effect of, among others, bridge damping, bridge-vehicle interaction,
cables vibration, road surface roughness, vehicle speed, and tuned mass dampers.
From the numerical study, it was concluded that road surface roughness has great
influence on the dynamic response and should always be considered. It was also found
that utilizing the dead load tangent stiffness matrix, linear dynamic traffic load
analysis give sufficiently accurate results from the engineering point of view.

Key words: cable-stayed bridge, suspension bridge, Great Belt suspension bridge, bridge,
moving loads, traffic-induced vibrations, bridge-vehicle interaction, dynamic analysis,
cable element, finite element analysis, finite difference method, tuned mass damper.
ii

iii
______________________________________________________________________
Preface
______________________________________________________________________
The research presented in this thesis was carried out at the Department of Structural
Engineering, Structural Design and Bridges group, at the Royal Institute of
Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. The project has been financed by KTH and the Axel
and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation. The work was conducted under the
supervision of Professor Hkan Sundquist to whom I want to express my sincere
appreciation and gratitude for his encouragement, valuable advice and for always
having time for discussions. I also wish to thank Dr. Costin Pacoste for reviewing the
manuscript of this report and providing valuable comments for improvement.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife Lena Karoumi, my daughter and son, and my
parents for their love, understanding, support and encouragement.

Stockholm, January 1999

Raid Karoumi

iv

v
______________________________________________________________________
Contents
______________________________________________________________________
Abstract i
Preface iii
General Introduction and Summary 1

Part A State-of-the-art Review and a Simplified Analysis Method for Cable-
Stayed Bridges
7
1 Introduction 9
1.1 General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2 Review of previous research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.2.1 Research on cable-stayed bridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.2.2 Research on other bridge types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.3 General aims of the present study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2 Vehicle and Structure Modeling 29
2.1 Vehicle models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.2 Bridge structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.2.1 Major assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.2.2 Differential equation of motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2.3 Spring stiffness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.3 Bridge deck surface roughness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Response Analysis 43
3.1 Dynamic analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.1.1 Eigenmode extraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
vi
3.1.2 Response of the bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2 Static analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4 Numerical Examples and Model Verifications 51
4.1 General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.2 Simply supported bridge, moving force model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.3 Multi-span continuous bridge with rough road surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.4 Simple cable-stayed bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.5 Three-span cable-stayed bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4.6 Discussion of the numerical results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5 Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research 83
5.1 Conclusions of Part A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.2 Suggestions for further research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Bibliography of Part A 87

Part B Refined Analysis Utilizing the Nonlinear Finite Element Method 97
6 Introduction 99
6.1 General ......................................................................................................... 99
6.2 Cable structures and cable modeling techniques ....................................... 101
6.3 General aims of the present study .............................................................. 103
7 Nonlinear Finite Elements 105
7.1 General ....................................................................................................... 105
7.2 Modeling of cables ..................................................................................... 106
7.2.1 Cable element formulation............................................................ 107
7.2.2 Analytical verification................................................................... 111
7.3 Modeling of bridge deck and pylons.......................................................... 113

vii
8 Vehicle and Structure Modeling 117
8.1 Vehicle models........................................................................................... 117
8.2 Vehicle load modeling and the moving load algorithm............................. 121
8.3 Bridge structure.......................................................................................... 123
8.3.1 Modeling of damping in cable supported bridges......................... 123
8.3.2 Bridge deck surface roughness...................................................... 126
8.4 Tuned vibration absorbers.......................................................................... 127
9 Response Analysis 133
9.1 Dynamic Analysis ...................................................................................... 133
9.1.1 Linear dynamic analysis................................................................ 134
9.1.1.1 Eigenmode extraction and normalization of eigenvectors..... 135
9.1.1.2 Mode superposition technique ............................................... 136
9.1.2 Nonlinear dynamic analysis .......................................................... 138
9.2 Static analysis............................................................................................. 141
10 Numerical Examples 143
10.1 Simply supported bridge ............................................................................ 144
10.2 The Great Belt suspension bridge .............................................................. 149
10.2.1 Static response during erection and natural frequency analysis ... 151
10.2.2 Dynamic response due to moving vehicles................................... 154
10.3 Medium span cable-stayed bridge.............................................................. 158
10.3.1 Static response and natural frequency analysis............................. 159
10.3.2 Dynamic response due to moving vehicles parametric study.... 162
10.3.2.1 Response due to a single moving vehicle .............................. 163
10.3.2.2 Response due to a train of moving vehicles, effect of bridge-
vehicle interaction and cable modeling.................................. 165
10.3.2.3 Speed and bridge damping effect ........................................... 166
10.3.2.4 Effect of surface irregularities at the bridge entrance ............ 167
10.3.2.5 Effect of tuned vibration absorbers ........................................ 168

viii
11 Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research 181
11.1 Conclusions of Part B................................................................................. 181
11.1.1 Nonlinear finite element modeling technique............................... 181
11.1.2 Response due to moving vehicles ................................................. 182
11.2 Suggestions for further research................................................................. 184
A Maple Procedures 187
A.1 Cable element ............................................................................................. 187
A.2 Beam element ............................................................................................. 188
Bibliography of Part B 189

1
______________________________________________________________________
General Introduction and Summary
______________________________________________________________________
Due to their aesthetic appearance, efficient utilization of structural materials and other
notable advantages, cable supported bridges, i.e. cable-stayed and suspension bridges,
have gained much popularity in recent decades. Among bridge engineers the
popularity of cable-stayed bridges has increased tremendously. Bridges of this type are
now entering a new era with main span lengths reaching 1000 m. This fact is due, on
one hand to the relatively small size of the substructures required and on the other
hand to the development of efficient construction techniques and to the rapid progress
in the analysis and design of this type of bridges.

Ever since the dramatic collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940, much
attention has been given to the dynamic behavior of cable supported bridges. During
the last fifty-eight years, great deal of theoretical and experimental research was
conducted in order to gain more knowledge about the different aspects that affect the
behavior of this type of structures to wind and earthquake loading. The recent
developments in design technology, material qualities, and efficient construction
techniques in bridge engineering enable the construction of lighter, longer, and more
slender bridges. Thus nowadays, very long span cable supported bridges are being
built, and the ambition is to further increase the span length and use shallower and
more slender girders for future bridges. To achieve this, accurate procedures need to
be developed that can lead to a thorough understanding and a realistic prediction of the
structural response due to not only wind and earthquake loading but also traffic
loading. It is well known that large deflections and vibrations caused by dynamic tire
forces of heavy vehicles can lead to bridge deterioration and eventually increasing
maintenance costs and decreasing service life of the bridge structure.

The recent developments in bridge engineering have also affected damping capacity of
bridge structures. Major sources of damping in conventional bridgework have been
largely eliminated in modern bridge designs reducing the damping to undesirably low
levels. As an example, welded joints are extensively used nowadays in modern bridge
designs. This has greatly reduced the hysteresis that was provided in riveted or bolted
2
joints in earlier bridges. For cable supported bridges and in particular long span cable-
stayed bridges, energy dissipation is very low and is often not enough on its own to
suppress vibrations. To increase the overall damping capacity of the bridge structure,
one possible option is to incorporate external dampers (discrete damping devices such
as viscous dampers and tuned mass dampers) into the system. Such devices are
frequently used today for cable supported bridges. However, it is not believed that this
is always the most effective and the most economic solution. Therefore, a great deal of
research is needed to investigate the damping capacity of modern cable supported
bridges and to find new alternatives to increase the overall damping of the bridge
structure.

To consider dynamic effects due to moving traffic on bridges, structural engineers
worldwide rely on dynamic amplification factors specified in bridge design codes.
These factors are usually a function of the bridge fundamental natural frequency or
span length and states how many times the static effects must be magnified in order to
cover the additional dynamic loads. This is the traditional method used today for
design purpose and can yield a conservative and expensive design for some bridges
but might underestimate the dynamic effects for others. In addition, design codes
disagree on how this factor should be evaluated and today, when comparing different
national codes, a wide range of variation is found for the dynamic amplification factor.
Thus, improved analytical techniques that consider all the important parameters that
influence the dynamic response, such as bridge-vehicle interaction and road surface
roughness, are required in order to check the true capacity of existing bridges to
heavier traffic and for proper design of new bridges.

Various studies, of the dynamic response due to moving vehicles, have been conducted
on ordinary bridges. However, they cannot be directly applied to cable supported
bridges, as cable supported bridges are more complex structures consisting of various
structural components with different properties. Consequently, more research is
required on cable supported bridges to take account of the complex structural response
and to realistically predict their response due to moving vehicles. Not only the
dynamic behavior of new bridges need to be studied and understood but also the
response of existing bridges, as governments and the industry are seeking
improvements in transport efficiency and our aging and deteriorating bridge
infrastructure is being asked to carry ever increasing loads.

3
The aim of this work is to study the moving load problem of cable supported bridges
using different analysis methods and modeling techniques. The applicability of the
implemented solution procedures is examined and guidelines for future analysis are
proposed. Moreover, the influence of different parameters on the response of cable
supported bridges is investigated. However, it should be noted that the aim is not to
completely solve the moving load problem and develop new formulas for the dynamic
amplification factors. It is to the authors opinion that one must conduct more
comprehensive parametric studies than what is done here and perform extensive
testing on existing bridges before introducing new formulas for design.

This thesis contains two separate parts, Part A (Chapter 1-5) and Part B (Chapter 6-
11), where each has its own introduction, conclusions, and reference list. These two
parts present two different approaches for solving the moving load problem of
ordinary and cable supported bridges.

Part A, which is a slightly modified version of the licentiate thesis presented by the
author in November 96, presents a state-of-the-art review and proposes a simplified
analysis method for evaluating the dynamic response of cable-stayed bridges. The
bridge is idealized as a Bernoulli-Euler beam on elastic supports with varying support
stiffness. To solve the equation of motion of the bridge, the finite difference method
and the mode superposition technique are used. The utilization of the beam on elastic
bed analogy makes the presented approach also suitable for analysis of the dynamic
response of railway tracks subjected to moving trains.

In Part B, a more general approach, based on the nonlinear finite element method, is
adopted to study more realistic cable-stayed and suspension bridge models
considering, e.g., exact cable behavior and nonlinear geometric effects. A beam
element is used for modeling the girder and the pylons, and a catenary cable element,
derived using exact analytical expressions for the elastic catenary, is used for
modeling the cables. This cable element has the distinct advantage over the
traditionally used elements in being able to approximate the curved catenary of the real
cable with high accuracy using only one element. Two methods for evaluating the
dynamic response are presented. The first for evaluating the linear traffic load
response using the mode superposition technique and the deformed dead load tangent
stiffness matrix, and the second for the nonlinear traffic load response using the
Newton-Newmark algorithm. Damping characteristics and damping ratios of cable
supported bridges are discussed and a practical technique for deriving the damping
4
matrix from modal damping ratios, is presented. Among other things, the effectiveness
of using a tuned mass damper to suppress traffic-induced vibrations and the effect of
including cables motion and modes of vibration on the dynamic response are
investigated.

To study the dynamic response of the bridge-vehicle system in Part A and B, two sets
of equations of motion are written one for the vehicle and one for the bridge. The two
sets of equations are coupled through the interaction forces existing at the contact
points of the two subsystems. To solve these two sets of equations, an iterative
procedure is adopted. The implemented codes fully consider the bridge-vehicle
dynamic interaction and have been verified by comparing analysis results with those
found in the literature and with results obtained using a commercial finite element
code.

The following basic assumptions and restrictions are made:
elastic structural material
two-dimensional bridge models. Consequently, the torsional behavior caused by
eccentric loading of the bridge deck is disregarded
as the damage to bridges is done mostly by heavy moving trucks rather than
passenger cars, only vehicle models of heavy trucks are used
simple one dimensional vehicle models are used consisting of masses, springs, and
viscous dampers. Consequently, only vertical modes of vibration of the vehicles
are considered
it is assumed that the vehicles never loses contact with the bridge, the springs and
the viscous dampers of the vehicles have linear characteristics, the bridge-vehicle
interaction forces act in the vertical direction, and the contact between the bridge
and each moving vehicle is assumed to be a point contact. Moreover, longitudinal
forces generated by the moving vehicles are neglected.

Based on the study conducted in Part A and B, the following guidelines for future
analysis and practical recommendations can be made:
for preliminary studies using very simple cable-stayed bridge models to determine
the feasibility of different design alternatives, the approach presented in Part A can
5
be adopted as it is found to be simple and accurate enough for the analysis of the
dynamic response. However, for analysis of more realistic bridge models where
e.g. exact cable behavior, nonlinear geometric effects, or non-uniform cross-
sections are to be considered, this approach becomes difficult and cumbersome.
For such problems, the finite element approach presented in Part B is found to be
more suitable as it can easily handle such analysis difficulties
for cable supported bridges, nonlinear static analysis is essential to determine the
dead load deformed condition. However, starting from this position and utilizing
the dead load tangent stiffness matrix, linear static and linear dynamic traffic load
analysis give sufficiently accurate results from the engineering point of view
it is recommended to use the mode superposition technique for such analysis
especially if large bridge models with many degrees of freedom are to be analyzed.
For most cases, sufficiently accurate results are obtained including only the first 25
to 30 modes of vibration
correct and accurate representation of the true dynamic response is obtained only if
road surface roughness, bridge-vehicle interaction, bridge damping, and cables
vibration are considered. For the analysis, realistic bridge damping values, e.g.
based on results from tests on similar bridges, must be used
care should be taken when the dynamic amplification factors given in the different
design codes and specifications are used for cable supported bridges, as it is not
believed that these can be used for such bridges. For some cases it is found that
design codes underestimate the additional dynamic loads due to moving vehicles.
Consequently, each bridge of this type, particularly those with long spans, should
be analyzed as made in Part B of this thesis. For the final design, such analysis
should be performed more accurately using a 3D bridge and vehicle models and
with more realistic traffic conditions
to reduce damage to bridges not only maintenance of the bridge deck surface is
important but also the elimination of irregularities (unevenness) in the approach
pavements and over bearings. It is also suggested that the formulas for dynamic
amplification factors specified in bridge design codes should not only be a function
of the fundamental natural frequency or span length (as in many present design
codes) but also should consider the road surface condition.

6
It is believed that Part A presents the first study of the moving load problem of cable-
stayed bridges where this simple modeling and analysis technique is utilized. For Part
B of this thesis, it is believed that this is the first study of the moving load problem of
cable-stayed and suspension bridges where results from linear and nonlinear dynamic
traffic load analysis are compared. In addition, such analyses have not been performed
earlier taking into account exact cable behavior and fully considering the bridge-
vehicle dynamic interaction.

Most certainly this study has not provided a complete answer to the moving load
problem of cable supported bridges. However, the author hopes that the results of this
study will be a help to bridge designers and researchers, and provide a basis for future
work.

7

Part A

State-of-the-art Review and a
Simplified Analysis Method
for Cable-Stayed Bridges

8

9
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Introduction
______________________________________________________________________
1.1 General
Studies of the dynamic effects on bridges subjected to moving loads have been carried
out ever since the first railway bridges were built in the early 19
th
century. Since that
time vehicle speed and vehicle mass to the bridge mass ratio have been increased,
resulting in much greater dynamic effects. In recent years, the interest in traffic
induced vibrations has been increasing due to the introduction of high-speed vehicles,
like the TGV train in France and the Shinkansen train in Japan with speeds exceeding
300 km/h. The increasing dynamic effects are not only imposing severe conditions
upon bridge design but also upon vehicle design, in order to give an acceptable level
of comfort for the passengers.

Modern cable-stayed bridges with their long spans are relatively new and have been
introduced widely only since the 1950, see Table 1.1 and Figure 1.2. The first modern
cable-stayed bridge was the Strmsund Bridge in Sweden opened to traffic in 1956.
For the study of the concept, design and construction of cable-stayed bridges, see the
excellent book by Gimsing [27] and also [28, 68, 75, 76, 79]. Cable supported bridges
are special because they are of the geometric-hardening type, as shown in Figure 1.3
on page 16, which means that the overall stiffness of the bridge increases with the
increase in the displacements as well as the forces. This is mainly due to the decrease
of the cable sag and increase of the cable stiffness as the cable tension increases.

Compared to other types of bridges, the dynamic response of cable-stayed bridges
subjected to moving loads is given less attention in theoretical studies. Static analysis
and dynamic response analysis of cable-stayed bridges due to earthquake and wind
loading, received, and have been receiving most of the attention, while only few
10
studies, see section 1.2.1, have been carried out to investigate the dynamic effects of
moving loads on cable-stayed bridges. However, with increasing span length and
increasing slenderness of the stiffening girder, great attention must be paid not only to
the behavior of such bridges under earthquake and wind loading but also under
dynamic traffic loading as well.

The dynamic response of bridges subjected to moving vehicles is complicated. This is
because the dynamic effects induced by moving vehicles on the bridge are greatly
influenced by the interaction between vehicles and the bridge structure. The important
parameters that influence the dynamic response are (according to previous research
conducted in this field, see section 1.2):

vehicle speed
road (or rail) surface roughness
characteristics of the vehicle, such as the number of axles, axle spacing, axle load,
natural frequencies, and damping and stiffness of the vehicle suspension system
the number of vehicles and their travel paths
characteristics of the bridge structure, such as the bridge geometry, support
conditions, bridge mass and stiffness, and natural frequencies.

For design purpose, structural engineers worldwide rely on dynamic amplification
factors (DAF), which are usually related to the first vibration frequency of the bridge
or to its span length. The DAF states how many times the static effects must be
magnified in order to cover additional dynamic loads resulting from the moving traffic
(DAF is usually defined as the ratio of the absolute maximum dynamic response to the
absolute maximum static response). Because of the simplicity of the DAF expressions
specified in current bridge design codes, these expressions cannot characterize the
effect of all the above listed parameters. Moreover, as these expressions are originally
developed for ordinary bridges, it is believed that for long span bridges like cable-
stayed bridges the additional dynamic loads must be determined in more accurate way
in order to guarantee the planned lifetime and economical dimensioning.

Figure 1.1 shows the variation of the DAF with respect to the fundamental frequency
of the bridge, recommended by different standards [66]. For cases where the DAF was
related to the span length, the fundamental frequency was approximated from the span
length. It is apparent from Figure 1.1 that the national design codes disagree on the
11
evaluation of the dynamic amplification factors, and although the specified traffic
loads vary in these codes, this does not explain such a wide range of variation for the
DAF. In the Swedish design code for new bridges, the Swedish National Road
Administration (Vgverket) includes the additional dynamic loads, due to moving
vehicles, in the traffic loads specified for the different types of vehicles. This gives a
constant DAF that is totally independent on the characteristics of the bridge. For
bridges like cable-stayed bridges that are more complex and behave differently
compared to ordinary bridges, this approach can lead to incorrect traffic loads to be
used for designing the bridge.

This part of the thesis presents a state-of-the-art review and a simplified analysis
method for evaluating the dynamic response of cable-stayed bridges. The bridge is
idealized as a Bernoulli-Euler beam on elastic supports with varying support stiffness.
To solve the equation of motion of the bridge, the finite difference method and the
mode superposition technique are used. The utilization of the beam on elastic bed
analogy makes the presented approach also suitable for analysis of the dynamic
response of railway tracks subjected to moving trains.
Bridge fundamental frequency (Hz)
Canada CSA-S6-88m OHBDC
Swiss SIA-88, single vehicle
Swiss SIA-88, lane load
AASHTO-1989
India, IRC
Germany, DIN1075
U.K. - BS5400 (1978)
France LCPC D/L=0.5
France LCPC D/L=5
D/L = Dead load / Live load
D
y
n
a
m
i
c

a
m
p
l
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r

(
D
A
F
)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0

Figure 1.1 Dynamic amplification factors used in different national codes [66]
12
Bridge name Country Center span
(m)
Year of
completion
Girder
material
Tatara Japan 890 1999 Steel
Pont de Normandie France 856 1995 Steel
Qingzhou Minjiang China (Fuzhou) 605 1996 Composite
Yangpu China (Shanghai) 602 1993 Composite
Xupu China (Shanghai) 590 1996 Composite
Meiko-Chuo Japan 590 1997 Steel
Skarnsund Norway 530 1991 Concrete
Tsurumi Tsubasa Japan 510 1994 Steel
resund Sweden/Denmark 490 2000 Steel
Ikuchi Japan 490 1991 Steel
Higashi-Kobe Japan 485 1994 Steel
Ting Kau Hong Kong 475 1997 Steel
Seohae South Korea 470 1998 unknown
Annacis Island Canada 465 1986 Composite
Yokohama Bay Japan 460 1989 Steel
Second Hooghly India (Calcutta) 457 1992 Composite
Second Severn England 456 1996 Composite
Queen Elizabeth II England 450 1991 Composite
Rama IX Thailand (Bangk.) 450 1987 Steel
Chongqing Second China (Sichuan) 444 1996 Concrete
Barrios de Luna Spain 440 1983 Concrete
Tongling China (Anhui) 432 1995 Concrete
Kap Shui Mun Hong Kong 430 1997 Composite
Helgeland Norway 425 1991 Concrete
Nanpu China (Shanghai) 423 1991 Composite
Vasco da Gama Portugal 420 1998 unknown
Hitsushijima Japan 420 1988 Steel
Iwagurujima Japan 420 1988 Steel
Yuanyang Hanjiang China (Hubei) 414 1993 Concrete
Uddevalla Sweden 414 2000 Composite
Meiko-Nishi Ohashi Japan 405 1986 Steel
S:t Nazarine France 404 1975 Steel
Elorn France 400 1994 Concrete
Vigo-Rande Spain 400 1978 Steel
Table 1.1 Major cable-stayed bridges in the world
13
Dame Point USA (Florida) 396 1989 Concrete
Houston Ship Channel USA (Texas) 381 1995 Composite
Luling, Mississippi USA 372 1982 Steel
Duesseldorf-Flehe Germany 368 1979 Steel
Tjrn (new) Sweden 366 1981 Steel
Sunshine Skyway USA (Florida) 366 1987 Concrete
Yamatogawa Japan 355 1982 Steel
Neuenkamp Germany 350 1970 Steel
Ajigawa (Tempozan) Japan 350 1990 Steel
Glebe Island Australia 345 1990 Concrete
ALRT Fraser Canada 340 1985 Concrete
West Gate Australia 336 1974 Steel
Talmadge Memorial USA (Georgia) 335 1990 Concrete
Rio Parana (2 bridges) Argentina 330 1978 Steel
Karnali Nepal 325 1993 Composite
Khlbrand Germany 325 1974 Steel
Guadiana Portugal/Spain 324 1991 Concrete
Kniebruecke Germany 320 1969 Steel
Brotonne France 320 1977 Concrete
Mezcala Mexico 311 1993 Composite
Erskine Scotland 305 1971 Steel
Bratislava Slovakia 305 1972 Steel
Severin Germany 302 1959 Steel
Moscovsky Ukraine (Kiev) 300 1976 Steel
Faro Denmark 290 1985 Steel
Dongying China (Shandong) 288 1987 Steel
Mannheim Germany 287 1971 Steel
Wadi Kuf Libya 282 1972 Concrete
Leverkusen Germany 280 1965 Steel
Bonn Nord Germany 280 1967 Steel
Speyer Germany 275 1974 Steel
East Huntington USA 274 1985 Concrete
Bayview USA 274 1990 Composite
River Waal Holland 267 1974 Concrete
Theodor Heuss Germany 260 1958 Steel
Yonghe China (Tianjin) 260 1987 Concrete
Table 1.1 (continued)
14
Oberkassel Germany 258 1975 Steel
Rees-Kalkar Germany 255 1967 Steel
Weirton-Steubenville USA 250 1986 Steel
Chaco/Corrientes Argentina 245 1973 Concrete
Papineau-Leblanc Canada 241 1971 Steel
Krkistensalmi Finland 240 1996 Composite
Maracaibo Venezuela 235 1962 Concrete
Pasco Kennewick USA 229 1978 Concrete
Jinan Yellow River China (Shandong) 220 1983 Concrete
Toyosato-Ohashi Japan 216 1970 Steel
Onomichi-Ohashi Japan 215 1968 Steel
Strmsund Sweden 183 1956 Steel

100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year of completion
L
e
n
g
t
h

o
f

c
e
n
t
e
r

s
p
a
n

(
m
)
Steel girder
Composite girder
Concrete girder

Figure 1.2 Span length increase of cable-stayed bridges in the last fifty years
15
1.2 Review of previous research
1.2.1 Research on cable-stayed bridges
In recent years the dynamic behavior of cable-stayed bridges has been a source of
interesting research. This includes free vibration and forced vibration due to wind and
earthquakes, see for example [2, 9, 47]. However, literature dealing with the dynamics
of these bridges due to moving vehicles is relatively scarce.

For a cable-stayed footbridge, theoretical and experimental study on the effectiveness
of tuned mass dampers, TMDs, was carried out in [6]. In this study, tests with one and
two persons jumping or running were performed, and acceleration responses with the
TMD locked and unlocked were compared. In [59, 60], modal testing of the Tjrn
bridge, a cable-stayed bridge in Sweden with a 366 m main span, is described. And in
[11], dynamic load testing on the Riddes-Leytron bridge, a cable-stayed bridge in
Switzerland with a 60 m main span, is presented.

Previous investigations on the dynamic response of cable-stayed bridges subjected to
moving loads are summarised in the following:

Fleming and Egeseli (1980) [21, 22] compared linear and nonlinear dynamic analysis
results for a cable-stayed bridge subjected to seismic and wind loads. The nonlinear
dynamic response due to a single moving constant force was also studied. A two-
dimensional (2-D) harp system cable-stayed bridge model with a main span of 260 m
was adopted, and the bridge was discretized using the finite element method. The
nonlinear behavior of the cables due to sag effect and the nonlinear behavior of the
bending members due to the interaction of axial and bending deformations, were
considered. Fleming et al. showed that although there is significant nonlinear behavior
during the static application of the dead load, the structure can be assumed to behave
as a linear system starting from the dead load deformed state for both static and
dynamic loads, as illustrated in Figure 1.3. This means that influence lines and
superposition technique can be used in the design process.

Considering only seismic loading a similar comparison was conducted in [2] and the
same conclusion was made.
16
Generalized displacement
dynamic
load
dead
load
cable structures
non-cable structures
l
i
n
e
a
r

s
t
a
t
i
c
n
o
n
l
i
n
e
a
r

s
t
a
t
i
c
eigenvalue
problem
l
i
n
e
a
r

d
y
n
a
m
i
c
Generalized force
l
i
n
e
a
r

d
y
n
a
m
i
c
n
o
n
l
i
n
e
a
r

d
y
n
a
m
i
c

Figure 1.3 Schematic diagram showing the difference between the behavior of cable
structures and non-cable structures and also the accuracy in the results
from different analysis procedures

Wilson and Barbas (1980) [89] performed theoretical and experimental works on
cable-stayed bridge models to determine the dynamic effects due to a moving vehicle.
For the theoretical bridge model, a 2-D undamped continuous Bernoulli-Euler beam
resting on discrete evenly spaced elastic supports, was adopted. The vehicle was
modeled using one or two constant forces travelling at constant speeds. For the
solution of the problem, mode superposition technique was used. All bridge cables
were approximated by linear springs with equal stiffness, and solutions with two to
five cables in the main span were presented. Only the main span was considered in this
study, and the road surface roughness was neglected. The experimental models
consisted of straight steel beams (cross section = 0.0492 cm 1.97 cm and length =
2.36 m) spliced end to end at the supports (springs) so that continuous spans of up to
23.6 m could be tested. By prestressing the bridge model, an initial flatness to within
0.2 cm under self-weight was achieved. For the interior span supports, coil springs
were used. One or two linear induction motors running in a separate track above the
bridge model were used to move the point load vehicle at constant speeds in the range
of 1.22 m/s to 8.85 m/s. The total vehicle model weight was about 1.2 kg. Wilson et al.
presented diagrams showing, for both the theoretical and the experimental models, the
influence of the speed parameter on the DAF values for displacements and bending
17
moments. To show the influence of cable stiffness, diagrams with different values for
the spring stiffness were also presented. The results showed good agreement between
the theoretical and the experimental work. According to Wilson et al., the main
reasons for the differences in the results were due to the inability of the experimental
system to maintain constant speed, and the neglection of the inertia effects of the
experimental transit load in the theoretical model. Wilson et al. concluded also that
increasing the spring stiffness at the supports will for most cases lead to an increase in
the bridge dynamic response.

Rasoul (1981) [69] used the structural impedance method
1
and studied the dynamic
response of bridges due to moving vehicles. The bridge flexibility functions were
evaluated by using a static analysis of the bridge subjected to unit loads. A simply
supported beam, a continuous beam, and very simple cable-stayed bridges were
studied. For the cable-stayed bridges, two different analysis methods were used,
namely an approximate method using the concept of continuous beam with
intermediate elastic supports, fixed pylon heads and with the cables approximated by
springs, and a more exact method taken into account the effect of the axial force in the
girder and the transverse displacement of the pylons by using the reduction method.
Solutions with different girder damping ratios for a simple 2-D cable-stayed bridge
with only two cables were presented. The traffic load was modeled as a series of
vehicles traversing along the bridge. Each vehicle was modeled with a sprung mass
and an unsprung mass giving a vehicle model with two degrees of freedom (2 DOF).
Different traffic conditions were studied, and the effect of vehicle speed and bridge
damping on DAF was presented. Rasoul concluded that bridge damping was one of
the important parameters affecting the DAF, and that the DAF was considerably
higher for the cables than for other elements of the bridge. Rasoul found also that for a
single vehicle travelling at constant speed, the moving force solutions are good
approximations of the exact solutions. The road surface roughness was totally
neglected in this study.

Alessandrini, Brancaleoni and Petrangeli (1984) [3] studied the dynamic response
of railway cable-stayed bridges subjected to a moving train. The bridge was
discretized using the finite element method, and geometric nonlinearities for the cables
were considered by using an equivalent modulus of elasticity. The solution was carried

1
In this study, the equation of motion of the bridge was formulated in an integral form using the
flexibility function (Greens function) for the bridge.
18
out using a direct time integration procedure (explicit algorithm). 2-D fan type cable-
stayed bridges with steel deck and center spans of about 160, 260, and 412 m were
adopted. Five different train lengths of 12-260 m and three different values for the
mass per unit length of the train to the mass per unit length of the bridge were
considered. The train was simulated using moving masses at three different speeds of
60, 120, and 200 km/h. DAF values for mid-span vertical displacement, axial force in
the longest center span cable, and axial force in the anchor cables, were presented and
compared with those obtained by the Italian Railways Steel Bridge Code. Alessandrini
et al. concluded that, for most cases, the standard expression for DAF given in the
Italian Railway Code were not admissible for cable-stayed bridges. It was also found
that for speeds of up to about 120 km/h, the dynamic effects were small if not
negligible. For speeds higher than 120 km/h the DAF values increase rapidly and for
speeds of about 200 km/h, DAF values greater than those prescribed by the Italian
Railway Code were observed. The rail surface roughness was neglected in this study.

Brancaleoni, Petrangeli and Villatico (1987) [8] presented solutions for the dynamic
response of a railway cable-stayed bridge subjected to a single moving high-speed
locomotive. The bridge was discretized using the finite element method and geometric
nonlinearities were considered in the analysis. The analysis was carried out using a
direct time integration procedure (explicit algorithm). A 2-D modified fan type cable-
stayed bridge with concrete deck and a main span of 150 m, was adopted. The bridge
deck and the pylons were modeled using beam elements, while nonlinear cable
elements with parabolic shape functions were adopted for the cables. For the bridge, a
Rayleigh type damping producing 2 % of the critical on the first mode has been used.
Solutions for a total train weight of about 95 tons, treated as a set of moving forces, a
set of moving masses, and a four axles 6 DOF sprung mass model, were presented.
Three different train speeds were considered, 60, 120, and 200 km/h. Diagrams
showing the variation of DAF with speed for the three different vehicle models, and
time histories for the mid-span vertical displacements, were presented. The rail surface
roughness was neglected in this study. Brancaleoni et al. concluded that treating the
train as a set of moving forces or moving masses results in lower DAF values for the
girder bending moments and the cable axial forces, and higher DAF values for the
center span vertical displacements. Brancaleoni et al. showed also that bending
moment amplification factors were greater than those for cable axial forces and center
span vertical displacements. The rail surface roughness was neglected in this study.

19
Walther (1988) [80] performed experimental study on a cable-stayed bridge model
with slender deck to determine the dynamic displacements produced by the passage of
a 250 kN vehicle at different speeds. The bridge model, which was equipped with rails
and a launching ramp, represented a 3 span modified fan type cable-stayed bridge with
a 200 m main span and about 100 m side spans. The deck and the two A-shaped
pylons were made of reinforced microconcrete, while piano cord wires with a diameter
of 2 to 3 mm were used for the cables. The scale adopted was 1/20 giving a total
length of about 20 m for the bridge model and a model vehicle weight of 62.5 kg.
Different model vehicle speeds from 0.6 to 3.8 m/s (corresponds to real vehicle speeds
of about 10 to 61 km/h) were used, and tests with and without a plank in the main span
were undertaken to simulate different road surface conditions. Time histories for mid-
span vertical displacements were presented, for centric and eccentric vehicle
movements, with or without a plank, and for fixed joint and free joint at mid-span.
Based on measured data, vertical accelerations were calculated and a study of
physiological effects (human sensitivity to vibrations) was undertaken. Walther
concluded that from the physiological effects point of view, the structure could be
considered acceptable to tolerable depending on the road surface condition. The
maximum DAF value for mid-span vertical displacement was found to be 1.3. Walther
found also that placing a joint at the center of the bridge deck only give very local
effects and have little influence on the global dynamic behavior of the model.

Indrawan (1989) [45] studied the dynamic behavior of Rama IX cable-stayed bridge
in Bangkok due to an idealized single axle vehicle travelling over the bridge at
constant speeds. The 450 m main span, modified fan type, single plane, cable-stayed
bridge, was modeled in 2-D. The dynamic response was analyzed using the finite
element method and mode superposition technique, including only the first 10 modes
of vibration. All analyses were carried out in the frequency domain and time domain
responses were calculated using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique. The
bridge deck and pylons were modeled using beam elements while truss elements were
used for the cables. When evaluating the stiffness of each cable, the cable sag was
considered by using an equivalent tangent modulus of elasticity. Time histories
showing cable forces, mid-span vertical displacements, and pylon tops horizontal
displacements, were presented for different types of vehicle models moving over a
smooth surface, a rough surface, and a bumpy surface, at speeds of 36 to 540 km/h.
The single axle vehicle was modeled as a constant force, an unsprung mass, and a
sprung mass (1 DOF system). For the sprung mass vehicle model the assumed natural
frequency and damping ratio were 1.39 Hz and 3.5 % respectively. The inertial effect
20
in the vehicle due to bridge vibrations was totally neglected by the author. The road
surface roughness was generated from a power spectral density function (PSD) (the
same as the one used here in sec. 2.3). Since Rama IX bridge is equipped with tuned
mass dampers (TMD) to suppress wind induced oscillations, a comparison was made
between the dynamic response with and without the presence of a TMD. The TMD
was assumed to be installed at mid-span and tuned to the first flexural mode of
vibration. Indrawan found that the TMD was very effective in reducing the vibration
level of cables anchored in the vicinity of the mid-span. But he suggested that, instead
of using TMDs, viscous dampers should be installed in all cables to more effectively
increase the fatigue life of the cables. The analysis results showed also that the DAF
increases with increasing vehicle speed and can for bumpy surface reach very high
values.

Khalifa (1991) [49] carried out an analytical study on two cable-stayed bridges with
main spans of 335 m and 670 m. The 3 spans cable-stayed bridges were of the double
plane modified fan type, and were modeled in 3-D and discretized using the finite
element method. The dynamic response was evaluated using the mode superposition
technique, where each equation was solved adopting the Wilson- numerical
integration scheme. The linear dynamic analysis, based on geometrically nonlinear
static analysis (see Figure 1.3), was conducted using the deformed dead load tangent
stiffness matrix. The effect of including cable modes on the overall bridge dynamics
was investigated by discretizing each cable of the longer bridge as one element and as
eight equal elements. The dynamic response was evaluated for a single moving vehicle
and a train of vehicles moving in one direction or in both directions. The vehicles,
travelling with constant speeds of about 43 to 130 km/h over a smooth and a rough
surface, were approximated using a constant moving force model and a sprung mass
model. For the sprung mass vehicle model the assumed natural frequency and damping
ratio were 1 or 3 Hz and 3 %, respectively. The road surface roughness was generated
from a power spectral density function (PSD) (the same as the one used here in sec.
2.3). Diagrams showing the influence of bridge damping ratio, cable vibrations,
vehicle model type, vehicle speed, number of vehicles, traffic direction, and deck
condition, on the bridge dynamic response, were presented. A stress-life fatigue
analysis was also conducted to estimate the virtual cable life under continuous moving
traffic loads. Khalifa found that the fatigue life of stays cables were relatively very
short if they were subjected to extreme vibrational stresses resulting from a continuous
fluctuating heavy traffic. The results also showed that the magnitude of the dynamic
response was influenced by the bridge damping ratio, the type of vehicle model, and
21
the roughness of the bridge deck. The author recommended discretizing each cable
into small elements when calculating the dynamic response due to environmental and
service dynamic loads.

Wang and Huang (1992) [84] studied the dynamic response of a cable-stayed bridge
due to a vehicle moving across rough bridge decks. The vehicle was simulated by a
nonlinear vehicle model with 3-axles and seven degrees of freedom. A 2-D modified
fan type cable-stayed bridge with concrete deck and a main span of 128 m, was
adopted. The bridge deck roughness was generated using PSD functions. The dynamic
response was analyzed using the finite element method and the geometric nonlinear
behavior of the bridge due to dead load was considered. The equation of motion for
the vehicle was solved using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta integration scheme, and an
iterative procedure with mode superposition technique was used for solving the
equation of motion for the bridge. Wang et al. concluded that the mode superposition
procedure used was effective and involved much less computation, because accurate
results of the bridge dynamic response could be obtained based on solving only 8 to 12
equations of motion of the bridge. Wang et al. noted that the DAF of all components
of the bridge were generally less than 1.2 for very good road surface, but increased
tremendously with increasing road surface roughness. High values of DAF were noted
at the girder near the pylons and at the lower ends of the pylons and piers, but
comparatively small DAF values were noted at the girder adjacent to the mid-span of
the bridge.

Miyazaki et al. (1993) [55] carried out an analytical study on the dynamic response
and train running quality of a prestressed concrete multicable-stayed railway bridge
planned for future use on the high-speed Shinkansen line. For the analysis, the
simulation program DIASTARS, developed at the Japanese Railway Technical
Research Institute, was used. The railway track and the bridge structure were modeled
using the finite element method. In this study, a 2-D and a 3-D bridge models of a two
span cable-stayed bridge, were used. The 2-D bridge model together with a simple 12
cars train model consisting of only constant forces were used to evaluate the dynamic
response of the bridge, while the 3-D bridge and the 3-D train model were used to
evaluate the train running quality. The 3-D Shinkansen train model consisted of 12
cars where each car consisted of a body, two bogies, and four wheelsets giving 23
DOF. The track was assumed to be directly placed on the bridge deck surface, and the
rail surface roughness was neglected. The 3-D bridge deck was modeled by 3-D beam
elements connected to the cables through transversely extended rigid beams. In the
22
study, a comparison was also made with the design value of DAF specified in the
Japanese Design Standards for Railway Concrete Structures. Miyazaki et al. presented
diagrams showing the speed, 0-400 km/h, influence on the DAF for the deck and
pylons bending moments, deck and pylons shear forces, deck and pylons axial forces,
and axial forces in cables. For the vehicle, diagrams were presented showing wheel
load variations and vertical car body accelerations. Miyazaki et al. concluded that the
examined PC cable-stayed bridge had a satisfactory train running quality (acceptable
riding comfort). For the different bridge members, the authors recommended different
values for the coefficient included in the DAF expression in the Japanese design
standard.

Chatterjee, Datta and Surana (1994) [14] presented a continuum approach for
analyzing the dynamic response of cable-stayed bridges. The effects of the pylons
flexibility, coupling of the vertical and torsional motion of the bridge deck due to
eccentric vehicle movement, and the roughness of the bridge surface, were considered.
The vehicle was simulated using a vehicle model with 3 DOF and 3-axles. A PSD
function was used to generate the road surface roughness and mode superposition
technique was adopted for solving the equation of motion of the bridge. Chatterjee et
al. investigated the influence of vehicle speed, eccentrically placed vehicle, spacing
between first and second vehicle axles, and bridge damping ratios on the dynamic
behavior of a double-plane harp type cable-stayed bridge with roller type cable-pylon
connections and a main span of 335 m. Chatterjee et al. concluded that pylon rigidity
and the nature of cable-pylon connection have significant effect on the natural
frequencies of vertical vibration, but no effect on those of torsional vibration.
Chatterjee et al. noted that idealizing the vehicle as a constant force leads to
overestimation of the DAF compared to the sprung mass model. The same conclusion
was found when assuming that there is no eccentricity in the vehicle path. And finely,
it was noted that increasing the axle spacing of the vehicle, or not including the
roughness of the bridge surface, decreases the DAF values.

1.2.2 Research on other bridge types
The dynamic effects of moving vehicles on bridges have been investigated by various
researchers, using bridge and vehicle models of varying degrees of sophistication.

23
A review of the early work on the dynamic response of structures under moving loads
was presented in the paper by Filho [20]. For a thorough treatment of the analytical
methods used for problems of moving loads with and without mass in both structures
and solids, see the excellent book by Frba [23]. In this book, analysis of sprung and
unsprung mass systems moving along a beam covered with elastic layer of variable
stiffness and surface irregularities, were presented. The dynamics of railway bridges
and railway vehicle modeling are described in the book by Frba [24] and the book by
Garg and Dukkipati [25]. Interesting research was also presented by Olsson, see Table
1.2, where he derived a structure-vehicle finite element by eliminating the contact
degrees of freedom of the vehicle. The stiffness and damping matrices thus became
time-variant and non-symmetric.

Previous investigations on the dynamic response of other bridge types subjected to
moving loads are summarized in Table 1.2 below.

Author(s) Bridge type Vehicle model Surface
roughness
function
Other remarks like
analysis methods used etc.
Hillerborg (1951)
[34]
SSB SMS-1-1-2 not considered theoretical & experimental
study
Hirai et al. (1967)
[36]
suspension
bridge
MF, moving pulsating
force
not considered theoretical & experimental
study
Veletsos et al.
(1970) [77]
3-SB cantilever
, SSB
SMS-3-3-2 not considered lumped mass method
Yoshida et al.
(1971) [93]
SSB, SS slab MF, MM not considered FEM
Nagaraju et al.
(1973) [57]
3-SB
cantilever
MF, SMS-1-1-2 not considered continuum approach, mode
superposition
Ting et al. (1974)
[72]
SSB MM not considered structural impedance
method
Table 1.2 Previous investigations on the dynamic response of other bridge types
subjected to moving loads. SMS-x-y-z=sprung mass system with x-axles, y
degrees of freedom, and in z dimensions, MF=moving force, MM=moving
mass, SSB=simply supported beam, x-SB=x span beam, SS xx=simply
supported xx, FEM=finite element method

24
Genin et al.
(1975) [26]
SSB,
2-SB
MF, SMS-1-1-2,
air cushion system
harmonic
sinusoidal
structural impedance
method
Ginsberg (1976)
[29]
SSB multiple
SMS-1-1-2
not considered structural impedance
method
Filho (1978) [20] SSB SMS-1-2-2 not considered FEM
Blejwas et al.
(1979) [7]
SSB MM, SMS-1-2-2 harmonic
sinusoidal
Lagranges eqn. with
multipliers
Chu et al. (1979)
[16]
SS girder &
truss railway
SMS-4-3-3 for
each railcar
not considered lumped mass method
Gupta et al.
(1980) [31]
SS orthotr.
plate, SSB
SMS-2-3-2 not considered vehicle braking, eccentric
loading
Ting et al.
(1980,1983)
[73, 74]
SSB MF, MM,
SMS-1-2-2
not considered review, different analysis
procedures and vehicle
models
Hayashikawa et
al. (1981) [32]
SSB, 2-SB,
3-SB
MF not considered eigen stiffness matrix
method
Hayashikawa et
al. (1982) [33]
suspension
bridge
MF not considered continuum approach, mode
superposition
Mulcahy (1983)
[56]
SS orthotr.
plate
SMS-2-4-3,
SMS-3-7-3
10 mm bump finite strip method, vehicle
braking
Olsson (1983,
1985) [63, 62]
SSB MF, MM,
SMS-1-2-2
harmonic
cosine
FEM, special bridge-
vehicle element
Schneider et al.
(1983) [71]
SSB MF, MM not considered used the FEM package
ADINA
Arpe (1984)
[4, 5]
SSB SMS-2-4-2 not considered theoretical & experimental
study
Hino et al. (1984)
[35]
1-SB cantilever SMS-1-1-2 not considered FEM, direct time
integration
Palamas et al.
(1985) [65]
SSB, 2-SB SMS-1-1-2 sinusoidal,
pothole
Rayleigh-Ritz method
Chu et al. (1986)
[17]
SS PC railway SMS-4-23-3 PSD lumped mass method
Honda et al.
(1986) [37]
2-SB, 3-SB, 4-
SB, 5-SB, SSB
SMS-1-2-2 PSD, bump at
entrance
1 vehicle & multiple
groups of vehicles

Olsson (1986) SSB, 2-SB, MF, MM, SMS-1-2-2, not considered FEM, special bridge-
25
[64] 6-SB SMS-2-4-2,
SMS-2-6-2, SMS-2-7-2
vehicle element, vehicle
braking
Inbanathan et al.
(1987) [44]
SSB MF, MM considered FEM, PSD for interaction
force
Bryja et al.
(1988) [10]
suspension
bridge
multiple MF not considered random highway traffic
Diana et al.
(1988) [19]
suspension
bridge
SMS-4-23-3 for each
railcar
not considered FEM, different traffic
conditions
Coussy et al.
(1989) [18]
SSB SMS-2-2-2 PSD continuum approach, mode
superposition
Wang (1990) [81] SS PC railway SMS-4-23-3 for each
railcar
PSD influence of ramp/ bridge
track stiffness
Hwang et al.
(1991) [43]
SSB SMS-2-4-2,
SMS-3-7-2
PSD traffic simulations, one and
two trucks
Olsson (1991)
[61]
SSB MF not considered compared analytical
solution with FEM
Wang et al.
(1991) [82]
SS truss
railway
SMS-4-23-3 for each
railcar
PSD lumped mass method
Huang et al.
(1992) [39]
continuous
multigirder
SMS-3-12-3 PSD FEM, one and two trucks
Wang et al.
(1992) [85]
SS multigirder SMS-2-7-3,
SMS-3-12-3
PSD FEM, one and two trucks
Wang et al.
(1992) [83]
SSB SMS-2-7-3,
SMS-3-12-3
bump, PSD FEM, validation of vehicle
models
Knothe et al.
(1993) [50]
review of dynamic modeling of railway track and of vehicle-track interaction
Nielsen (1993)
[58]
beam on elastic
foundation,3-D
track model
MM, SMS-1-3-2,
SMS-2-4-2, SMS-2-6-2
harmonic sinus-
oidal for rail-
head, wheelflat
railway structures,
compared theoretical and
experimental results
Saadeghvaziri
(1993) [70]
SSB,
3-SB
MF not considered used the FEM package
ADINA
Wang et al.
(1993) [86]
no bridge SMS-2-7-3,
SMS-3-12-3
bump, PSD only validation of the
vehicle models

Wang (1993) [87] SS truss
railway
SMS-4-23-3 for each
railcar
PSD lumped mass method
26
Cai et al. (1994)
[12]
SSB, 2-SB moving pulsating force,
SMS-1-2-2
not considered continuum approach, mode
superposition
Chatterjee et al.
(1994) [15]
suspension
bridge
SMS-1-1-2,
SMS-3-3-2, SMS-3-6-3
PSD continuum approach, mode
superposition
Wakui et al.
(1994) [78]
describes a computer program developed using FEM and mode superposition to solve the
dynamic interaction problem between high speed railway vehicles, each of SMS-4-31-3,
and railway structures
Yener et al.
(1994) [92]
slab on SSBs MF, SMS-1-3-2,
SMS-2-6-2
not considered FEM, different traffic
conditions
Chatterjee et al.
(1995) [13]
arch bridge MF not considered mixed and lumped mass
method
Green et al.
(1995) [30]
3-SB, 4-SB SMS-4-11-2 PSD, 20 mm
bump
compared leaf sprung with
air sprung vehicles
Huang et al.
(1995) [40]
thin walled
box-girder
SMS-3-12-3 PSD FEM
Huang et al.
(1995) [41]
hor. curved
I-girder
SMS-3-12-3 PSD FEM, one and two trucks
Humar et al.
(1995) [42]
SS orthotr.
plate
SMS-1-2-2 not considered FEM, different traffic
conditions
Lee (1995) [51] 2-SB, 3-SB,
4-SB
MF not considered beams on one-sided point
constraints
Lee (1995) [52] SSB rigid wheel not considered unknown wheel nominal
motion, FEM
Paultre et al.
(1995) [67]
arch, box
girder
ambient & controlled
traffic
dynamic bridge testing
Yang et al. (1995)
[90, 91]
SSB, 3-SB,
5-SB
MF, MM, SMS-1-2-2,
SMS-3-6-2
PSD FEM, special bridge-
vehicle element

1.3 General aims of the present study
In all the aforementioned studies on the dynamic behavior of cable-stayed bridges,
authors either used very simple vehicle models, or very complicated and time-
27
consuming vehicle and bridge models. In [21, 22, 89], the vehicle was modeled as a
constant moving force, neglecting the vehicle inertial effects, and in [69, 3, 8, 55], the
road (or rail) surface roughness was neglected and only the elastic displacements of
the bridge, caused by the varying position of the vehicle, were considered. The
opposite assumption was made in [45], where the bridge elastic displacements were
neglected and only the excitation caused by the road surface roughness was
considered. Of course, the assumptions made by those authors are acceptable, if for
example the vehicle is travelling at low speed, the road surface is smooth, and the
vehicle mass to the bridge mass ratio is low.

The vehicle inertial effects, the road surface roughness, and the bridge displacements
were considered in [49]. However, the formulations for the coupling equations
(equations (2.4a-c) in section 2.1) are, according to the authors opinion, incorrect.

Only the models developed in [84, 14] are believed to be general and handle the
bridge-vehicle contact problem correctly. On the other hand, the vehicle models used
are very complicated and, as Frba [24] pointed out, very detailed and complicated
vehicle models are unnecessary, if the main purpose is to study the bridge dynamic
response. In the work presented here, the most detailed vehicle model used consists of
two degrees of freedom, as this is adequate for large span bridges, according to Frba.

The main aims of this study are as follows:

to develop a general but simple analysis tool which fully consider the bridge-
vehicle interaction, including all inertial terms, in evaluating the dynamic response
of bridges subjected to moving vehicles
to investigate on the applicability of the beam on elastic bed analogy and the finite
difference method for dynamic analysis of cable-stayed bridges. Moreover, to
show that the proposed simplified analysis method, which uses the finite difference
method and the mode superposition technique for dynamic response evaluation, is
very efficient and is easy to implement and understand
to analyze the dynamic response of simple cable-stayed bridge models and to study
the influence of different vehicle models and the influence of different parameters,
such as vehicle speed and bridge deck surface roughness, on the dynamic response.

28
For this purpose a computer code has been developed using the MATLAB language
[53], where the dynamic interaction between the bridge and the vehicle is included by
utilizing an iterative scheme. Time histories and dynamic amplification factors are
presented as functions of a limited set of parameters for quite simple but representative
bridge and vehicle models. The implemented code has been verified by comparing
analysis results with those obtained using the commercial finite element code
ABAQUS [1]. Special emphasis is put on verification of the proposed model and on
investigating the effects of local and global irregularities on the dynamic response.

Part of this work was presented earlier at the 15th Congress of IABSE, Copenhagen,
1996 [48].

29
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Vehicle and Structure Modeling
_____________________________________________________________________
_
2.1 Vehicle models
Heavy vehicles consist of several major components, such as tractors, trailers and
suspension systems, and can be modeled by a set of lumped masses, springs and
dampers. As illustrated in Figure 2.1, the vehicle models used in this study include a
moving force model, a moving mass model, and a sprung mass model with two
degrees of freedom. The moving force model (constant force magnitude) is sufficient
if the inertia forces of the vehicle are much smaller than the dead weight of the
vehicle. For a vehicle moving along a straight path at a constant speed, these inertia
effects are mainly caused by bridge deformations (bridge-vehicle interaction) and
bridge surface irregularities. Hence factors that are believed to contribute in creating
vehicle inertia effects include: high vehicle speed, flexible bridge structure, large
vehicle mass, small bridge mass, stiff vehicle suspension system and large surface
irregularities. In the present study, the adopted sprung mass model is a one-axle
vehicle model of a real multi-axle vehicle. This model is acceptable, when the bridge
span is considerably larger than the vehicle axle base [24], as the case is for cable
supported bridges. The author believes that the use of simplified models may be more
effective in identifying correlation between the governing bridge-vehicle interaction
parameters and the bridge response. Very detailed vehicle models are unnecessary and
will not bring any great advantage, when the main purpose is to study the dynamic
response of bridges.

Heavy roadway vehicles generate most of their dynamic wheel loads in two distinct
frequency ranges [30]: body-bounce and pitch motions at 1.5-4 Hz and wheel-hop
30
motion at 8-15 Hz. This explains the increase of some of the specified DAF in Figure
1.1, for bridges with a fundamental frequency in the range of 1 to 5 Hz.
w
1
(t)
v(t)
v(t)
m
2
c
S
m
1
k
S
w
1
(t)
w
2
(t)
v(t)
(m
1
+m
2
)g
m
1
+m
2
Moving force model Moving mass model Sprung mass model

Figure 2.1 Vehicle modeling

Considering the sprung mass model, shown in Figure 2.1, and denoting the contact
force between the bridge and the vehicle by ( ) F t , defined positive when it acts
downward on the bridge, the following equations of motion can be established
[23, 63]:
( ) ( ) ( ) + + +
|
\
|
.
|
+ = m m g m
w
t
k w w c
w
t
w
t
F t
S S 1 2 1
2
1
2
2 1
2 1
0
d
d
d
d
d
d
(2.1)
( ) 0
d
d
d
d
d
d
1 2
1 2
2
2
2
2
= |
.
|
\
|

t
w
t
w
c w w k
t
w
m
S S
(2.2)
Equations (2.1) and (2.2) are the dynamic equilibrium equations for the unsprung mass
and the sprung mass, respectively. Referring to Figure 2.1, ( ) w t
1
and ( ) w t
2
are the
displacements of the vehicle unsprung mass m
1
and the vehicle sprung mass m
2
,
respectively, k
S
the stiffness of the linear spring connecting the two masses, c
S
the
damping coefficient of the viscous damper, and g the acceleration of gravity. It should
be noted that ( ) w t
2
is measured from the equilibrium position under the dead weight
m
2
g. The contact force may be expressed by use of equations (2.1) and (2.2) giving:
31
( ) ( ) F t m m g m
w
t
m
w
t
= + + +
1 2 1
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
d
d
d
d
(2.3)
where the first term on the right-hand side is the dead weight (static part) of the contact
force and the other terms represent the inertia effects.

The contact force for the moving mass model will be F t m m g
w
t
( ) ( )
d
d
= + +
|
\
|
.
|
1 2
2
1
2
,
and for the moving force model F m m g = + ( )
1 2
.

Assuming that the vehicle never loses contact with the bridge (that is F t ( ) > 0), and
that the deformation between the unsprung mass center and the bridge deck center line
may be neglected, the following coupling equations for the point of contact,
x t x t
v
( ) ( ) = (see Figure 2.2), must be fulfilled [20, 63]:
( ) ( ) w t y x t ,t r x t
1
( ) ( ) ( ) = + (2.4a)
& ( ) w t
y
x
v
y
t
r
x
v
1
= + +
(2.4b)
&& ( ) w t
y
x
v
y
x t
v
y
x
a
y
t
r
x
v
r
x
a
1
2
2
2
2 2
2
2
2
2
2 = + + + + +
(2.4c)
where & ( ) w t
1
and && ( ) w t
1
denote the unsprung mass vertical velocity and acceleration,
respectively, v and a the vehicle velocity and acceleration in the longitudinal direction,
respectively, y x , t ( ) the bridge vertical displacement, and r x ( ) the surface
irregularity function. The first term on the right-hand side of equation (2.4c) represent
the influence of the bridge deck curvature (centripetal acceleration), the second term
the influence of Coriolis acceleration, and the fourth term the influence of the
acceleration of the point of contact in the vertical direction.

2.2 Bridge structure
For the present study, the fan-shaped self or earth anchored cable-stayed bridge
scheme shown in Figure 2.2 is adopted. To make the presentation of the model more
32
clear, the derivation of the equations in this section will be presented including only
the main span of the bridge as shown in Figure 2.2, and assuming that the stiffening
girder, having a uniform mass and flexural rigidity, is simply supported at the pylons.
Of course the developed computer code is very general and capable of handling the
more realistic case including side spans, suspended or not suspended, and as many
supports as needed.

Figure 2.2 Idealized vehicle in contact with a cable-stayed bridge

2.2.1 Major assumptions
The following assumptions are made:

multicable system with small stays spacing compared to the bridge length
negligible cable mass
the cables are idealized as vertical springs continuously distributed along the length
of the stiffening girder
according to the usual erection procedures, the bridge in its initial configuration
under dead load is free from bending moments, while only axial forces are present
33
cable forces under dead load are so adjusted that all displacements remain zero
axial girder forces have negligible effect on the frequencies and mode shapes and are
therefore neglected
only in-plane flexural behavior of the bridge is considered. The torsional behavior caused
by eccentric loading of the bridge deck is disregarded in this study
bridge damping is small and therefore neglected
when the vehicle enters the bridge, the vertical deflection and the vertical velocity
of the moving vehicle are assumed to be zero.

2.2.2 Differential equation of motion
The governing equation of motion for vertical vibration of the bridge at any section of
the stiffening girder (idealized as a Bernoulli-Euler beam on elastic supports) is given
by [23]:
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( ) E I
y x,t
x
k x y x,t m
y x,t
t
x x F t
g g

g

v

4
4
2
2
+ + = (2.5)
where is the Dirac delta function, E
g
the modulus of elasticity, I
g
the moment of
inertia, m
g
the mass per unit length, and ( ) k x the spring stiffness (to study ordinary
beam type bridges ( ) k x is set to zero). The effects of rotatory inertia and shear
deformation are neglected as the cross-sectional dimensions of the stiffening girder are
small in comparison with its length and the higher vibration modes are not
significantly excited.

The boundary conditions are:
( )
( )
( )
( )
y t
y t
x
y L t
y L t
x
0 0
0
0 0 0
2 2
, ,
,
, , ,
,
= = = =
2 2
(2.6a-d)
and the initial conditions are:
( )
( )
0
0 ,
, 0 0 , =
=
t
x y
x y (2.7a,b)
34

2.2.3 Spring stiffness
Using the notations of Figure 2.2, the stiffness of the spring idealizing cable i is given
by [75]:
k
E A
L
i
c i i i
i
=
sin
2
(2.8)
Denoting the allowable cable stress by
a
, the dead load and the live load per unit
length by q q
g q
and , the cross-sectional area of cable i is given by [9]:
( )
A
q q s
i
g q
a i
=
+
sin
(2.9)
Due to its own dead weight, a stay cable actually takes the shape of a curved line,
rather than a straight one, between the two anchorage points. When the cable tension
increases, the sag decreases, and the apparent axial stiffness of the inclined cable
increases. In the present study, the cable geometric nonlinearity, due to the change of
the sag and shape under varying stresses (forces), is approximately taken into account
by introducing the following equivalent tangent modulus of elasticity [27, 9, 84]:
( ) E x E
E
x
E
x
L

i
c
c
c
= =
+

`
)
1
12
0
2
2 2
3
o
(2.10)
where E
c
is the modulus of elasticity for the straight cable,
c
the specific weight of
the cable material, and
o
the initial tensile stress in the cable. As cable forces caused
by the vehicle load are small when compared to those created by dead load, the
starting equlibrium configuration under dead load is used [9, 84, 14] and
o
is here set
equal to
g
, which is the tension stress due to dead load q
g
and is given by [9]:

g a
g
g q
q
q q
=
+ ( )
(2.11)
35
After substituting (2.9) into (2.8), the following equation can be established for the
spring stiffness per unit length due to the elongation of the cables in the main span:
( )
( )
( )
k x
E x q q
H
x
H
x
L

c
g q
a
=
+
+
|
\
|
.
|

`
)
1
1
0
2
2
(2.12)
The horizontal force on the pylon top due to the tensile force F
i
in the main span cable
i is:
( ) ( )
T F
q q s q q s
H
x
i i i
g q
i
g q
= =
+
=
+
cos
tan
(2.13)
Neglecting the stiffness of the pylon, the area of the anchor cable per unit length of the
main span and the total area of each anchor cable can be expressed as:
( ) A x
q q
H
x
g q
a
o
o
=
+
cos
(2.14)
( ) A A x x
q q
H
L
L
g q
a
o
tot
o
o
2
= =
+
d
cos
/
0
2
8
(2.15)
In equation (2.15), the dead weight of the side spans are not included because the side
spans are not considered in this derivation.

The elongation of the anchor cable, the horizontal displacement of the pylon top, and
the vertical displacement in the main span at joint i, due the force F
i
in cable i are:
L
F L
E A
i i
o
o
o o
o
=
cos
cos
(2.16)
b
L F L
E A
i i
= =
o
o
o
o o
2
o
cos
cos
cos
(2.17)
36
i
b
x
H
= (2.18)
The internal force in cable i due to the vertical displacement
i
= 1, and the spring
stiffness are:
F
E A H
L x
i
i
i
( )
cos
cos
=
=
1
2
1
o o o
o
(2.19)
k
F E A H
L
x
i
a i i
i
= =
= ( )
sin cos

1 2 2
1
1
o o o
o
2
(2.20)
After substituting (2.14) into (2.20), the following equation can be established for the
spring stiffness per unit length due to the elongation of the anchor cables:
( )
( )
k x
E L H q q
L x
x
L

a
s g q
a
=
+

`
)
o
o
2

1
0
2
(2.21)
Where E
o
is evaluated according to equation (2.10).
Referring now to the pylons, a horizontal force at the top gives the horizontal
displacement:
b
TH
E I
i p
p p
=
3
3
(2.22)
Thinking of the pylon as a fictitious anchor cable having the fictitious area A
p
, the
force T
i
gives the horizontal displacement:
b
L T L
E A
i
p
= =
o
o
o
o o
cos cos
2
(2.23)
Equating both equations (2.22) and (2.23) for b, we find that the fictitious cable area
is:
37
A
E I L
E H
p
p p
p
=
3
3 2
o
o o
cos
(2.24)
To approximately include the effect of the pylons, equation (2.21) is modified to give:
( )
( )
k x
E L H q q
L
A A
A x
x
L

a
s g q
a
p
=
+ +

`
)
o
o
2
o
tot
o
tot

1
0
2
(2.25)
And finally, the resulting spring stiffness that includes the effect of the elongation of
the cables in the main span, the elongation of the anchor cables, and the stiffness of the
pylons is:
( )
( ) ( )
k x
k x k x
x
L

c a
=
+

`
)
1
1 1
0
2
(2.26)
The pylons shortening effect is very small and is therefore not considered in equation (2.26).

Figure 2.3 shows the spring stiffness, k(x), for a fan-shaped cable-stayed bridge with L= 150
m, and Figure 2.4 shows the fixed pylon top curve in Figure 2.3 but with the suspended side
spans included.
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
0 25 50 75 100 125 150
x (m)
S
p
r
i
n
g

s
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s
,

k
(
x
)

(
1
0
6

N
/
m
2
)
fixed pylon top
free pylon top
free pylon top, I
p
=0

38
Figure 2.3 Spring stiffness for a fan-shaped cable-stayed bridge with L=150 m, H=30
m, H
p
=60 m, E
c
=2.110
11
N/m
2
, E
p
=0.3510
11
N/m
2
, I
p
=25 m
4
,
a
=72010
6
N/m
2
, q
g
=1210
4
N/m, q
q
=510
4
N/m, and
c
=910
4
N/m
3

0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
0 50 100 150 200 250
x (m)
S
p
r
i
n
g

s
t
i
f
f
n
e
s
s
,

k
(
x
)

(
1
0
6

N
/
m
2
)

Figure 2.4 Spring stiffness for a fan-shaped cable-stayed bridge (fixed pylon top) with
the same input data as in Figure 2.3 but with the side spans, L
s
=50 m,
included

Equations (2.1-2.5) and (2.26), together with the boundary and initial conditions,
define the analytical model of the problem.

2.3 Bridge deck surface roughness
The characteristics of road surface roughness is expressed generally by the power
spectral density (PSD) function which is assumed from a stationary normal probability
process with a zero mean value [38]. The PSD, ( ) S , of road surface roughness is
approximated generally by an exponential function [38, 46] as:
( ) S a
n
=

(2.27)
in which is the wave number, a is the spectral roughness coefficient, and n is the
spectral roughness exponent.
39

In the present study, the bridge road surface roughness is simulated using the one-
sided PSD function:
( ) S

=

0 < < 0.05
0.05 < < 1
358 10
0 0107 10
4
4 1 94
.
.
.
(2.28)
presented in [38], and shown in log-log by the bold line in Figure 2.5. The exponent n
and the coefficient a were calculated by the least square method using measurements
on 56 bridges.

The random surface roughness profile is assumed to be the sum of series of sinusoidal
waves and is generated by the following formula [49]:
( ) ( ) r x x
i i i
i
M
= +
=
sin
1
(2.29)
where
i
is the amplitude of the sinusoidal wave,
i
is a random phase angle with
uniform distribution in the interval { } 0 2 , , and
i
is the ith wave number within the
specified PSD interval and is given by:
( )
i
i = +
min
1 (2.30)
in which the wave number increment is defined as:

=

max min
M
(2.31)
where M is the total number of wave number increments in the interval between the
minimum wave number
min
and the maximum wave number
max
in the defined
spectra. The unit of the wave number is (m
-1
) and the unit of the spectrum is (m
3
). The
amplitude
i
is related to the PSD function ( ) S
i
by:
( ) S
i
i
=

2
2
(2.32)
40

0.001
0.01
0.1
1
10
0.01 0.1 1
Wave number, (1/m)
P
S
D

o
f

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

r
o
u
g
h
n
e
s
s
,

S
(
)

(
1
0
-
4

m
3
)
Analytical
Simulated

Figure 2.5 Power spectral density of road surface roughness

-0.02
-0.01
0
0.01
0.02
0 50 100 150
Distance along the bridge (m)
S
u
r
f
a
c
e

r
o
u
g
h
n
e
s
s

(
m
)

Figure 2.6 Simulated road surface roughness profile for a bridge with L=150 m
41
The simulated road surface roughness profiles are different depending on the random
phase angles
i
, used in equation (2.29). Figure 2.6 shows a sample of the simulated
random road surface roughness profile used in this study for bridges with L=150 m.

To compare the analytical PSD, equation (2.28), with the PSD of the sample shown in
Figure 2.6, a power spectrum analysis of the sample is performed using the following
relationship [83]:
( ) S
N
F
sim
=
|
\
|
.
|
1 2
(2.33)
where F is the length N fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the sample, and ( ) S
sim
is the
resulting PSD estimate for the sample. Using the symmetry property of real FFTs, the
spectral estimates corresponding to negative wave numbers are removed and a
compensation is made for them in the positive side. The resulting one-sided PSD
estimate for the sample in Figure 2.6 is indicated by the fine solid line in Figure 2.5.

The bridge-vehicle interaction forces can now be calculated including the effect of
road surface roughness by using the simulated profile of the bridge road.
42

43
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Response Analysis
_____________________________________________________________________
_
3.1 Dynamic analysis
3.1.1 Eigenmode extraction
Before analyzing the response of the bridge to moving vehicles it is important to study
the free vibration of the bridge model. The free vibration analysis is here an essential
first step in obtaining the forced vibration response of the bridge and the parameters
that affect the free vibration also affect the response to moving vehicles.

The differential equation governing the free vibration of the bridge model is obtained
by setting the right-hand side in equation (2.5) equal to zero, giving:
( )
( ) ( )
( )
E I
y x,t
x
k x y x,t m
y x,t
t
g g

g

4
4
2
2
0 + + = (3.1)
The displacement function ( ) y x t , can be expressed as a product of two functions, one
involving only the space coordinate x, called the mode shape function or eigenfunction
( ) z x , and the other one involving the variable time and called the generalized
coordinates ( ) t . Then when the bridge vibrates in its ith natural bending mode, the
displacement at any location varies harmonically with time and can be expressed as
[88]:
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) y x t z x t z x a t b t
i i i i i i i i
, cos sin = = + (3.2)
44
where
i
is the ith circular frequency of the free motion of the bridge. By expressing
( )
i
t as in equation (3.2) and substituting into equation (3.1) gives:
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) E I
z x
x
k x z x m z x
g g
i
i g i i
d
d
4
4
+ =
2
0 (3.3)
Dividing the bridge model into n equal segments each of length h, giving n-1
unknowns, and replacing the derivative in equation (3.3) with its finite difference
approximation, the following eigenvalue problem is obtained
2
:
AZ Z = (3.4)
where
( )
( )
A =
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
=

(
(
(

c
c
c
c
c
c
n n
n n
n
1
2
3
3
2
1
1
1
4 1
4 4 1
1 4 4 1
1 4 4 1
1 4 4
1 4
0
0
0
0
1 1
1 1
O O O O O O
x
x
,

(3.5a,b)
| |
( )
Z z z z = =

(
(
(

1 2 1
11 1 1
11 1 1
1 1
, , ,
x
L
L
M M
L
n
, ,n
n , n ,n
z z
z z
n n
(3.5c)
( ) ( )

i
g
g g
i
g g
,
, ,
g g
m h
E I
c
k x
E I
h c
k x
E I
h = = + = +
4
2
1
1 4
2 3
2 3 4
5 6 ,
,
and
K
K
(3.5d,f)
where i is the mode number and column i in Z gives the ith mode shape. The first term
in equation (3.5e) for c
1
must be changed from 5 to 7, if fixed end supports are
assumed. If rotational springs with stiffness K
m
are introduced at end supports, the first
term mentioned above is evaluated as: 6+(-1)/(+1), where = K
m
h /(2E
g
I
g
).

2
If nothing else is mentioned, bold upper case letters are used for matrices and bold lower case letters
for vectors. The transpose of a matrix or a vector is denoted with the superscript T.
45

Mode shapes and corresponding circular frequencies are now obtained numerically by
solving equation (3.4).
3.1.2 Response of the bridge
Using mode superposition technique, the solution of equation (2.5) can be written as:
( ) ( ) ( ) y x t z x t
i
i
i
, =
=
1
(3.6)
Substituting equation (3.6) into equation (2.5) gives:
( )
( )
( ) E I z k x z m z x x F
g g i i i i g i i
i
v
IV
+ + =
=
&&
1
(3.7)
Further, both sides of the above equation are multiplied with eigenmode z
j
and
integrated
3
over the length of the bridge. Using the orthogonality properties of the
eigenfunctions and setting the normalization constant
4
equal to unity, the following
equation is obtained (see ref. [88] for more details on derivation):
( )
v i
g
i i i
x z
m
F
= +
2
& &
(3.8)
where the contact force, F, is time depended and therefore evaluated at each time step
using the expressions given in section 2.1.

When dividing the bridge model into n equal segments each of length h and setting the
time step to v h t / = , which corresponds to having the vehicle load applied only at
the segment joints, the term ( ) z x
i v
in equation (3.8) will be the value in the ith
eigenvector z
i
and the row number corresponding to the point of contact (i.e. where
the contact force is applied).

3
The properties of the Dirac function gives ( ) ( ) ( ) x x z x x z x
v i
L
i v
=
0
d
4
Normalization constant is defined as ( ) z x x
i
L
2
0
d or in vector form z z
i i
T

46

The solution of the simple second order differential equation in (3.8) is:
( )
( ) ( )
t t
m
m x z F
m
x z F
i
i
i
i
g i
g i i v i
g i
v i
i

+
+
= sin cos
o
2
2
o
2
&
(3.9)
where
o o
and
i i
&
are the initial values for the step and can, when using the
orthogonality and normalization relationships, be evaluated as [88]:
o
T
o i i
= z y (3.10a)
&
&
o
T
o i i
= z y (3.10b)
where y y
o o
and & are the bridge vertical displacement and velocity vectors at the
previous time step.

Substituting into equation (3.6), the bridge displacement vector at each time step is
obtained from the sum:
( )
( ) ( )
=
|
|
.
|
\
|

+
+
=
s
i
i
i
i
i
g i
g i i v i
g i
v i
i
t t
m
m x z F
m
x z F
1
o
2
2
o
2
sin cos
&
z y (3.11)
where s is the number of included modes, s n 1. The expressions for the vertical
velocity and acceleration vectors for the bridge are obtained, by differentiating
equation (3.11), as:

( ) ( )
=
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
+
=
s
i
i i i
g i
g i i v i
i
t t
m
m x z F
1
o
2
o
cos sin
&
& z y (3.12)

( ) ( )
=
|
|
.
|
\
|

+
=
s
i
i i i i
g
g i i v i
i
t t
m
m x z F
1
o
2
o
sin cos
&
& & z y (3.13)
47
Using the MATLAB language [53], a computer code has been developed for analysis of
the dynamic response. The dynamic interaction between the bridge and the vehicle is
included by utilizing the iterative scheme shown in Figure 3.1.
The recalculation of bridge displacements is repeated in each step until convergence is
obtained. In this study, the following convergence criterion is considered:
( )
( )
max
max
y y
y
j j
j
1
Tolerance (3.14)
where y
j
is the jth estimate for the bridge displacement vector at the current time step.
For the results presented in this study, the tolerance was set to 5 10
6

.

The mode superposition technique is also used to obtain the dynamic bending moment
vector at each time step, giving:
i
s
i
i g g g g
I E I E = =

=1
z y m (3.15)
where z
i
is evaluated using the finite difference approximation.

The obtained displacement, moment, velocity, and acceleration vectors are now
collected in matrices for processing and plotting.
48
Simulation
start
Evaluate the natural frequencies and the
corresponding vibration modes of the bridge
Determine the longitudinal position of the
vehicle on the bridge,
Based on previously determined quantities, set
initial values for the vehicle sprung mass and
for the unsprung mass predict
Solve the equations of motion of the vehicle
and calculate the interaction force F(t)
Solve equ. (3.11-3.13) and (3.15) to determine
the bridge response using mode superposition
technique
Check
convergence
No
Yes
Vehicle leaves the right
end of the bridge
No
Yes
Calculate static displacements and bending
moments using equ. (3.16) and (3.18)
End
Move vehicle to
next position
1 1 1
and , , w w w & & &
Calculate new
1 1 1
and , , w w w & & &
x
v
= x
v
+ v t

Figure 3.1 Overall computational scheme
49
3.2 Static analysis
Using the same discretization technique as in section 3.1, the static displacement
vector is obtained from the expression:
( )
y A p
j
g g
j
m m gh
E I
st
=
+

1 2
3
1
(3.16)
where A
1
is the inverse of the matrix given in equation (3.5a) and:
p
j
j
=

0
0
1
0
0
M
M
th row
(3.17)
where j is the joint number where the vehicle load is applied. The obtained y
j
st
is a
column vector containing the bridge static displacements corresponding to a loading
case where the vehicle static load is applied at joint number j.

The static bending moment is computed using the expression given in equation (3.15).
Approximating the second derivative of the displacement by its finite difference, gives
the ith element in the static moment vector
st
j
m to be equal to:
( )
st
, 1
st
,
st
, 1
2
st
,
2
j i j i j i
g g
j i
y y y
h
I E
m
+
+ = (3.18)

50
51
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Numerical Examples and Model Verifications
______________________________________________________________________
4.1 General
In this chapter, two beam examples and two cable-stayed bridge examples are studied
and results obtained using the present model, described in chapter 2 and 3, are
presented. For verification, the present model results are compared with those obtained
using a commercial finite element code. The finite element code ABAQUS/Standard
5.4 [1] was used for this comparison and was run on a SUN SPARCstation 20. This
code is considered as one of the most powerful finite element codes available on the
market today. In ABAQUS, 2-D geometrically nonlinear analyses were performed
starting from the dead load configuration and direct time integration of the dynamic
response was selected with a fixed time increment. The time increment was set equal
to the total time needed for the vehicle to cross the bridge divided by the number of
increments. The number of increments was chosen for each numerical example so
convergent results were obtained.

From ABAQUS element library, a T2D2 (2-node 2-D linear) truss element was
selected to model the cables and a B23 (2-node 2-D cubic Euler-Bernoulli) beam
element for the rest. The number of elements, in each numerical example, was
increased until a converged solution was obtained. For each cable in the cable-stayed
bridge examples, the equivalent tangent modulus of elasticity, calculated according to
equation (2.10), and the cable density
c
= 9000kg / m
3
, were given in the ABAQUS
input files. The vehicle was modeled using SPRING2, DASHPOT2 and MASS
elements.

For the interaction problem the SLIDE LINE option was used to define the surface on
which the vehicle and the bridge may interact, and the NO SEPARATION parameter
52
was included in the SURFACE BEHAVIOR option. At the node where the vehicle
and the bridge interact, a special purpose contact element ITT21 was used. As the
position of this node is time dependent, the AMPLITUDE and the BOUNDARY
options were used to modify this position for each increment.

The modeling approach used in ABAQUS for the bridge-vehicle contact problem,
described above, is the simplest one, but still very complicated and requires a lot of
time and experience in ABAQUS and in finite element modeling. Other modeling
approaches, e.g., developing user subroutines in FORTRAN and including them in the
input file for ABAQUS or using another type of contact definition, were tested for
simple problems. The results obtained from these approaches agreed well with those
from the above described modeling procedure but the implementation became much
more complex. Therefore, results using these more complex approaches are not
presented here, and all the ABAQUS curves presented in this study are those obtained
using the SLIDE LINE and the ITT21 contact element approach described above.

The program developed for the present model, using the MATLAB language [53], was
also run on the same SUN SPARCstation 20 machine. This made it possible to not only
compare the obtained solutions but also the time consumed by the computer. In
MATLAB the CPUTIME command was used to measure the CPU time needed to run
the program. This value was then compared with the USER TIME value given at the
end of the ABAQUS output file. For the present model solutions, the number of modes
that participate in the analysis and need to be considered and the number of segments,
n, which also determines the time step used for the analysis, were found using a trial
and error procedure.

In the following examples, dynamic amplification factors
5
for displacements (DAF
d
)
and for bending moments (DAF
m
), are presented. The definition for DAF
d
and DAF
m

adopted in this study is the ratio of the absolute maximum live load dynamic response
to the absolute maximum live load static response.

4.2 Simply supported bridge, moving force model
The simply supported bridge subjected to a constant force, F, moving at constant
speed, v, is the easiest problem to tackle and belongs to the very few moving load
problems that can be solved analytically.

5
In the literature, the impact factor defined as I=100*(DAF-1) (%) is found sometimes instead.
53
Adopting the moving force model means that the influence of the inertia of the vehicle
mass and the bridge-vehicle interaction are neglected. The dynamic effects are then
caused only by the varying position of the force. Still this is a good approximation, see
[64], for low values of the speed parameter (defined later in equation (4.4)) and low
values of the vehicle mass to bridge mass ratio.
F =347000 N
x
v
(t)
E
g
I
g
=9.92 10
10
Nm
2
m
g
=11400 kg/m
L =34 m
.
x
y(x,t)
v =68.1 m/s ( =0.25)

Figure 4.1 Simply supported bridge subjected to a constant moving force

Using the notations of Figure 4.1, the analytical solutions (here referred to as the exact
solutions) for the displacement and bending moment are given as [23]:
( )
( ) y x t
FL
E I
i i
i
v
L
t
i
t
i x
L
g g i
i
( , )
/
sin sin sin =
3
4 4 2 2
1
48
1
1
96

(4.1)
( )
( ) M x t
FL
i i
i
v
L
t
i
t
i x
L
i
i
( , )
/
sin sin sin =
4
1
1
2 2 2 2
1
8

(4.2)
where i is the mode number,
i
the circular frequency for the ith mode of vibration,
and the non-dimensional speed parameter.
i
and are defined as:

i
g g
g
i
L
E I
m
=

2
(4.3)
=
v
L
1
(4.4)
m(x,t)
54
The problem defined by Figure 4.1 was solved using the exact analytical model,
equations (4.1-4.4), the present model, and the ABAQUS model. The first 20 natural
frequencies, the normalized vertical mid-span displacement, and the normalized mid-
span moment are presented in Table 4.1, Figure 4.2, and Figure 4.3, respectively. One
can notice from Table 4.1 that the ABAQUS model, which uses the finite element
method, always gives higher natural frequency values (stiffer solution) compared to
the exact ones, whereas the present method, which uses the finite difference
approximation, always gives lower values than the exact ones.

Mode Exact Present ABAQUS
number
(bending)
70
segments
150
segments
200
segments
300
segments
34
elements
70
elements
1 4.01 4.01 4.01 4.01 4.01 4.01 4.01
2 16.03 16.02 16.03 16.03 16.03 16.03 16.03
3 36.08 36.02 36.06 36.07 36.07 36.08 36.08
4 64.13 63.96 64.10 64.11 64.12 64.13 64.13
5 100.21 99.79 100.12 100.16 100.19 100.21 100.21
6 144.30 143.43 144.11 144.19 144.25 144.31 144.30
7 196.41 194.80 196.06 196.21 196.32 196.43 196.41
8 256.53 253.79 255.93 256.20 256.38 256.59 256.54
9 324.68 320.29 323.72 324.14 324.44 324.78 324.68
10 400.83 394.15 399.37 400.01 400.47 401.03 400.85
11 485.01 475.24 482.87 483.80 484.47 485.36 485.03
12 577.20 563.39 574.17 575.50 576.44 577.79 577.24
13 677.41 658.41 673.24 675.06 676.37 678.36 677.47
14 785.64 760.13 780.02 782.48 784.23 787.11 785.72
15 901.88 868.33 894.49 897.71 900.03 904.10 902.01
16 1026.14 982.80 1016.57 1020.75 1023.74 1029.40 1026.30
17 1158.41 1103.30 1146.23 1151.55 1155.36 1163.10 1158.70
18 1298.70 1229.60 1283.40 1290.08 1294.86 1305.20 1299.10
19 1447.01 1361.43 1428.02 1436.30 1442.25 1456.00 1447.50
20 1603.34 1498.54 1580.03 1590.20 1597.49 1615.40 1604.00
Table 4.1 Comparison of the first 20 natural frequencies (Hz) for the problem
defined by Figure 4.1
55
A convergence study was conducted to determine the time step for the exact model,
and the number of segments and elements needed for the present and the ABAQUS
models. For the following numerical investigation, the 150 segments solution was
chosen for the present model and the 70 elements solution with 70 increments for the
ABAQUS model. For the exact model, a time step of t =L/(100 v) = 0.005 seconds
was chosen and the mid-span vertical displacement and the mid-span moment were
obtained from equations (4.1) and (4.2) by introducing x = L/2. For the exact model and
the present model, the first 20 modes of vibration were considered.

To make the results easily understood, all moment and displacement curves presented
in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3 are normalized by dividing with the maximum static
values obtained using the three different methods. For the static response, only the
results from the present model are presented, in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3, as all static
curves from the two other solution methods coincide.
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

v
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

m
i
d
-
s
p
a
n

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t
Exact
Present
Static (present)
ABAQUS

Figure 4.2 Vertical displacement at mid-span (normalized with respect to
maximum static displacement) versus vehicle position for the
problem defined by Figure 4.1
56
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

m
i
d
-
s
p
a
n

m
o
m
e
n
t
Exact
Present
Static (present)
ABAQUS

Figure 4.3 Moment at mid-span (normalized with respect to maximum static
moment) versus vehicle position for the problem defined by Figure
4.1
It can be seen from the figures above that a negative dynamic mid-span moment is
obtained when the vehicle enters the bridge, and that the dynamic moment curves
looks similar to the dynamic displacement curves but are more irregular.

The maximum normalized displacement (corresponds to DAF
d
) in Figure 4.2 are
1.258, 1.258, and 1.259 for the exact model, the present model, and the ABAQUS
model, respectively. The corresponding data for the bending moment (corresponds to
DAF
m
) are 1.093, 1.093, and 1.083, respectively. The time consumed by the computer
to solve the problem using the exact model, the present model, and the ABAQUS
model was about 2, 14, and 70 CPU seconds, respectively.

One should remember that in this example only the mid-span (x = L/2) vertical
displacements and mid-span moments are presented, for different vehicle positions, in
Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3. However, the x-value where the maximum response occurs
57
may differ from L/2. From the present model solution, values of 1.260 for x/L =0.48
and 1.179 for x/L = 0.41 were obtained for the maximum normalized displacement and
the maximum normalized moment.

For the present model, the solution of equation (3.11) converges very fast and may
therefore be truncated after few modes (5 modes for the current example). However, as
well known, the convergence of equation (3.15) for the bending moment is much
slower. In reference [57], a better method for calculating the dynamic bending moment
is described.

From Figure 4.2, Figure 4.3, and Table 4.1 one can conclude that the results from the
present model are in very good agreement with those obtained using ABAQUS and the
exact expressions. In addition, the results from the present model for the maximum
normalized mid-span displacement can also be compared with the results 1.259, 1.258,
and 1.251 given in reference [64], [20], and [93], respectively.

When comparing with the exact solution, the results also indicate that the moving load
problem in ABAQUS was correctly modeled.

4.3 Multi-span continuous bridge with rough road surface
A four-span continuous bridge model with one fixed end, as shown in Figure 4.4, was
adopted for this investigation. This problem was chosen to illustrate the flexibility of
the proposed analysis method.
v =30 m/s
m
1
=3000 kg
x
v
(t)
20 m 25 m
.
x
y(x,t)
m
2
=31700 kg
E
g
I
g
=9.92 10
10
Nm
2
m
g
=11400 kg/m
45 m 60 m
.
c
s
=8.6 10
4
Ns/m
k
s
=9.12 10
6
N/m
.

Figure 4.4 Idealized four-span continuous bridge with one fixed end and rough
road surface subjected to an idealized 2 DOF vehicle. See chapter 2
for the description of the symbols
58

In this example, the road surface roughness was considered by using the profile shown
in Figure 2.6. This means that the excitation of the dynamic system was not only
caused by the elastic displacements of the bridge but also by the roughness of the road
surface. The 2 DOF vehicle model, consisting of one sprung mass and one unsprung
mass, was adopted. The vehicle characteristics are similar to those used in reference
[65] and correspond to a fundamental frequency of 2.7 Hz and a damping ratio of 8 %.

As in the simply supported bridge example, section 4.2, comparison was also made
here between the present model solution and the one obtained using ABAQUS. After
conducting some convergence study, the solution with 300 segments and 25 included
modes was chosen for the present model and a 150 elements solution with 300
increments for the ABAQUS model. For the ABAQUS model, the computer needed
approximately 570 CPU seconds to solve the problem. The corresponding time for the
present model was about 240 CPU seconds which is only about 42 % of the time
consumed by ABAQUS.

Considering the entire bridge, the dynamic amplification factors for displacement and
bending moment, calculated using the present model, were found to be DAF
d
=1.396
and DAF
m
=1.296, respectively. These values can be compared with the DAF values
for the center point
6
of the bridge DAF
d
=1.387 and DAF
m
=1.126. For the fixed end,
the DAF
m
was as high as 1.705, which means that the dynamic moment at the fixed
end is about 70 % larger than the static one. Therefore it is very important for the
designer not to neglect these additional dynamic loads in the design process. Studying
Figure 1.1, it is interesting to note that only the Swiss SIA-88, single vehicle curve
considers such high DAF values.

In the following pages, mode shapes, natural frequencies, some time histories of
vertical displacements, bending moments, and vertical acceleration, are presented. The
presented results indicate very good agreement between the two different solutions and
much less computer time consumption for the present model. One can observe that the
agreement for the dynamic curves in Figures 4.6 and 4.7 is not as good as for the first
numerical example, and it is not possible to infer which solution is closer to the correct
one. The differences in the two solution methods are believed to cause the differences
in the results, see section 4.6 for the discussion of the numerical results.

6
For a certain point P, the DAF is defined as the ratio of the absolute maximum live load dynamic
response at P to the absolute maximum live load static response at the same point.
59
07
1
4
2
1
2
8
3
5
4
2
4
9
5
6
6
3
7
0
7
7
8
4
9
1
9
8
1
0
5
1
1
2
1
1
9
1
2
6
1
3
3
1
4
0
1
4
7
Mode 1 (2.04 Hz)
Mode 2 (4.27 Hz)
Mode 3 (6.48 Hz)
Mode 4 (10.00 Hz)
Mode 5 (12.26 Hz)

Figure 4.5 The first 5 mode shapes calculated using the present model

Mode Present ABAQUS Mode Present ABAQUS
number
(bending)
300
segments
150
elements
number
(bending)
300
segments
150
elements
1 2.04 2.04 14 53.39 53.56
2 4.27 4.27 15 63.79 64.00
3 6.48 6.48 16 68.77 69.03
4 10.00 10.00 17 77.87 78.20
5 12.26 12.27 18 87.07 87.46
6 14.41 14.42 19 93.79 94.28
7 16.58 16.60 20 107.87 108.42
8 22.64 22.67 21 112.06 112.72
9 26.56 26.60 22 123.04 123.82
10 33.57 33.63 23 131.21 132.10
11 38.12 38.20 24 139.45 140.53
12 43.60 43.71 25 156.52 157.73
13 50.25 50.38
defined by Figure 4.4
60
-10.0
-8.0
-6.0
-4.0
-2.0
0.0
2.0
4.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
ABAQUS )
(a)

-4.0
-2.0
0.0
2.0
4.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
ABAQUS )
(b)

Figure 4.6 Vertical displacement histories for the problem defined by Figure
4.4: (a) at the center of the bridge (x = 75 m); (b) at the center of
the last span (x = 127.5 m)
61
-4000
-3000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
ABAQUS )
(a)

-3500
-2500
-1500
-500
500
1500
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
ABAQUS )
(b)

Figure 4.7 Bending moment histories for the problem defined by Figure 4.4:
(a) at the center of the bridge (x = 75 m); (b) at the center of the last
span (x = 127.5 m)
62
-25.0
-15.0
-5.0
5.0
15.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
(a)

-4.0
-2.0
0.0
2.0
4.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

a
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
/
s
2
)
Present
ABAQUS
(b)

Figure 4.8 Displacement and acceleration histories for the sprung mass of the
vehicle: (a) sprung mass vertical displacement; (b) sprung mass
vertical acceleration
63
4.4 Simple cable-stayed bridge
A simple fan-shaped cable-stayed bridge with rough road surface and with only the
main span suspended, was chosen for this numerical investigation. The geometrical
configuration and the mechanical properties are shown in Figure 4.9. Optimal values,
see [9], were chosen for the ratios of side span to the main span length and pylon
height to main span length, corresponding to 1/3 and 1/5, respectively. Rotational
springs with stiffness K
m
were introduced at end supports of the main span girder to
simulate the influence of the approach spans stiffness. The girder is also supported
vertically at the pylons but is totally independent of the pylons. The chosen dead
weight, q
g
, (including surfacing, cables, anchorages, railings, etc.) is equivalent, for
example, to 0.50 m of concrete for a bridge width of 14 m. The chosen live load, q
q
,
corresponds to a uniformly distributed load of 4.3 kN/m
2
, which also allows for point
loads. This gives a load ratio of q
q
/q
g
= 0.35, close to that of practice. The allowable
cable stress,
a
, corresponds to 45 % of the chosen ultimate tensile strength for the
cables which is 1670 MPa. The cross-sectional area of the cables and the
corresponding cable spring stiffness were evaluated using the expressions given in
section 2.2.3.

The characteristics of the 2 DOF vehicle model and the road surface roughness profile
are similar to those used in the previous example. If nothing else is stated in
connection with the presented figures in the following pages, this 2 DOF vehicle
model and the speed of 30 m/s (108 km/h) were used when calculating the response.
v =30 m/s
x
v
(t)
x
y(x,t)
150 m
10 m
50 m 50 m
4
0

m
3
0

m
K
m
K
m

Figure 4.9 Idealized fan-shaped cable-stayed bridge with rough road surface
subjected to an idealized 2 DOF vehicle. E
c
=2.010
11
N/m
2
,
E
g
=0.3010
11
N/m
2
, I
g
=4 m
4
, E
p
=0.3010
11
N/m
2
, I
p
=10 m
4
,
a
=75010
6
N/m
2
, q
g
=1710
4
N/m, q
q
=610
4
N/m, and
c
=910
4

N/m
3
. See chapter 2 for the description of the symbols
64
Satisfactory results were obtained by discretizing the bridge girder into 150 elements
in ABAQUS and using 300 increments, while the present model required 300 segments
with 25 included modes. The computer time consumed for the two models was about
625 and 325 CPU seconds, respectively.

Mode shapes, natural frequencies, some time histories of vertical displacements and
bending moments, and the influence of the rotational spring stiffness, vehicle speed,
different vehicle models and road surface roughness on the dynamic response, are
presented. The results are shown for two alternatives, namely, fixed and free pylon
top.

Studying Table 4.3, Figures 4.11 and 4.12, one can observe good agreement between
the solutions of the two different methods, specially for the fixed pylon top alternative.
For the free pylon top curves, the simple expressions derived in section 2.2.3, which
consider the anchor cable stiffness and the pylon stiffness, gave larger static and
dynamic displacements for the present model, compared with the ABAQUS model.
The bending moment responses shown in Figure 4.12 are underestimated, by the
present model, at x
v
/L =0.5. However, by increasing the number of modes considered
to 50, a better agreement will be obtained at this vehicle position, and of course more
CPU seconds will be consumed. See section 4.6 for discussion of the results.
07
1
4
2
1
2
8
3
5
4
2
4
9
5
6
6
3
7
0
7
7
8
4
9
1
9
8
1
0
5
1
1
2
1
1
9
1
2
6
1
3
3
1
4
0
1
4
7
Mode 1 (0.94 Hz)
Mode 2 (1.56 Hz)
Mode 3 (2.53 Hz)
Mode 4 (3.93 Hz)
Mode 5 (5.73 Hz)

Figure 4.10 The first 5 mode shapes for the girder calculated using the present
model for fixed pylon top and with K
m
=
65

Fixed pylon top Free pylon top
Mode Present ABAQUS Present ABAQUS
number
(bending)
300
segments
150
elements
300
segments
150
elements
1 0.94 0.94 0.76 0.76
2 1.56 1.55 1.38 1.42
3 2.53 2.53 2.41 2.50
4 3.93 3.92 3.85 3.92
5 5.73 5.71 5.68 5.71
6 7.92 7.90 7.88 7.89
7 10.49 10.46 10.47 10.46
8 13.44 13.40 13.42 13.40
9 16.77 16.72 16.75 16.72
10 20.46 20.41 20.45 20.41
11 24.52 24.47 24.51 24.47
12 28.96 28.90 28.95 28.90
13 33.76 33.72 33.75 33.72
14 38.93 38.78 38.92 38.78
15 44.47 44.52 44.46 44.52
16 50.37 50.30 50.37 50.30
17 56.64 56.62 56.64 56.62
18 63.27 63.26 63.27 63.26
19 70.27 70.29 70.27 70.29
20 77.63 77.68 77.63 77.68
21 85.35 85.44 85.35 85.44
22 93.44 93.57 93.44 93.57
23 101.88 102.07 101.88 102.07
24 110.68 110.94 110.68 110.94
25 119.85 120.18 119.85 120.18
defined by Figure 4.9 with K
m
=. The number of ABAQUS elements
includes only elements for the girder

66
-14.0
-12.0
-10.0
-8.0
-6.0
-4.0
-2.0
0.0
2.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
ABAQUS )
(a)
-20.0
-16.0
-12.0
-8.0
-4.0
0.0
4.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present)
Static
(b)
(ABAQUS )

Figure 4.11 Vertical displacement histories at the center of the bridge (x = 75 m)
calculated for rough road surface and with K
m
=: (a) fixed pylon
top; (b) free pylon top
67
-4000
-3000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
ABAQUS )
(a)
-4500
-3500
-2500
-1500
-500
500
1500
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present)
Static
(ABAQUS )
(b)

Figure 4.12 Bending moment histories at the center of the bridge (x = 75 m)
calculated for rough road surface and with K
m
=: (a) fixed pylon
top; (b) free pylon top
68
1.075
1.085
1.095
1.105
1.115
1.125
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Spring stiffness, K
m
(10
12
Nm)
D
A
F
d
For the entire bridge
At point x=75 m
(a)

1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Spring stiffness, K
m
(10
12
Nm)
D
A
F
m
At point x=75 m
At point x=150 m
(b)

Figure 4.13 The influence of the rotational spring stiffness, K
m
, on the dynamic
amplification factors for displacement and bending moment (rough
road surface and fixed pylon top): (a) DAF
d
; (b) DAF
m

69
1.00
1.05
1.10
1.15
1.20
1.25
1.30
1.35
1.40
35 50 65 80 95 110 125 140 155 170 185 200 215
Vehicle speed (km/h)
D
A
F
d
Fixed pylon top, rough road
Fixed pylon top, smooth road
Free pylon top, rough road
(a)
v
=
3
0

m
/
s

1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
35 50 65 80 95 110 125 140 155 170 185 200 215
D
A
F
m
Fixed pylon top, rough road
Fixed pylon top, smooth road
Free pylon top, rough road
(b)
v
=
3
0

m
/
s

Figure 4.14 The vehicle speed influence on the dynamic amplification factors for
displacement and bending moment calculated for K
m
=: (a) DAF
d

for the entire bridge; (b) DAF
m
at point x =150 m
70
-14.0
-12.0
-10.0
-8.0
-6.0
-4.0
-2.0
0.0
2.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Sprung mass model
Moving mass model
Moving force model
Static
(a)
-13.0
-11.0
-9.0
-7.0
-5.0
-3.0
-1.0
1.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Sprung mass model
Moving mass model
Moving force model
Static
(b)

Figure 4.15 Vertical displacement histories at the center of the bridge (x = 75 m)
calculated using different vehicle models (fixed pylon top and
K
m
=): (a) rough road surface; (b) road surface with no roughness
71
0.75
0.85
0.95
1.05
1.15
1.25
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

c
o
n
t
a
c
t

f
o
r
c
e
,

F
(
t
)

/

(
m
1
+
m
2
)
g
Sprung mass, rough road
Sprung mass, smooth road
Moving force

Figure 4.16 Normalized contact force calculated for fixed pylon top and with
K
m
=
The presented curves, in Figure 4.13, for the influence of the rotational springs on the
DAF values, indicate fast convergence with increasing K
m
value. The same DAF
values, as if totally fixed end supports were assumed, are obtained already for a K
m

value of 1.210
12
Nm. This K
m
value corresponds to a value of 6.43 for the first term
for c
1
in equation (3.5e). As mentioned earlier in section 3.1.1, a value of 5
corresponds to having a free end support and 7 to a fixed end support.

From Figure 4.14, it can be seen that very high DAF values can be obtained already at
normal vehicle speeds. For example, for a speed of 108 km/h, fixed pylon top, rough
road surface and K
m
= , the obtained DAF values for displacement and bending
moment, considering the entire bridge, are DAF
d
=1.093 and DAF
m
=1.531, respec-
tively. For the fixed end, the DAF
m
obtained was as high as 1.745. Figure 4.15 and
4.16 indicate that for normal vehicle speeds, most of the excitation of the dynamic
system is caused by the roughness of the road surface and very little is caused by the
elastic displacement of the bridge itself. It can also be concluded that, when assuming
a road surface with no roughness and a normal vehicle speed, the moving force model
72
is fully adequate for this example and there is no need for using complicated vehicle
models.
4.5 Three-span cable-stayed bridge
For this fourth and last example, a symmetric three-span fan-shaped cable-stayed
bridge was adopted with the geometrical configuration and the mechanical properties
shown in Figure 4.17. The horizontal displacements of the pylon tops were neglected
in this study as it was assumed that these displacements are small due to having the
side spans vertically fixed at four points. The cross-sectional area of the cables and the
corresponding cable spring stiffness were evaluated using the expressions given in
section 2.2.3. The 2 DOF vehicle model was used with the same characteristics as for
the last two examples.

The effect of local irregularities was investigated by simulating a 3 cm pot-hole
located at about x=150 m. This pot-hole represents a local defect in the road surface or
an initial joint defect.
v =30 m/s
x
v
(t)
x
y(x,t)
400 m 128 m 128 m
8
0
(8 x 16 m) (25 x 16 m) (8 x 16 m)
3 cm pot-hole

Figure 4.17 Idealized fan-shaped cable-stayed bridge subjected to an idealized 2
DOF vehicle. E
c
=2.010
11
N/m
2
, E
g
=0.3010
11
N/m
2
, I
g
=10 m
4
,
a
=75010
6
N/m
2
, q
g
=1710
4
N/m, q
q
=610
4
N/m, and
c
=910
4

N/m
3
. See chapter 2 for the description of the symbols

If nothing else is stated in connection with the presented figures in the following
pages, the bridge characteristics given in Figure 4.17 and the vehicle characteristics
given in Figure 4.4 were used when calculating the response.

Satisfactory results were obtained by discretizing the bridge girder into 369 elements
in ABAQUS and using 738 increments, while the present model required 533 segments
with 25 included modes. The computer time consumed for the two models was about
73
4000 CPU seconds for the ABAQUS model and 1000 CPU seconds for the present
model. This indicates that the present method involves much less computation, and
therefore is much more computationally efficient, compared to the finite element
method with direct time integration.

Mode shapes, natural frequencies, some time histories of vertical displacements and
bending moments, and the influence of some parameters (vehicle speed, pylon height
and vehicle spring stiffness) on the dynamic amplification factors, are shown in the
following pages.

It can be seen from Table 4.4 that the natural frequencies of this cable-stayed bridge
are very close to one another, and that excellent agreement is obtained especially when
comparing with the ABAQUS values calculated neglecting cable mass. The ABAQUS
frequencies calculated neglecting cable mass (
c
=0) are only presented in Table 4.4
for comparison and have not been used for dynamic response calculations.

The obtained DAF values, for the problem defined by Figure 4.17, are:
for the entire bridge DAF
d
=1.056 and DAF
m
=1.118; for the center point DAF
d
=1.046
and DAF
m
=1.074; for the point at x =128 m DAF
m
=1.179; and for the point at
x =528 m DAF
m
=1.264.
0 32 64 96 128 160 192 224 256 288 320 352 384 416 448 480 512 544 576 608 640
Mode 1 (0.50 Hz)
Mode 2 (0.66 Hz)
Mode 3 (0.84 Hz)
Mode 4 (1.07 Hz)
Mode 5 (1.39 Hz)

Figure 4.18 The first 5 mode shapes for the girder calculated using the present
model
74

Mode Present ABAQUS ABAQUS
number
(bending)
533 segments 369 elements
c
= 910
4
N/m
3
369 elements
c
= 0
1 0.50 0.49 0.50
2 0.66 0.65 0.66
3 0.84 0.83 0.84
4 1.07 1.06 1.07
5 1.39 1.37 1.39
6 1.80 1.78 1.80
7 2.31 2.29 2.31
8 2.91 2.88 2.91
9 3.59 3.56 3.60
10 4.36 4.32 4.36
11 5.20 5.15 5.20
12 6.08 6.04 6.09
13 6.65 6.61 6.66
14 6.73 6.68 6.74
15 7.13 7.07 7.14
16 7.90 7.85 7.91
17 8.29 8.25 8.31
18 8.69 8.64 8.71
19 9.52 9.45 9.54
20 10.34 10.29 10.37
21 10.79 10.75 10.83
22 11.34 11.29 11.38
23 12.33 12.25 12.36
24 13.10 13.06 13.16
25 13.41 13.38 13.47
defined by Figure 4.17. The number of ABAQUS elements includes only
elements for the girder

75
Studying Figure 4.19 and Figure 4.20, it is noted that the present solution is somewhat
stiffer than the ABAQUS solution. This is probably due to the differences in the two
models. In the ABAQUS model the cables are placed 16 meters apart, whereas in the
present model there is always a spring
7
supporting the girder beneath each vehicle
position. Still, from an engineering point of view, one can say that the ABAQUS and
the present model results exhibit good matches, because the important values in Figure
4.19 and Figure 4.20 are those giving the maximum response.

Figure 4.21 shows the variation of the DAF with the speed of the vehicle for three
different girder moment of inertia. It can be seen that high DAF values are obtained
for low vehicle speeds. Thus for this case, limitation of the speed of vehicles will not
necessarily avoid damage effects on bridges.

The effect of pylon height on the DAF is shown in Figure 4.22. It is obvious that
increasing pylon height results in lower DAF values.
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
ABAQUS )

Figure 4.19 Vertical displacement histories at the center of the bridge (x=328
m)

7
Used to idealize the cables.
76
-6000
-5000
-4000
-3000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
2000
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
(a)
ABAQUS )
-2000
-1000
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Vehicle position, x
v
/L
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
k
N
m
)
Present
ABAQUS
Static (present &
(b)
ABAQUS )

Figure 4.20 Bending moment histories: (a) at the center of the bridge (x =328 m);
(b) at the first pylon (x=128 m)
77
1.03
1.04
1.05
1.06
1.07
1.08
1.09
1.10
1.11
1.12
50 70 90 110 130 150 170
D
A
F
d
Ig=5 m4
Ig=10 m4
Ig=30 m4
(a)
v
=
3
0

m
/
s

1.00
1.10
1.20
1.30
1.40
1.50
1.60
1.70
1.80
50 70 90 110 130 150 170
D
A
F
m
Ig=5 m4
Ig=10 m4
Ig=30 m4
(b)
v
=
3
0

m
/
s

Figure 4.21 The influence of vehicle speed on the dynamic amplification factors
for displacement and bending moment calculated for different I
g

values: (a) DAF
d
for the entire bridge; (b) DAF
m
at point x =128 m
I
g
=5 m
4
I
g
=10 m
4
I
g
=30 m
4

I
g
=5 m
4
I
g
=10 m
4
I
g
=30 m
4

78
1.030
1.035
1.040
1.045
1.050
1.055
1.060
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
Pylon height, H (m)
D
A
F
d
At point x=328 m
(a)
H
=
8
0

m

1.00
1.05
1.10
1.15
1.20
1.25
1.30
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150
Pylon height, H (m)
D
A
F
m
At point x=128 m
At point x=328 m
At point x=528 m
(
H
=
8
0

m

(b)

Figure 4.22 The influence of pylon height on the dynamic amplification factors
for displacement and bending moment: (a) DAF
d
; (b) DAF
m

79
1.02
1.03
1.04
1.05
1.06
1.07
2.28 4.56 6.84 9.12 11.4 13.68 15.96 18.24
Vehicle spring stiffness, k
S
(10
6
N/m)
D
A
F
d
At point x=328 m
(a)
k
S
=
9
.
1
2
.
1
0
6

N
/
m
0.90
1.00
1.10
1.20
1.30
1.40
1.50
2.28 4.56 6.84 9.12 11.4 13.68 15.96 18.24
Vehicle spring stiffness, k
S
(10
6
N/m)
D
A
F
m
At point x=128 m
At point x=328 m
At point x=528 m
(b)
k
S
=
9
.
1
2
.
1
0
6

N
/
m

Figure 4.23 The influence of vehicle spring stiffness on the dynamic
amplification factors for displacement and bending moment:
(a) DAF
d
; (b) DAF
m

(1.35 Hz) (1.91 Hz) (2.34 Hz) (2.70 Hz) (3.02 Hz) (3.31 Hz) (3.57 Hz) (3.82 Hz)
80
Figure 4.23 shows the variation of the DAF with the vehicle spring stiffness. It is clear
that increasing vehicle spring stiffness results in increasing contact forces and
increasing DAF values. The reason for this is believed to be that the vehicle sprung
mass will more and more become unsprung as the spring stiffness increases.

From Figure 4.22 and Figure 4.23 we can infer that the DAF can reach high values for
the girder near the pylons, and that the DAF at the center of the bridge are
comparatively small. This situation should be considered in the design practice of the
bridge. These high DAF values, for the girder near the pylons, are believed to be
caused by the higher modes (mode number 8 and 7), which have natural frequencies
close to that of the vehicle (2.7 Hz). Mode number 8 has a zero point at the center of
the bridge (x = 328 m) and maximum points close to the pylons.

4.6 Discussion of the numerical results
In this chapter, four problems have been studied in order to demonstrate the efficiency
and the validity of the proposed model. The results obtained using the present model
are generally in good agreement with those obtained using the ABAQUS model.

For the first numerical example, extremely good agreement is observed between the
three different solutions, and it was not easy to produce Figures 4.2 and 4.3 so all
curves can be distinguished. The reason for this extremely good agreement is the
simplicity of the problem, as no surface roughness was included and the moving force
model was adopted.

As the problems studied got more complicated due to having rough road surface and
more complex bridge and vehicle models, the differences between the ABAQUS
solutions and the present model solutions increased. As a general remark, one should
bear in mind that both methods are approximate, and it is not always possible to infer
which solution is closer to the correct one.

The main parameters that are believed to cause the differences in the dynamic
response are:

cable spacing. For large cable spacing compared to bridge length, the present
model will give stiffer solutions due to using continuously distributed vertical
spring to idealize the cables
81
location of the point studied. Differences can also be the result of studying the
response of a point situated between two cables instead of a point adjacent to a
cable. For the same reason as above, the present model will give stiffer solutions for
points between cables
cable mass. The cable mass is neglected in the present model but not in the
ABAQUS model. Using the present model, this will also lead to stiffer solutions
the surface roughness. For the present model, the surface roughness profile, r(x),
and its derivatives were given at each segment joint, while for the ABAQUS model
the roughness profile was considered when giving the vertical location of each
node. If more increments are needed than the number of nodes, the vehicle locations
will not always coincide with one of those nodes, and it is not clear how ABAQUS
evaluates the vertical locations of these inter nodal points situated on the SLIDE
LINE
numerical damping. The influence of the automatically introduced numerical
(artificial) damping on the ABAQUS solution. For problems tested with no
numerical damping, bad numerical stability was observed.
82

83
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Conclusions and Suggestions for Further
Research
_____________________________________________________________________
_
5.1 Conclusions of Part A
The present work has reviewed previous research conducted in the field of dynamic
response of bridges subjected to moving vehicles, and presented a simplified analysis
method for evaluating the dynamic response of cable-stayed bridges.

For the evaluation of the dynamic response due to moving vehicles, a computer code
was developed which fully consider the dynamic interaction between the bridge and
the vehicle. Time histories and the influence of some parameters, e.g. vehicle speed,
on the dynamic amplification factors were presented. The results were compared with
results obtained using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS.

Good agreement was obtained between the ABAQUS results and the results from the
present model. Moreover, the presented model proves to be simple to use,
computationally economical, and the finite difference method serves as an efficient
tool for analysis of such problems. However, the major drawback for the present
model is that it is not capable of considering the interaction between the side spans and
the main span through the cables. As a conclusion, referring to the discussion in
section 4.6 of the numerical results, it has been shown that the theoretical formulations
used are valid and that the present model correctly handles the moving load problem.

There are several conclusions that can be drawn from the numerical results presented
in the previous chapter:

84
the surface roughness has great effect on the dynamic response. Thus, when
calculating the DAF, the roughness of the road surface should be considered. To
reduce damage to bridges, attempts should be made to eliminate irregularities in the
deck, in the approach pavements and over bearings
it was found that limitation of the speed of vehicles will not necessarily avoid
damage effects on bridges
in some cases greater dynamic amplification factors can be obtained than those
given by some of the current bridge design codes
as expected, if the vehicle travels at a normal speed and smooth bridge deck surface
is assumed, and if the ratio of the vehicle mass to bridge mass is very small, the
effect of bridge-vehicle interaction is small compared to the bridge inertia.
Therefore, for this case, the moving force solution represents an acceptable
approximation for the sprung mass solution.

The simplified analysis method presented in this part of the thesis can be used for
dynamic analysis of conventional type of bridges, and for comparing different design
alternatives of cable-stayed bridges in the feasibility design stage. For the final design
stage, and specially for long span cable-stayed bridges, the author recommends
carrying out a three-dimensional finite element analysis, as the nonlinearities, cable
masses, axial forces, and the three-dimensional motion of the structure may no longer
be ignored.

For the present model, it is clear that the modeling assumptions ignore several factors
that may significantly affect the response, particularly those related to cable mass,
bridge damping, and vehicle configuration. Moreover, only fan-shaped cable-stayed
bridges were considered in this study. However, the developed computer code is
general and flexible and can be improved to handle cable-stayed bridges with other
cable configurations (harp-shaped or modified fan-shaped), more realistic traffic loads
such as a sequence of moving vehicles, or more realistic bridge structures including
damping and with variable mass and flexural rigidity of the stiffening girder.

The results obtained in the previous chapter indicate that the dynamic behavior of
bridges due to moving vehicles is too complicated to be approximated using a simple
formula for dynamic amplification factors, as adopted in many of the current bridge
design codes. This study and previous studies have shown that parameters such as
85
span length (or fundamental frequency of the bridge), road surface condition, bridge
damping, and design vehicle speed should be considered in these DAF formulas.

Conducting this study, it was also found that very few commercial finite element
codes are capable of handling the bridge-vehicle interaction problem and the moving
load problem. The commercial finite element codes capable of handling such problems
are very expensive and require powerful computers. The proposed model on the other
hand has shown to be computationally efficient and can be simply implemented, e.g.
using FORTRAN, MATLAB [53], or even Microsoft Excel, on an ordinary PC, giving a
much more economical solution.

5.2 Suggestions for further research
Based on the present study, the following suggestions for further research can be
given:
referring to the discussion in section 4.6 of the numerical results, a sensitivity study
need to be carried out to investigate the effects of cable spacing, cable mass
neglection, variation in natural frequencies, etc., on the present model results. This
is necessary to find the limits of the proposed simplified analysis method
further work is needed to develop the expressions derived in chapter 2 and the
implemented code, in order to study the response of cable-stayed bridges with other
cable configurations and to include the effect of bridge damping and axial forces
investigate the effect of span length, bridge damping, bridge-vehicle mass ratio,
multiple vehicles, and torsional loading on the dynamic response of more realistic
cable-stayed bridge models
study the effect of vehicle braking on the dynamic response of cable-stayed bridges
study the effectiveness of tuned mass dampers (TMD) on suppressing vibrations
induced by moving vehicles
perform extensive instrumentation and testing on an existing cable-stayed bridge, or
on a laboratory model, to further enhance the understanding of the behavior of this
type of bridge structures, and to verify theoretical models.
To study the above listed theoretical topics, the author recommends using the finite
element method. This is necessary if more realistic three-dimensional bridge and
86
vehicle models are to be used for analysis. Axial forces, geometric nonlinearities,
torsional modes of vibration, cable modes of vibration, and bridge damping can then
easily be considered in the analysis.

87 87
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
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97

Part B

Refined Analysis Utilizing
the Nonlinear Finite
Element Method
98

99
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Introduction
______________________________________________________________________
6.1 General
Although several long span cable-stayed and suspension bridges are being build or
proposed for future bridges, little is known about their dynamic behavior under the
action of moving traffic loads. Cable supported bridges are complex structures
consisting of various structural components with different properties. Thus, to take
account of the complex structural response and to more realistically predict their
response due to traffic loading, a detailed structural analysis is required. Various
studies of the dynamic response due to moving vehicles have been conducted on
ordinary bridges, see the state-of-the-art review in Part A of this thesis. However, due
to reasons stated above, they cannot be directly applied to modern cable supported
bridges.

Due to the low damping, lightweight and high flexibility of modern long span cable-
stayed and suspension bridges, vibrations induced by traffic can be a serious problem.
Vibration effects should play a much more dominating role for the design and not be
underestimated, as the ratio between traffic load and dead load can be larger for these
modern bridges. It is well known that long-term vibration of the bridge deck and
cables (in particular the cables in cable-stayed bridges) might enhance and accelerate
the fatigue damage on the bridge. Costly repairs and modifications have been
undertaken on relatively new suspension and cable-stayed bridges, because the
possibility of fatigue caused by traffic-induced vibrations had not been sufficiently
investigated at the design stage. In addition, dynamic forces of heavy vehicles can lead
to bridge deterioration and eventually increasing maintenance costs and decreasing
service life of the bridge structure. Therefore it ought to be evident that it is important
for engineers to not only use design code formulas but also be able to accurately
100
investigate and understand the vibration effects at the design stage. At this stage the
bridge structure can readily be modified, rather than having to make costly
modifications later on.

For cable supported bridges and in particular long span cable-stayed bridges, energy
dissipation is very low and is often not enough on its own to suppress vibrations. To
increase the overall damping capacity of the bridge structure, one possible option is to
incorporate external dampers
1
into the system. Such dampers can be found today on
many existing cable supported bridges [33, 58]. However, it is not always easy to find
a location with significant relative movements and enough space to accommodate
these devices. Moreover, this is not always the most effective and economic solution.
The application of such devices for bridge structures is discussed later on in Chapter 8.
The damping characteristics and damping ratios of cable supported bridges are also
discussed and a practical technique for deriving the damping matrix from modal
damping ratios, is presented.

Since the cable supported bridge structures to be analyzed in this part of the thesis are
flexible and can undergo large displacements, the nonlinear finite element method is
utilized considering all sources of geometric nonlinearity. A beam element, which
includes geometrically nonlinear effects and is derived using a consistent mass
formulation, is adopted for modeling the girder and the pylons. Whereas, a two-node
cable element derived using exact analytical expressions for the elastic catenary, is
adopted for modeling the cables.

Two approaches for evaluating the dynamic response are adopted. In the first
approach, the response is evaluated using the mode superposition technique utilizing
the deformed dead load tangent stiffness matrix. This is a linear dynamic procedure
based on results from a nonlinear static analysis. This approach has won considerable
popularity in spite of its limitations, as one usually only need to consider the first
dominant modes of vibration to obtain sufficiently accurate results. The second
approach evaluates the nonlinear dynamic response using a direct time integration
method combined with a nonlinear solution procedure. Here, the so-called Newton-
Newmark algorithm is adopted. This is a much more CPU time-consuming approach.
Still, nonlinear dynamic analysis is essential if it is believed that the bridge will not

1
Discrete damping devices such as viscous dampers and tuned mass dampers. A tuned mass damper
(TMD) is a vibration absorber tuned to a particular mode of the bridge and consists of a mass, a
viscous damper and a linear spring.
101
behave linearly during the application of traffic loads. If this is the case, the natural
frequencies will vary with the amplitude of response and linear dynamic analysis will
consequently be inadequate.

6.2 Cable structures and cable modeling techniques
The increasing attention on cable structures is not only due to their inherent beauty but
also to their stubborn nature in not easily revealing the secret of their nonlinear
behavior. Cable structures exhibit geometrically nonlinear behavior, they are very
flexible and undergo large displacements before attaining their equilibrium
configuration. As an example, due to this inherently nonlinear behavior, conventional
linear dead load analysis which assumes small displacements is often not applicable
[49, 55], except in special cases in the feasibility design stage. In the final design
stages however, a refined nonlinear dead load analysis procedure should be adopted.

A brief early history of the research on the behavior of cables has been published in
[34], as well as a more recent history in [39]. Methods of static and dynamic analysis
and the behavior of cable structures are thoroughly presented in [20, 27, 34, 49]. In
[31, 32, 39], trial-and-error search procedures have been proposed for the nonlinear
computer analysis of simple cable problems. For cable roof structures, analyses
methods and several very illustrative design details, e.g. details of connections, are
presented in [14].

For cable supported bridges, i.e. suspension and cable-stayed bridges, the trend today
is to use more shallow and slender stiffening girders combined with increasing span
lengths. For that reason, it is highly desirable in bridge engineering to develop accurate
procedures that can lead to a thorough understanding and a realistic prediction of the
structural response. Although several investigators [2, 6, 7, 12, 13, 22, 40, 41, 55]
studied the nonlinear behavior of cable supported bridges, very few [2, 7] tackled the
problem of using cable elements for modeling the cables.

Commercial finite element codes used in civil engineering today cannot be readily
used for modeling and analysis of modern cable structures as they lack suitable cable
elements that can accurately model the actual cable curvature. As the cable represents
a flexible member with virtually no resistance to applied moments, the idea of
replacing each cable by a bar element with equivalent cable stiffness or by several
102
beam elements with negligible moment of inertia has found wide acceptance and has
been adopted by many investigators and designers using commercial codes.

As the popularity of cable structures has increased, the search for more efficient
methods has intensified and today various other cable modeling techniques, than the
crude modeling with a bar element mentioned above, can be found in the literature. In
[25], a 2-node curved finite element was developed, using cubic polynomial
interpolation functions, and used for the static and dynamic analysis of 3-D prestressed
cable nets. In [60], another 2-node curved finite element was developed using
Lagrangian functions for the interpolation of element geometry. In [11, 49],
derivations of isoparametric cable elements which includes the element curvature are
presented, and in [7] a four-node isoparametric cable element is presented and used for
modeling cables in cable-stayed bridges.

An iterative analysis procedure for cables, based on using exact analytical
expressions for the elastic catenary, was suggested in [56, 57]. This approach was later
adopted by other investigators, developed and used for the analysis of very simple
cable structures [35, 63] and of power transmission lines [64]. In [34], the same
approach was also suggested for the analysis of cable structures with appreciable sag
and the applicability of this method was later demonstrated in [2] on numerical
examples of cable supported bridges.

The cable element used in this thesis is derived using the exact analytical
expressions for the elastic catenary given in [35]. The procedure presented later in
section 7.2.1, to derive the element matrices, is similar to that described in [2, 34].
However, the analytical expressions for the elastic catenary adopted here are
somewhat simpler and therefore easier to handle. The presented element can be used
for modeling large sag cables such as suspension bridge main cables, cables in long
span cable-stayed bridges, cables in large cable roofs, etc., where straight elements are
not readily applicable. Despite the fact that the cable modeling technique based on the
expressions given in [35] has been available for many years it has, at least to the
authors knowledge, very seldom been used for analysis of cable supported bridges.

The expressions of the internal force vectors and tangent stiffness matrices for the
elements used were derived using the Maple software package for symbolic
computations [52]. Samples of these Maple procedures are given in Appendix A.

103
6.3 General aims of the present study
The main objective of the work presented in this part is to study the response of more
realistic, than those studied in Part A, two-dimensional bridge models considering
bridge damping, exact cable behavior, nonlinear geometric effects, non-uniform cross-
sections, and variable material properties. For this reason a more straightforward and
general approach, based on the nonlinear finite element method, is developed to handle
such analysis difficulties and allow a thorough study of the moving load problem of
cable supported bridges.

The main aims of this study are as follows:
to implement two approaches (linear dynamic and nonlinear dynamic) for
evaluating the response and to find whether linear dynamic traffic load analysis is
adequate when investigating the behavior of cable supported bridges under the
action of moving traffic
to better understand and outline the influence of different parameters on the
behavior of cable-stayed bridge. The parameters that are believed to significantly
influence the dynamic response and therefore considered in this study are: bridge-
vehicle interaction, road surface roughness, vehicle speed, number of vehicles on
the bridge, and bridge damping
to investigate the influence of the bridge girder supporting condition on the
response of the bridge. In addition, to study the effect of multi-element cable
discretization
2
on the dynamic response
to study the efficiency of a so-called tuned mass damper (TMD) on suppressing
traffic-induced vibrations and increasing the overall damping of the bridge.

Since, in this study, the main concern is to investigate the dynamic response of bridges
and not the dynamics of the vehicle itself and since the spans of cable supported
bridges are considerably larger than the vehicle axle base, a very simple vehicle model
is adopted. This model is an improved version of the one used in Part A as it here
includes both primary and secondary vehicle suspension systems. Since the main aim
is not to develop design formulas for calculating the dynamic amplification factors,

2
Each cable is modeled with several catenary cable elements to include cable modes of vibration and
the dynamic interaction between the vibrating cables and the bridge.
104
only hypothetical trains of moving traffic are simulated and used for analysis. The
effect of using more complex vehicle models, than the one mentioned above, or finer
bridge models (more elements for discretizing the bridge girder and pylons) have not
been investigated in this study.

For the purpose of this study, computer codes, fully capable of handling the above
stated important factors and parameters, are implemented using the MATLAB language
[53]. The developed codes have been tested by comparing results against those
obtained using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS [1].

Parts of the work presented in the following chapters, concerning nonlinear finite
element modeling, static dead load analysis, and frequency analysis of cable supported
bridges, have been included in the paper Some Modeling Aspects in the Nonlinear
Finite Element Analysis of Cable Supported Bridges. This paper has been accepted
for publication in the journal Computer & Structures.

105
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Nonlinear Finite Elements
______________________________________________________________________
7.1 General
The cable supported structures considered in this study are cable-stayed and
suspension bridges. Such bridges consist of cables, pylons and girders (bridge decks)
and are usually modeled using beam and bar elements for the analysis of the global
structural response [28, 41]. In the following, an alternative approach is presented
where accurate and efficient cable and beam elements are used for the modeling. All
sources of geometric nonlinearity, i.e. change of cable geometry under different
tension load levels (cable sag effect), change of the bridge geometry due to large
displacements, and axial force-bending moment interaction in the bridge deck and
pylons (P- effect), are considered in the present study.

For simplicity the present study focuses on two-dimensional problems. Consequently,
torsional effects and torsional modes of vibration are disregarded. As modern cable
supported structures are flexible three-dimensional structures, two-dimensional models
are of course not adequate when studying the response of such structures under the
action of environmental loads like wind, traffic, and earthquakes [4, 28]. However,
simplified two-dimensional bridge models are still very useful for bridge designers in
the preliminary design stage, e.g. for investigating the feasibility of alternative
structural solutions. For the interested reader, accurate three-dimensional cable and
beam elements can be found in [35, 61].

The formulation of cable and beam element matrices will be described in the following
sections. These are included for the sake of clarity and also for the purpose of having a
thesis as self-contained as possible. The matrices will be given in the element local
coordinate system. For each individual element in the model, the evaluated element
106
matrices in the local coordinate system are transformed to global coordinate system by
the usual coordinate transformation technique [11]. The structure matrices (i.e. the
global tangent stiffness matrix
t
K , global mass matrix M, and global internal force
vector p) are constructed from the transformed matrices of the individual elements of
the structure by the general assembly procedure [11]. The superscript e, used later to
denote e.g. the element length L
e
or the element nodal displacement vector q
e
, is
omitted in this chapter for notational convenience.

7.2 Modeling of cables
The problem of analyzing cables under different configurations and loading conditions
is very complex. This is because the behavior of cables is inherently nonlinear and also
because large displacements introduce nonlinearities in the geometric sense.

For cable supported bridges, there are mainly three approaches used today to consider
the nonlinear behavior of the cables. In the first approach each cable is replaced by one
bar element with equivalent cable stiffness. This approach, often adopted when
modeling cables in cable-stayed bridges, is referred to as the equivalent modulus
approach and has been used by several investigators [6, 12, 13, 22, 42, 55, 68] and also
in Part A of this thesis. Derivation of the equivalent tangent modulus of elasticity for
the bar element, equation (2.10), is presented in [27]. It has been shown in [7] that the
equivalent modulus approach results in softer cable response as it accounts for the sag
effect but does not account for the stiffening effect due to large displacements. Still,
for some cases, e.g. for short span cable-stayed bridges, linear analysis utilizing the
equivalent modulus approach is often sufficient [27, 41], especially in the feasibility
design stage. Whereas, long span cable-stayed bridges built today or proposed for
future bridges are very flexible, they undergo large displacements, and should
therefore be analyzed taking into account all sources of geometric nonlinearity.

The second approach is to divide each cable into several straight elements, as in [3], in
order to adequately model the curved geometry of the cable. This would introduce
many added degrees of freedom with a consequent increase in computer storage
requirements and computational cost. In addition, numerical problems can occur and
spurious results can be obtained if equilibrium conditions, at those nodes, are not
fulfilled.

107
The third approach to model cables is to use isoparametric elements. In [7, 11, 49],
derivations of isoparametric cable elements, which include the element curvature, are
presented. Using such elements one can model the curved geometry of a cable with
fewer elements compared to using straight elements and obtain a better convergence
[49]. However, those elements are stiffer and require numerical integration to
formulate the element stiffness matrix [49].

The alternative approach presented in this thesis is based on exact analytical
expressions for the elastic catenary. In contrast to other modeling techniques
mentioned above, each cable may be represented by a single 2-node finite element,
which accurately consider the curved geometry of the cable, making this method very
attractive for static response calculations. Even if each cable must be divided into
several catenary cable elements, to include cable modes of vibration in the dynamic
analysis or external loads acting between cable ends, the author still believes that this
approach is more efficient to adopt. This is mainly because fewer internal nodes need
to be defined for each cable in the model. The main advantages of the proposed cable
element are the reduction of degrees of freedom, the simplicity of finding the dead
load geometry of the cable system, the exact treatment of cable sag, the exact
treatment of cable weight as it is included in the equations used for element
formulation, and the simplicity of including the effect of pretension of the cable by
simply giving the unstressed cable length.

7.2.1 Cable element formulation
The procedure presented in this section determines the complete geometry of the
cable, the cable element internal force vector, and its tangent stiffness matrix from a
given unstressed cable length and given positions of the ends of the cable.

Consider an elastic cable element, stretched in the vertical plane as shown in Figure
7.1, with an unstressed length
u
L , modulus of elasticity E, cross section area A, and
weight per unit length w (uniformly distributed along the unstressed length). For the
elastic catenary, the exact relations between the element projections and cable force
components at the ends of the element are [35]:

108

Figure 7.1 Catenary cable element

|
|
.
|
\
|
+
+ =
2
4
u
1 x
ln
1
P T
T P
w EA
L
P L
i
j
(7.1)
( )
w
T T
T T
EAw
L
i j
i j

+ =
2 2
y
2
1
(7.2)
where
i
T and
j
T are the cable tension forces at the two nodes of the element. For the
above expressions it is assumed that the cable is perfectly flexible and Hookes law is
applicable to the cable material. The expressions for
x
L and
y
L in equations (7.1) and
(7.2) may be written, in terms of the end forces
1
P and
2
P only, as:
( )
2 1 x x
, P P L L = ; ( )
2 1 y y
, P P L L = (7.3)
because
j i
T T P P P P and , , , ,
4 3 2 1
are related by the following equations:
2 u 4
P L w P = ;
1 3
P P = (7.4)
node i
node j
L
y

L
u
, E , A , w
u
2
, P
2
u
1
, P
1

u
3
, P
3

u
4
, P
4

L
x
x
y
109

2
2
2
1
P P T
i
+ = ;
2
4
2
3
P P T
j
+ = (7.5)
Differentiating equation (7.3) and rewriting the results using matrix notation gives:

2
2
x
1
1
x
x
d d d P
P
L
P
P
L
L
= ;
2
2
y
1
1
y
y
d d d P
P
L
P
P
L
L
= (7.6)
)
`
=
)
`
(
(
(
(
=
)
`
2
1
2
1
2
y
1
y
2
x
1
x
y
x
d
d

d
d

d
d
P
P
P
P
P
L
P
L
P
L
P
L
L
L
F (7.7)
where F is the flexibility matrix. The stiffness matrix K is given by the inverse of F as:

4 3
2 1 1
(
= =

k k
k k
F K (7.8)
The tangent stiffness matrix
t
K and the corresponding internal force vector p for the
cable element can now be obtained in terms of the four nodal degrees of freedom as
(noting that
3 2
k k = ):
(
(
(
(

=
4
2 1
4 2 4
2 1 2 1
sym. k
k k
k k k
k k k k
t
K ;
=
4
3
2
1
P
P
P
P
p (7.9)
The element tangent stiffness matrix
t
K relates the incremental element nodal force
vector { }
T
4 3 2 1
, , , P P P P to the incremental element nodal displacement vector
{ }
T
4 3 2 1
, , , u u u u . The Maple software package for symbolic computations [52]
was used to perform the above mentioned operations and produce the necessary
Fortran code. This Maple procedure is listed in Appendix A. However, if this package
is not available the following expressions, obtained by derivation of equation (7.3),
may be used to evaluate the matrices K,
t
K , and p:
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ + =
i j
T
P
T
P
w EA
L
k
2 4 u
1
1
det
1
F
(7.10a)
110
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
= =
i j
T T w
P
k k
1 1
det
1
1
3 2
F
(7.10b)
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ + =
i j
T
P
T
P
w P
L
k
2 4
1
x
4
1
det
1
F
(7.10c)
2
1 2 4
1
x 2 4 u
1 1 1

1
det
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|

|
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ +
|
|
.
|
\
|
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ =
i j i j i j
T T w
P
T
P
T
P
w P
L
T
P
T
P
w EA
L
F (7.10d)
To evaluate the tangent stiffness matrix
t
K , the end forces
1
P and
2
P must be
determined first. Those forces are adopted as the redundant forces and are determined,
from given positions of cable end nodes, using an iterative stiffness procedure. This
procedure requires starting values for the redundant forces. Based on the catenary
relationships the following expressions will be used for the starting values [35]:
2
x
1
L w
P = ; |
.
|
\
|
+ =
u y 2
sinh
cosh
2
L L
w
P
(7.11)
where
|
|
.
|
\
|
= 1 3
2
x
2
y
2
u
L
L L
(7.12)
In cases where equation (7.12) cannot be used because the unstressed cable length is
less than the chord length, a conservative value of 0.2 for is assumed [35]. Another
difficulty arises in equation (7.12) for vertical cables. In that case an arbitrary large
value of 10
6
for is used. Using equations (7.4) and (7.5), new cable projections
corresponding to the assumed end forces
1
P and
2
P are now determined directly from
equations (7.1) and (7.2) and the misclosure vector {L
x
, L
y
}
T
is evaluated as the
positions of the end nodes are given. Corrections to the assumed end forces can now
be made using the computed misclosure vector as:

)
`
=
)
`
y
x
2
1

L
L
P
P
K ;
)
`
+
)
`
=
)
`
+
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
P
P
P
P
P
P
i i
(7.13)
111
where the stiffness matrix K is given in equation (7.8) and i is the iteration number.
For the present study, this iteration process continued until L
x
and L
y
are less than
5
10 1

. As will be demonstrated later, this iterative procedure converges very rapidly.

To determine the unstressed cable length,
u
L , for cases where the initial cable tension
is known instead, a similar iteration procedure can be adopted. A starting value for the
unstressed cable length is assumed, e.g. equal to the cable chord length, and cable end
forces
1
P and
2
P are computed using the iterative procedure described above. Using
equation (7.5), cable tension can now be computed. This is then compared with the
given initial tension to obtain a better approximation for
u
L for the next iteration step.

If the complete geometry of the cable is to be determined, coordinates for a number of
points along the cable must be computed. This is very simple because
1
P and
2
P are
now known, so equations (7.1) and (7.2) can be used to compute the coordinates of
any new point along the cable by simply replacing
u
L by any fraction of
u
L .

For the dynamic analysis, mass discretization is simply done by static lumping of the
element mass at both ends giving the following lumped mass matrix ( is the mass
density of the cable element):
(
(
(
(
=
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
2
u
AL
M (7.14)

7.2.2 Analytical verification
A cable hanging under its own weight and subjected to a tensile force at both ends
along its chord, as shown in Figure 7.2, was studied to verify the cable element and the
analysis procedure described in section 7.2.1. This problem was earlier studied in [7]
using isoparametric cable elements and the published results can now be compared to
results obtained here.

A cable with an unstressed length
u
L = 312.7 m, modulus of elasticity E = 1.3110
11
N/m
2
, cross section area A = 5.4810
-4
m
2
, and weight per unit length w = 46.11 N/m,
112
was studied using two different models. For the two models: the cable was replaced by
one catenary cable element, and by twenty beam elements with negligible moment of
inertia. The beam element used is described in the next section.

Figure 7.2 Cable under its own weight subjected to tensile force at both ends

To span the distance of 304.8 m,
using a cable with the above given
properties, a horizontal force of
T
o
= 1.779410
4
N was needed at
both ends. This force gave a mid-
span cable sag of 30.48 m and was
adopted as the initial force when
calculating the curves in Figure 7.3.

Using the two models, the sag and
the longitudinal displacement along
the chord of the cable were deter-
mined for different values of the
tensile force T and the results are
plotted in Figure 7.3. Good agree-
ment is observed when comparing
the curves for the adopted catenary
cable element with those for the iso-
parametric cable element presented in
[7]. Figure 7.3 shows also that the
replacement of the curved cable by
several beam elements with negligi-
ble flexural stiffness can give
acceptable results. As the number of
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
0 5 10 15 20
1 catenary cable element
20 beam elements,
20 beam elements,
Tension / Initial tension
(
D
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

/

H
o
r
i
z
o
n
t
a
l

l
e
n
g
t
h
)

x
1
0
0

0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
0 5 10 15 20
Tension / Initial tension
1 catenary cable element
20 beam elements,
20 beam elements,
(
S
a
g

/

H
o
r
i
z
o
n
t
a
l

l
e
n
g
t
h
)

x
1
0
0

Figure 7.3 Response of the cable defined
in Figure 7.2
304.8 m
T
o
T
o
(b)
(a)
I =10
-5
I =10
-4
I =10
-5
I =10
-4
113
beam elements increase and the moment of inertia decreases, the results should
converge to those of the catenary cable element model. One should only bear in mind
that replacing the cables by several straight elements will give a stiffer structural
model and consequently an underestimation of the displacements.

The results from this simple numerical experiment provide confidence in the
application of the catenary cable element for modeling cables in cable supported
bridges.

7.3 Modeling of bridge deck and pylons
The pylons and the bridge deck girder or stiffening girder as it is also called are
modeled using beam elements able to resist bending, shear, and axial forces. For the
present study, the simplest 2D beam element introduced in [61] is adopted and the
treatment given there will be followed below when deriving the element matrices. This
finite element is developed following the total Lagrangian approach and using a linear
interpolation scheme for the displacement components. Previous studies, reported in
[61], have shown that the element is efficient and accurate. This element is chosen also
because it can handle large displacements and shear deformations and because it is
simple to formulate the element matrices.

Referring to Figure 7.4, the current deformed configuration of the beam axis is
described by a regular curve defined by the position vector:
| | j i s ) ( ) ( ) (
o
x w x u x x + + = (7.15)
where the abscissa x[0, L] is measured on the straight reference configuration of the
beam, u(x), w(x) represent the axial and transversal displacement components and i and
j are unit axis vectors. By introducing the angle ) (x as the rotation of the cross
sections (S') in the deformed configuration, the unit vectors orthogonal and parallel to
the cross sections for each point on the deformed beam are obtained as:
j i a sin cos ) ( + = x ; j i b cos sin ) ( + = x (7.16)
Further, defining the deformation measures , , according to:

114

Figure 7.4 Deformed and undeformed configuration of the beam element

( ) b a
s
s 1
d
d
o
, o
+ + = =
x
x
;
x
x
,
d
d
= = (7.17)
and using equations (7.15) and (7.16), the following expressions are obtained:
( ) 1 sin cos 1
, ,
+ + =
x x
w u (7.18)
( ) sin 1 cos
, , x x
u w + = (7.19)
x ,
= (7.20)
If the constitutive relations are assumed as linear, the strain energy can be written as:
( ) d
2
1
) (
0
2 2 2
i

+ + =
L
x EI GA EA u (7.21)
u
4

S
w(x)
y, w

x, u
S'
x
b(x)
s
o
(x)
u(x)
a(x)
s
o,x

L

i
j
(x)
u
5
u
6
u
1

u
2

u
3
undeformed beam

deformed beam

s(x)
115
where EA, GA and EI represent the axial, shear and flexural rigidities. For u, w and a
linear interpolation scheme is used according to:
j j i i
x N x N q q u ) ( ) ( + = (7.22)
where { } , ,
T
w u = u , { }
3 2 1
T
, , u u u
i
= q and { }
6 5 4
T
, , u u u
j
= q contain the corresponding
values of the displacements at the two nodes of the element, and / 1 ) ( L x x N
i
= ;
L x x N
j
/ ) ( = are the interpolation functions.

Finally, the expressions for the internal force vector p and the element tangent stiffness
matrix
t
K are obtained through successive differentiation of the expression for the
strain energy according to:
2
i
2
i
;
q
q
p
K
q
p
t

= (7.23)
where q is the nodal displacement vector { }
T
6 5 4 3 2 1
, , , , , u u u u u u . The Maple procedure
which performs the above mentioned operations and produces the necessary Fortran
code for p and
t
K , is listed in Appendix A.

The kinetic energy is expressed as the integral over the volume V :
=
V
V x x d ) ( ) (
2
1
T
k
s s & & (7.24)
where is the mass density and ) (x s& represents the velocity in a general point of the
beam. The position of this point is defined by the vector ) (x s as shown in Figure 7.4.
For this element, the final expression for the kinetic energy becomes [23]:
dx x I
dx x w A
dx x u A
L L L

+ + =
0
2
0
2
0
2
k
) (
2
) (
2
) (
2

&
& & (7.25)
Using the interpolation functions, as in equation (7.22), the kinetic energy is written as
a function of the velocity components in the nodal degrees of freedom of the element.
From the resulting expression for the kinetic energy, the consistent element mass
matrix is evaluated as:
116
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

=
I I
A A
A A
I I
A A
A A
L
2 0 0 0 0
0 2 0 0 0
0 0 2 0 0
0 0 2 0 0
0 0 0 2 0
0 0 0 0 2
6
2
k
2
q
M
&
(7.26)
For more details concerning the formulation of the kinetic energy and mass matrix and
the performance of this element in dynamic problems, the reader is referred to [23].

117
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Vehicle and Structure Modeling
______________________________________________________________________
8.1 Vehicle models
Vehicles have at least two suspension systems. Thus, in order to improve the earlier
model adopted in Part A, an additional suspension system is introduced. Consequently,
the improved model includes not only the body-bounce motion, as the one in Part A,
but also the wheel-hop motion. The two suspension systems, each consisting of a
spring and a damper element, can be seen as filters. The first suspension system
(primary suspension) reduces the road input into the vehicle structure and creates
isolation for frequencies higher than about 15 Hz [9]. The second suspension system
(secondary or chassis suspension) produces isolation for frequencies higher than about
2 Hz for air suspended and 3 Hz for leaf spring suspended chassis. This system should
also give sufficient damping to the axle and tire system to prevent the tire leaving the
ground on very rough road surfaces. Other suspension systems, e.g. cab suspension
which is used to reduce the acceleration levels in and the forces on the cab structure,
are also present in modern heavy vehicles. However, the simple vehicle model adopted
does not contain all suspension systems, detailed suspension nonlinearities and
complexities of vehicle body motion that are typical of heavy vehicles. Despite that, it
is believed that this model is sufficiently realistic, as was discussed in Part A, for the
purpose of this study.

For the current study, it is assumed that the vehicle never loses contact with the bridge,
the spring and the viscous damper have linear characteristics, and the contact between
the bridge and the moving vehicle is assumed to be a point contact. Referring to Figure
8.1a, and denoting the contact force between the bridge and the vehicle by F(t),
defined positive when it acts downward on the bridge, the following dynamic
equilibrium equations for the three masses can be established:
118
mode 1
1.5-4 Hz
m
1
k
s
c
s
k
p
c
p
v(t)
w
2
(t)
m
2
m
3
w
3
(t)
w
1
(t)
(a)
(b)
mode 2
8-15 Hz
node i node j x
L
c
e

Figure 8.1 (a) vehicle model on a bridge element; (b) typical modes of vibration

( ) ( ) 0
2 3 2 3 3 3
= + + w w c w w k w m
s s
& & & & (8.1a)
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 0
1 2 1 2 3 2 3 2 2 2
= + + + + w w c w w k w w c w w k w m
p p s s
& & & & & & (8.1b)
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 0
3 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1
= + + + t F g m m m w w c w w k w m
p p
& & & & (8.1c)
Where
1
w ,
2
w and
3
w are the vertical displacements of the masses measured from the
static equilibrium position,
p
k and
s
k the stiffness of the linear springs connecting the
masses,

p
c

and

s
c

the damping coefficients of the viscous dampers, and g the
acceleration of gravity. A dot superscript denotes differentiation with respect to time.
Using the equations above, the contact force may be expressed as:
( ) ( )
3 3 2 2 1 1 3 2 1
w m w m w m g m m m t F & & & & & & + + + + + = (8.2)
where the first term on the right-hand side is the dead weight (static part) of the contact
force while the other terms represent the inertia effects. The moving force and the
moving mass vehicle models can now be obtained, as shown in Part A, by modifying
the contact force expression, equation (8.2). When modeling suspended roadway
vehicles, the unsprung mass, m
1
, is always set to zero in this study. This mass is still
included in the model to be able to model a vehicle as an unsprung moving mass (so-
called moving mass model) or for modeling railway vehicles having unsprung wheels.
119
With the assumption that the road profile cannot be rough enough to make the vehicle
jump or leave the road surface, the displacement ( ) t w
1
is not an independent variable
but can be coupled at each time step to the displacement of the contact point on the
bridge deck. In this way this degree of freedom is eliminated and, as in Part A, the
displacement ( ) t w
1
and its derivatives are expressed in terms of the nodal degrees of
freedom of the bridge as:
c
e
c
r w + = q N
1
(8.3a)
v r v w
x c
e
c
e
x c , , 1
+ + = q N q N & & (8.3b)
a r v r a v v w
x c xx c
e
c
e
x c
e
x c
e
xx c ,
2
, , ,
2
, 1
2 + + + + + = q N q N q N q N & & & & & (8.3c)
where N
c
is a row vector containing linear interpolation functions for the vertical
displacement of the beam element evaluated at the contact point x
c
. As shown in
Figure 8.1a, x
c
is the distance from left node of the element to the contact point. q
e
is
the nodal displacement column vector for the element on which the vehicle is
positioned, v and a the vehicle velocity and acceleration in the longitudinal direction,
and r
c
the surface irregularity evaluated at the contact point. The subscript x denotes
derivation with respect to x.

Equations (8.1a) and (8.1b) may be written using matrix notation as:
)
`
+
=
)
`
+

+
)
`
+

+
)
`
1 1 2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
0
0
0
w k w c w
w
k k k
k k
w
w
c c c
c c
w
w
m
m
p p s p s
s s
s p s
s s
& &
&
& &
& &
(8.4)
The vehicle model has consequently two degrees of freedom and its equation of
motion can be written as:
v v v v
f w K w C w M = + + & & & (8.5)
In order to solve this second order equation of motion, it is transformed into a system
of first order equations by complementing it with the equality 0 w I w I = & & , where I is a
2x2 identity matrix. This will give the extended dynamic equilibrium equation:
120
)
`
=
)
`

+
)
`
v v v v
f
0
w
w
C K
I 0
w
w
M 0
0 I
& & &
&
(8.6)
which can be rewritten as:
)
`
+
)
`

=
)
`

v v v v v v
f M
0
w
w
C M K M
I 0
w
w
1 1 1
& & &
&
or B Au u + =
v v
& (8.7)
For the present study, this first order differential equation is solved using the Matlab
algorithm ode45 [53] which uses automatic step size 4
th
and 5
th
order pair Runge-
Kutta-Fehlberg integration method.

The undamped natural frequencies for this simple sprung mass vehicle model is
determined from the eigenvalue equation:
0 ) det(
2
=
v v
M K (8.8)
giving the eigenvalues:
(
(
(
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ +
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ + =
3 2
2
2
3
3 2 2
3
3 2
2
1,2
4
1 1
2
1
m m
k k
m
m
m
k
m
k
m
m
m
k
m
k
s p
s
p
s
p
(8.9)
For typical vehicle mass and stiffness values, the first vibration mode (body-bounce)
excites mainly the vehicle body mass, m
3
, while the second mode (wheel-hop) almost
only excites the wheel mass, m
2
, se Figure 8.1b.

Heavy roadway vehicles generate most of their dynamic wheel loads in two distinct
frequency ranges, as mentioned earlier in Part A of this thesis: body-bounce and pitch
motions at 1.5-4 Hz and wheel-hop motion at 8-15 Hz, se Figure 8.1b. The body-
bounce mode of a vehicle is excited by relatively long and the wheel-hop mode by
relatively short wavelengths of the road surface irregularities. As an example, the
body-bounce mode for a vehicle traveling at 70 km/h is excited by irregularities with
wavelengths of 4.9-13 m and the wheel-hop mode by irregularity wavelengths of 1.3-
2.4 m. Moreover, depending on the vehicle speed, a surface irregularity of a certain
wavelength may be effective in both frequency ranges.
121
8.2 Vehicle load modeling and the moving load algorithm
The moving load problem is more complicated than other problems in structural
dynamics, as the external force vector, containing the interaction forces existing at the
contact points between the vehicles and the bridge, is time-dependent. This vector is
totally unknown beforehand (except for the moving force problem which is
uncoupled), as interaction forces are dependent on the motion of both the bridge
structure and the vehicles.

The external force vectors for the elements where vehicles are positioned are obtained
by adding the dead load and the moving traffic (live) nodal load vectors, i.e.
e
live
e
dead
e
f f f + = . Using, as before (see Part A), the Dirac function ( )
ci
x x to
characterize the action of a unit force concentrated in point
ci
x x = , the traffic part can
be expressed as:
( ) ( ) ( )
T
1
0
T
1
d
ci
a
i
i ci
L
a
i
i
e
live
t F x x x t F
e
N N f

= =
= = (8.10)
where a is the total number of vehicles on the element, L
e
the element length (see
Figure 8.1a), ( ) t F
i
the interaction force between the bridge and the ith vehicle wheel, x
is the distance measured from left node of the element, and N
ci
the row vector:
)
`
= 0 , , 0 , 0 , 1 , 0
e e
L
x
L
x
N (8.11)
containing the element interpolation functions evaluated at the contact point of vehicle
i, i.e. for
ci
x x = . For consistency reasons, the same linear interpolation functions are
adopted here as those used in section 7.3 for deriving the beam element matrices.

The moving load algorithm, illustrated in Figure 8.2, calculates the bridge-vehicle
contact force, for each vehicle on the bridge, and prepares the global external force
vector caused by the moving traffic. The code developed is capable of handling
unlimited number of vehicles, all having the same velocity (independent on the
deflected shape of the bridge deck), and fully considers the dynamic interaction
between the vehicles and the bridge.

122

Figure 8.2 The moving load algorithm
Call algorithm for
each iteration.
Input: initial vehicle
vectors
0
w and
0
w& ,
new vehicle positions,
and surface roughness
parameters r
c
, r
c,x
, r
c,xx

Initialize global external
traffic load vector, 0 f =
live

Loop through all
vehicles on the bridge
For vehicle i, initialize
i i 0 0
, w w & , M
vi
, C
vi
and K
vi

Identify the loaded element. Evaluate
x
ci
, the vectors N
ci
, N
ci,x
, N
ci,xx
and
determine the loaded elements dof
Interaction
problem
Moving force model
( )g m m m F
i 3 2 1
+ + =
Determine
e e e
q q q & & & , , and calculate
i i i
w w w
1 1 1
, , & & & form equations 8.3
Solve differential equation 8.7 to
calculate
i i i
w w w & & & , , . Evaluate contact
force, ( ) t F
i
, from equation 8.2
START
Accumulate nodal forces
( ) ( ) ( )
T
6 1 6 1
ci i live live
t F dof dof dof dof N f f =
RETURN f
live
Next vehicle
No
Yes
123
8.3 Bridge structure
The bridge structures are discretized, for the nonlinear finite element analysis, using a
catenary cable element and a simple beam element able to resist bending, shear and
axial forces. As discussed earlier, this cable element is adopted in order to simplify
cable modeling and to more accurately predict the response of cable supported bridge
structures. The modeling technique and derivation of the elements are described in
detail in Chapter 7. Only two-dimensional bridge models are considered in this study,
consequently, the torsional behavior caused by eccentric loading of the bridge deck is
disregarded. Furthermore, the nonlinearity considered is of the geometric type, as
linear material behavior is assumed.

8.3.1 Modeling of damping in cable supported bridges
The assumption that bridges have no damping (adopted in Part A) is rather restrictive
since vibration energy is dissipated in all structures even in very low damped cable-
stayed bridges. There are various factors causing energy dissipation in bridge
structures. Energy dissipation is generally developed by material nonlinearity, opening
and closing of hair cracks (in reinforced concrete structures), structural damping such
as friction at movable bearings and in the joints of the structure, loss of energy from
foundation to ground, and aerodynamic damping by friction with air. The different
forces that contribute to the damping of a structure may vary with vibration amplitude,
velocity, acceleration, and stress intensity. Thus, theoretical evaluation of damping is
extremely difficult and hence at present we have to rely upon the empirical approach.
Attempts on theoretical approach to damping evaluation of cable-stayed bridges have
been made in [43, 44] where a method is proposed to determine the damping ratio for
the desired mode shapes by evaluating the overall energy dissipation and strain energy
in the whole bridge. It was shown that the proposed method predicted the dependency
of the damping ratio on oscillation amplitude and cable type with reasonable accuracy.
For practical use however, damping models that represent more or less satisfactory
approximations have been introduced. The most commonly employed damping model
in the field of structural engineering is the viscous one, in which the damping force is
proportional to the velocity. This model, also adopted for the present study, is very
popular as it leads to the simplest mathematical treatment and generally gives the most
satisfactory results [15].

124
In the case of cable-stayed bridges, the dissipation of energy in cables is potentially a
major contribution to the overall damping of the bridge. As pointed out in [65], the
damping ratio depends on the type of cables and on the cable configuration used.
Using spiral or locked coil strands instead of parallel wire strands (PWS), increases the
total damping capacity of the bridge as such strand exhibits significant hysteresis in its
longitudinal load-displacement behavior. Despite this, parallel wire strands have been
favored in resent years due to economic and durability reasons.

A limited amount of information is available on damping of cable supported bridges.
However, as more and more forced-excitation and ambient-vibration tests are
conducted, fundamental data on the damping ratio is increasing drastically.
Observations made from various tests suggest that the damping ratio for a suspension
bridge decreases with increasing frequency (mode number) but for cable-stayed
bridges it is found to be invariant with frequency [19, 37, 43]. In [19], this trend is
discussed by interpreting many observed data and it was concluded that friction
damping in the main cables of suspension bridges could be a possible explanation that
distinguishes cable-stayed form suspension bridges.

To derive the damping matrix, one frequently used technique is to assume the damping
matrix proportional to mass and stiffness matrices giving the so-called Rayleigh
damping [8, 15], M K C + = . For practical problems the parameters and are
often chosen based on the knowledge of the damping property of a similar structure.
One disadvantage of the Rayleigh damping is the fact that damping behavior of the
complete bridge structure is described only by the two parameters and , which are
taken as constant values over the entire bridge model. On the other hand, this method
gives damping matrices that have the same orthogonal properties with respect to the
eigenvectors of the undamped system, as the mass and stiffness matrices. Thus, by
premultiplying and postmultiplying with the mode shape matrix, the damping matrix
can be diagonalized giving the matrix of generalized (or modal) damping values
3
(see
also section 9.1.1.2):

3
In the present study the eigenvectors are normalized such that the generalized (or modal) mass is set
to unity.
125
| | Z C Z
T 2 2
1 1
2 0 0
0 2 0
0 0 2
2 =
(
(
(
(
(
=
n n

O
(8.12)
Due to the earlier mentioned limitation of the Rayleigh damping, the damping matrix
derived gives a poor simulation of the real damping characteristics of the bridge
structure. An improvement may be achieved by ignoring the proportionality condition
and instead establish directly the diagonalized matrix, | | 2 , of equation (8.12). To
derive a damping matrix with orthogonal properties, this method is much more flexible
than the Rayleigh damping and is preferred if modal damping ratios are available.
Another advantage, when compared to Rayleigh damping, is that only the damping
ratios of the required modes can be accounted for. The actual expression for the
damping matrix may be deduced from the assumed matrix | | 2 , as:
| |
1 T
2

= Z Z C (8.13)
The damping matrix obtained is full regardless of whether the stiffness and mass
matrices are banded or not, but this is of little significance. In practice, the inversion of
the mode shape matrix requires a large computational effort. This can be avoided by
taking advantage of the orthogonality properties of the mode shapes relative to the
mass matrix. Thus, by using the expression
3
I Z M Z =
T
to express
1 T
and

Z Z in
equation (8.13), one can obtain:
| | M Z Z M C
T
2 = (8.14)
For the present study, the ith mode damping ratio in equation (8.12) is assumed as:
84 . 0
2
0042 . 0

|
.
|
\
|
=
i
i

(for suspension bridges [19]) (8.15)
645 . 0
2 1
237 . 0

= = = L
n
L (for cable-stayed bridges [43]) (8.16)
where L is the main span length in meter. The above two approximations are based on
field forced-excitation tests.
126
8.3.2 Bridge deck surface roughness
Two types of roughness profiles are considered in this study. The first type is a random
profile described using a power spectral density function. The generation of such a
profile is described in detail in Part A, Chapter 2.

For the second roughness profile, a bump, assumed to vary harmonically as shown in
Figure 8.3, is generated to simulate roughness of the local type. The profile is
evaluated, for ) (
bump bump bump
L x x x + , as:
|
|
.
|
\
|
=
bump
bump
bump
L
x x
h x r
) ( 2
cos 1
2
1
) ( (8.17)
where x
bump
is the position where the bump starts, h
bump
the maximum height, and L
bump
the length of the bump. It should be noted that here x and x
bump
are measured starting
from the left end support of the bridge.

Figure 8.3 Bump dimensions

To obtain a realistic simulation of vehicles moving over a bump, the developed
algorithm temporary reduce the time step as a vehicle reaches the bump. This is done
automatically, if the time step is too large, to ensure that at least a specified number of
contact points (10 for the results reported here) are obtained along the bump.

r(x)
x
bump L
bump
h
bump
x
127
8.4 Tuned vibration absorbers
A vibration absorber is a device that reduces the vibration level of a protected
structure. Usually such a device consists of an additional mass connected by means of
an elastic and a damping element to the structure needed protection. The invention of
the vibration absorber is usually associated with the name of Frahm, who in 1909 first
patented a vibration absorber design [21].

There are innumerable examples of vibration absorbers being applied to control
vibrations in various engineering structures. For civil engineering structures like
chimneys, TV towers, and high-rise buildings, vibration absorbers are nowadays
widely used mainly to reduce vibrations caused by wind or earthquakes, see for
example [50, 54, 66]. For bridges, such devices are still not that common. However, as
modern bridges become longer and more flexible and as energy dissipation in these
bridges is very low (see section 8.3.1) and often not enough on its own to suppress
vibrations, it is realized that additional vibration control measures are needed. The
primary intention, in the few examples found where vibration absorbers are practically
applied on long span bridges, was to control wind-induced vibrations. As such bridges
not only are vulnerable to vibrations caused by wind and earthquakes but also to those
caused by traffic, some investigations have been carried out to find if such devices are
also efficient for controlling traffic-induced vibrations [10, 18, 33, 38, 45]. In [45] the
efficiency of a tuned mass damper (TMD
4
) on suppressing vibrations induced by high-
speed trains moving over a simple three-span bridge was studied and in [10] the
efficiency of TMDs for footbridges was investigated theoretically and experimentally
using walking, jumping and running tests. In [33] the effect of a TMD on the dynamic
response of the Rama IX cable-stayed bridge
5
in Bangkok, subjected to a moving
vehicle, was studied. In the present study, the efficiency of a TMD is also investigated
but this is done more correctly here as, among other things, the bridge-vehicle
interaction was not fully considered in [33].

Other types of absorbers and devices used to control vibrations can also be found in

4
A TMD is a vibration absorber tuned to a particular mode of the bridge and usually consists of a
mass, a viscous damper and a linear spring as illustrated in Figure 8.6. For convenience, the
abbreviation TMD is used hereafter for such vibration absorbers.

5
The Rama IX cable-stayed bridge is equipped with TMDs for suppressing wind-induced flexural and
torsional vibrations in the bridge deck as well as flexural vibrations in the pylons [33].
128
bridge structures. As an example Figure
8.4 illustrate how cable vibrations in
bridges can be controlled. Such design
measures for suppression of cable
vibrations can be found on existing
bridges. For example, auxiliary ropes
are found on the Far cable-stayed
bridge in Denmark and the Normandie
bridge in France, dashpot dampers
(shock absorbers) are installed between
bridge deck and stay cables on the
Brotonne bridge in France and the
Sunshine Skyway bridge in Florida, and
stockbridge dampers are mounted on
the long hangers of the Humber
suspension bridge in England [58].

TMDs are also used temporarily during

Figure 8.4 Design measures for suppres-
sion of cable vibrations [58]
erection of long span bridges, as free-standing pylons and cantilevered spans are very
sensitive to wind and often need vibration control. For example, two TMDs each
weighting about 40 tonnes, see Figure 8.5a, were employed during the erection of the
856 m main span (currently word record) Normandie cable-stayed bridge to stabilize
the bridge structure during erection and limit the moment in the pylons. Wind tunnel
tests and calculations showed that, by using TMDs, the dynamic response due to wind
could be reduced by approximately 35 % [16]. As construction progressed, these
TMDs were relocated and tuned to maximum efficiency. The TMDs were designed so
their eigenfrequency could be adjusted from 0.1 Hz to 0.2 Hz and the relative internal
damping from 3 % to 18 %. More information can be found in [51]. Most recently, in
the two approach bridges for the Great Belt suspension bridge in Denmark, 32 TMDs
have been installed, see Figure 8.5b, each with a mass of 8 tonnes (which
approximately equals 0.5 % of the modal mass) [59].

There are two important roles of a TMD: firstly, it reduces the resonance response of
the main structure, and secondly, the attached dashpot increases the overall damping of
the structure by providing an additional source of energy dissipation. The efficiency of
the TMD depends on the correct tuning of its parameters (eigenfrequency) relative to
(b)
(a)
(c)
129

Figure 8.5 TMD of the (a) Normandie Bridge during erection [16]; (b) Great Belt
Bridge [59]

the eigenfrequancy of the mode of the structure it is designed to suppress. Thus, one
disadvantage with such a passive device is that its performance significantly
deteriorates when the dynamic characteristics of the structure are different from the
original values assumed during the optimal design of the TMD. On the other hand,
TMDs can still be advantageous as they work without requiring any connection to the
ground or external power supply. In the literature, a great deal of attention is given to
the optimization of parameters and evaluation of the efficiency of the TMD. For the
present study, the following most often used optimum tuning parameters, derived in
[21] for a structure with no damping, are adopted
6
:
+
=
1
i
tmd
(8.18a)

6
These equations are used in the present study to determine the TMD parameters without considering
available standard components and dimensions. However, in practice dimensions of available standard
springs etc. often dictate the final choice of TMD parameters.
(b)
(a)
130
( )
3
1 8
3
+
=
tmd
(8.18b)
where
i tmd
and are the circular frequencies of the TMD and the dominant bridge
mode to be tuned to,
tmd
the damping ratio of the TMD, and is the mass ratio
which relates the TMD mass to the modal mass of the dominant bridge mode to be
tuned to,
i tmd
m m / = . These equations are derived for undamped structures affected
by a stationary harmonic load. Consequently, they may not be valid for a damped
bridge structure subjected to moving traffic loads and one maybe should, using
equations (8.18a-b) as starting values, perform a trail and error computer study to find
the optimal TMD parameters. However, in [38] it was found that the difference is
small and for practical design purpose these optimization formulas are suitable, as far
as the bridge is lightly damped. But as expected, the response reduction was not as
great as for the case with a stationary harmonic load.

The exact tuning of the TMD frequency is, as mentioned earlier, very important,
whereas, the damping needs only be assumed approximately as its efficiency is
relatively less sensitive for variations in
tmd
[10]. The mass ratio , which is usually
small and lies between 0.01-0.04 for bridges [10, 45], is another important design
parameter as it directly influences the response of the bridge and the relative
movement of the TMD mass (Lower values of lead to large relative movement of
the TMD mass). Therefore, when designing a TMD it is important to carefully select a
suitable mass ratio, as it is not always easy to find a location with significant relative
movements and enough space to accommodate the TMD. Another engineering
problem is to provide a very low friction bearing surface for the TMD mass, so that the
damper mass can also respond to the bridge movement at low levels of excitation.

Figure 8.6 Cross section of bridge girder with a tuned mass damper, TMD

m
tmd
w
tmd
k
tmd
c
tmd
131
Now referring to Figure 8.6, the following equilibrium equation can be established for
the TMD mass including only the inertia effect:
( ) ( ) 0 = + +
e
tmd tmd tmd
e
tmd tmd tmd tmd tmd
w k w c w m q N q N & & & & (8.19)
where m
tmd
is the mass of the TMD, c
tmd
the damping coefficient of the viscous
dampers, k
tmd
the spring stiffness, w
tmd
the vertical displacement of the TMD mass
measured from the static equilibrium position, q
e
the nodal displacement vector for the
element on which the TMD is attached, and N
tmd
the interpolation vector given in
equation (8.11). This vector is evaluated for
tmd
x x = where x
tmd
is the distance from
the left node of the TMD loaded element to the point where the TMD is attached. The
spring stiffness and damping coefficient are evaluated using equations (8.18a-b). To
include the force applied to this beam element by the TMD, an addition to the external
force vector given in equation (8.10) is made as:
T
tmd tmd tmd
e
live
e
live
w m N f f & & = (8.20)
It is interesting to note that when a vehicle is modeled as a sprung mass system instead
of a constant moving force (i.e. including bridge-vehicle interaction) one can for some
cases observe a reduction in the bridge dynamic response as the vehicle acts as a
vibration absorber [29]. Thus, for such cases the dynamic response, calculated by
ignoring interaction, is conservative.
132

133
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Response Analysis
______________________________________________________________________
9.1 Dynamic Analysis
In the previous chapter, the vehicle equation of motion, equation (8.5), and an
algorithm for assembling the global external force vector are presented. In the
following, the general equation of motion for a bridge under the action of moving
traffic loads is formulated.

Based on the element property matrices and the external nodal force vector derived in
the foregoing chapters, one may obtain the following general equation of motion for
the entire bridge by means of conventional FEM assemblage:
( ) ( ) t , , , q q q f q p q C q M & & & & & & = + + (9.1)
q q q & & & , , bridge node displacement, velocity, and acceleration vectors
M bridge mass matrix
C bridge damping matrix
p(q) vector of internal elastic forces
f( q q q & & & , , ,t) external force vector resulting from the dead load, the moving traffic,
and the tuned mass dampers

As indicated, the external force vector is not only time dependent but is also dependent
on the bridge displacements, velocities and accelerations. This vector contains the
interaction forces existing at the contact points between the vehicles and the bridge
and thereby couples the bridge equation of motion with those of the vehicles.
Consequently, the external force vector is dependent on the motion of both the bridge
structure and the vehicles. To consider the bridge-vehicle interaction, an iterative
134
procedure is adopted. First the displacements etc. of the contact points are assumed
and the vehicle equations are solved to obtain the interaction forces and the external
force vector. Then the bridge equation of motion, equation (9.1), is solved to obtain
improved values of displacements etc. for the contact points. If the convergence
criteria are not fulfilled, a new iteration is preformed recalculating the external force
vector and resolving the bridge equation. The type of convergence criterion used in
Part A is also adopted here to check the errors in not only the displacement vector, as
in Part A equation (3.14), but also the velocity and acceleration vectors. The time step
and the number of considered eigenmodes (for the mode superposition procedure) are
problem-dependent. Accordingly, for each numerical example studied here, a
convergence study was carried out with a view to getting reasonably converged
reliable solutions with an optimum number of increments and optimum number of
considered eigenmodes.

In the present study, two approaches are adopted for solving equation (9.1) in the time
domain: one for evaluating the linear dynamic response and one for the nonlinear
dynamic response. These are described in detail in the following sections.

9.1.1 Linear dynamic analysis
If the structure is assumed to respond linearly during the application of traffic loads, it
is possible to evaluate the dynamic response using the mode superposition technique
starting from the deformed dead load state. Thus, this linear dynamic procedure
utilizes the dead load tangent stiffness matrix,
t
K . The internal force vector in
equation (9.1) is therefore evaluated as:
q K q p
t
= ) ( (9.2)
where
t
K is obtained from a nonlinear static dead load analysis. It is believed that this
approach is adequate for short and medium span cable supported bridges as far as
traffic load to dead load ratios are small. Moreover, it is well known that this approach
give sufficiently accurate results with minimum consumption of CPU time, as usually
one only need to consider the first dominant modes of vibration. On the other hand,
this approach requires frequency analysis and eigenmode extraction to start with,
which can be expensive and time consuming for large systems. Furthermore, the
135
effectiveness of mode superposition technique is reduced, as the required number of
eigenmodes for satisfactory convergence is difficult to estimate beforehand.

The eigenmode extraction and the mode superposition technique are well described in
many textbooks on structural dynamics [11]. Nevertheless, in order for this thesis to be
fully contained and to facilitate understanding, the above mathematical concepts will
be described in some depth in the following subsections.

9.1.1.1 Eigenmode extraction and normalization of eigenvectors
The first step of this approach is to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes
of the bridge structure. For this, the undamped free vibration is considered, as the
effect of damping on the natural frequencies of most real structures is small. Thus
equation (9.1) is reduced to:
0 q K q M
t
= + & & (9.3)
in which 0 is a zero vector. Assuming harmonic motion, which may be expressed as
[11]:
) sin( = t z q (9.4)
where z is a vector with components independent of time, is a circular frequency,
and is a phase angle, and substituting into equation (9.3), we obtain the following
eigenvalue problem:
0 z M K
t
= ) (
2
(9.5)
In the present study, this eigenvalue problem is solved using the Matlab algorithm eig
[53] giving n (= number of d.o.f.) eigensolutions ) , ( , ), , ( , ) , (
2
2
2
2 1
2
1 n n
z z z L , where
i
z is called the ith mode shape vector (eigenvector) and
i
is the corresponding
circular frequency of vibration (
2
i
is the eigenvalue). Storing the obtained eigen-
solutions in two matrices Z and
2
, we can now write the n solutions to equation (9.5)
as:
0 Z M Z K
t
=
2
(9.6)
136
where the matrix Z contains the eigenvectors
i
z in columns and the matrix
2
is a
diagonal matrix, which stores the eigenvalues on its diagonal, i.e.:
| |
(
(
(
(
(
(
= =
2
2
2
2
1
2
2 1
and , , ,
n
n
O
L z z z Z (9.7)
The obtained eigenvectors are then normalized such that the modal mass is set to
unity, i.e. 1
T
= =
i i i
m z M z . From this M-normalization and the orthogonality properties
of eigenvectors [11] it follows that:
2 T T
(9.6) equation from and Z K Z I Z M Z
t
= = (9.8)
where I is identity or unit matrix. As noted, one of the advantages of this
normalization method is that the modal stiffnesses will be equal to the eigenvalues.

9.1.1.2 Mode superposition technique
When the natural frequencies and mode shapes are determined, the equation of motion
can be solved. The vector of nodal displacement, q, can be approximated by a linear
combination of s eigenvectors, with s much less than n, giving:
( )
=
=
s
i
s s i i
t
1
Z z q (9.9)
where
i
in vector
s
are the modal amplitudes and state the proportion of each
eigenvector in the transformation. Substitution of the above expression into equation
(9.1) and postmultiplication of each term by
T
s
Z yields:
live s s s s s s s s s s
f Z Z K Z Z C Z Z M Z
t
T T T T
= + +
& & &
(9.10)
Note that the external force vector in the above equation only contains the external
forces resulting from the moving traffic and the tuned mass dampers. From the
137
properties of M-orthonormalized eigenvectors, equation (9.8), the above equation is
reduced to:
live s s s s s s
f Z Z C Z I
T 2 T
= + +
& & &
(9.11)
The damping matrix C is introduced to approximate the overall energy dissipation of
the bridge structure during vibration and cannot generally be constructed from element
damping matrices, such as the mass and stiffness matrices. To obtain a system of s
uncoupled differential equations the matrix C must have the same orthogonal
properties, with respect to the eigenvectors of the undamped structure, as the mass and
stiffness matrices. When this is the case, the damping matrix will be diagonalized by
premultiplying and postmultiplying with the mode shape matrix giving:
{ } { }
s s s s s
c c c 2 , , 2 , 2 diag , , , diag
2 2 1 1 2 1
T
L L = = Z C Z (9.12)
where
s
c c c , , ,
2 1
L are the modal damping values and are here expressed using the
damping ratios
7

s
, , ,
2 1
L . The obtained matrix is referred to as the matrix of
generalized (or modal) damping values. One of the advantages of this method when
compared to other methods like Rayleigh damping is that there is no need to assemble
a damping matrix with the same dimension as the stiffness and mass matrix. With the
introduction of this matrix we can obtain a system of s independent equations which
can be written as:
live s s s s s s s
live
live
f z
f z
f z
T 2
T
2 2
2
2 2 2 2 2
T
1 1
2
1 1 1 1 1
2
...... .......... .......... .......... ..........
...... .......... .......... .......... ..........
2
2
= + +
= + +
= + +

& & &
& & &
& & &
(9.13)
Using the Maple software package for symbolic computations [52], a program code
for the exact solution of the above equations was generated. This code is incorporated
in the developed computer program for linear dynamic analysis. Initial values for
equations (9.13) are obtained, from known initial values of q and q& , by premultiplying
both sides of equation (9.9) with z
T
i
and taking note of equation (9.8) giving:

7

i
is the fraction of critical damping in mode i.
138
o
T
o o
T
o
and q M z q M z &
&
i i i i
= = (9.14)
Finally, having determined the elements in vector
s
by solving the above s equations,
the response due to live loads (i.e. traffic and TMD) is found from equation (9.9). By
adding the dead load response, determined using nonlinear static analysis, the total
response of the bridge is obtained.

9.1.2 Nonlinear dynamic analysis
A procedure for evaluating the nonlinear dynamic response using a direct time
integration method combined with a nonlinear solution procedure, is described in the
following. This method is significantly more expensive (i.e. CPU time-consuming)
than the mode superposition method which is usually chosen for linear studies. Still,
nonlinear dynamic analysis is essential for the present study if its is believed that the
bridge will not behave linearly during the application of traffic loads. If this is the
case, the natural frequencies and mode shapes will vary with the amplitude of response
and the earlier described mode superposition technique will consequently be
inadequate.

For this procedure, it is necessary to assemble not only the stiffness and mass matrices,
but also the damping matrix. A method for modeling the damping in matrix form in
terms of modal damping ratios is presented in Chapter 8. As the stiffness is a function
of the response amplitude, frequencies and damping ratios will also change as the
structure deforms, thus theoretically such damping matrix ought to be updated for each
time step. In practice, however, this is usually not necessary, because the damping
ratios used will in most cases be only approximate values evaluated from field tests,
taken from codes of practice or the literature.

For this study, an implicit procedure based on Newmarks modified average
acceleration method combined with a full Newton-Raphson solution procedure is
adopted for solving the bridge equation of motion. Among engineers and researchers
in the field of structural engineering, the Newmark method presented 1959 is the most
popular algorithm for numerical solution of the equation of motion and is generally the
most suitable for nonlinear analysis [7, 23]. In the following, the adopted procedure
will be briefly described. For the interested reader, more details concerning the
derivation etc. can be found in [26].
139

Denoting the time step by , t for the Newmark method the following expressions
hold for the displacements and for the velocities:
t t t t t t t
t t t
+ +
+
|
.
|
\
|
+ + = q q q q q & & & & &
2 2
2
1
(9.15a)
( )
t t t t t t
t t
+ +
+ + = q q q q & & & & & & 1 (9.15b)
where and are the Newmarks integration parameters and are evaluated for the
modified average acceleration method as + = 5 . 0 and
2
) 1 ( 25 . 0 + = , with 0 > .
The parameter introduces numerical damping to the solution but reduces the
accuracy to the first order. The second order accurate average acceleration method is
obtained by setting 0 = (no numerical energy loss).

In analogy to the static nonlinear analysis, the residual (error in nodal forces or
dynamical out-of-balance forces) can be specified by rewriting equation (9.1) to give
(note that f also includes the dead load):
( ) ( ) ( ) t
err
, , , q q q f q p q C q M q r & & & & & & + + = (9.16)
These should vanish at the end of each incremental time step, i.e. ( ) 0 q r =
+ t t
err
, by
means of an iterative solution technique. For the present study, a procedure using full
8

Newton-Raphson iterations is adopted for solving the residual equation. Denoting
k
t t +
q as the approximate value of
t t +
q resulting from iteration k, the residual after
k+1 iterations is approximated by linearization around the previous iterated solution as:
( ) ( ) ( )( )
k
t t
k
t t
k
t t
k
t t
err k
t t
err
+
+
+ + +
+
+
+ = q q q S q r q r
1 1
(9.17)
The matrix S in the above equation is the iteration (jacobian) matrix and is deduced
from:

8
For the full Newton-Raphson iteration procedure, the tangent stiffness and iteration matrices are
updated in each iteration.
140
( )
k
t t
k
t t
err
k
t t
+
+
(
=
(
(
=
+
q
t
q
q
f
K
q
q
C
q
q
M
q
r
q S
& & &
(9.18)
The last term q f / reproduces the effect of displacement-dependent external loads
and is, for simplicity, omitted in the present study, see [26]. Making now use of
equation (9.15), the iteration matrix can be specified in detail as:
( )
t
K C M q S +
=
t
t

2
1
(9.19)
At each time step, the iteration has to be started from a prediction of the
displacements, velocities and accelerations. This is done here by using equation (9.15)
and setting
t t t
q q & & & & =
+
. In each iteration, the displacement corrections are computed
using equation (9.17) and setting the residual at iteration k+1 equals zero, giving:
( )
k
t t
err k
+
= q r S q
1
(9.20)
The corrected displacements, velocities, and accelerations are then computed as:
k k
t t
k
t t
q q q + =
+
+
+
1
(9.21a)
k k
t t
k k
t t
k
t t
t
q q q
q
q
q q
+ =
+ =
+ +
+
+
&
&
& &
1
(9.21b)
k k
t t
k k
t t
k
t t
t
q q q
q
q
q q
+ =
+ =
+ +
+
+
2
1
1
& &
& &
& & & & (9.21c)
By iteratively updating the solution using the corrections ,
k
q the error in nodal
forces, i.e. the residual vector ,
err
r is reduced when proceeding form iteration k to k+1.
At each time step, this iteration process continues until the ratio of the Euclidian norm
of the residual vector to that of the internal force vector has dropped below a certain
chosen tolerance value. For the described procedure, choosing an adequate time step is
a critical issue, as this not only drives the accuracy of the integration but also governs
the stability of the iteration process. As mentioned earlier, since the time step is
141
problem-dependent, a convergence study was carried out for each numerical example
to find the optimum number of increment.

9.2 Static analysis
In this study, the dead load response is always evaluated using a nonlinear procedure,
while the live load static response is evaluated either linearly based on the dead load
tangent stiffness matrix or nonlinearly, i.e.:

nonlin
live dead tot static +
= q q
,
(9.22)
and/or
live
nonlin
dead
lin
live
nonlin
dead tot static
f K q q q q
t
1
,

+ = + = (9.23)
To evaluate the nonlinear static response, the stiffness matrix is reformulated as the
bridge deforms. There are several procedures for evaluating the nonlinear static
response and the most frequently used are the Newton-Raphson iteration schemes
[11, 17, 55]. In the present study, an incremental-iterative procedure using full
Newton-Raphson iterations is adopted. This procedure is generally expected to give
quadratic convergence [17].

142

143
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Numerical Examples
______________________________________________________________________
In this chapter, static and dynamic responses of a simply supported bridge, a long span
suspension bridge (the Great Belt suspension bridge), and a medium span cable-stayed
bridge, under the action of moving vehicles, are presented. Frequency analysis was
also conducted for all three examples. In the last two examples, the applicability of the
catenary cable element, for modeling cables in cable supported bridges, is
demonstrated. The nonlinear behavior of cable supported bridges during erection and
application of the dead load is also presented. To verify and illustrate the efficiency of
the developed finite element code, some of the obtained results are compared to those
obtained using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS [1] and to results reported
by other researchers. Details concerning the modeling technique used in ABAQUS to
model the moving loads and the bridge structures are given in Chapter 4. The
calculations were preformed on a Pentium Pro 200 MHz computer with 128 MB RAM
and for each numerical example the CPU time used by the MATLAB process is given.

Throughout the dynamic investigation, the bridge initial velocity and acceleration
vectors at time 0 = t were assumed to be zero. The dead load displacements obtained
from the nonlinear static analysis were used as the bridge initial displacements.
However, if nothing else is mentioned, the bridge deck initial dead load vertical
displacements were assumed to be zero, when evaluating the bridge-vehicle contact
forces. Zero initial values were also assumed for the moving vehicles vertical
displacements and vertical velocities. Further, for convenience, the shear modulus of
all beam elements in the models was evaluated as 6 . 2 / E G = .

A convergence study was carried out for each numerical example with a view to
getting reasonably converged reliable solutions with optimum number of increments
144
and optimum number of considered eigenmodes (for the mode superposition
procedure). For the convergence study, the analysis was repeated using a smaller time
step (more increments) until good agreement is shown between the last two analysis
results. To find the optimum number of eigenmodes, to be considered in the mode
superposition procedure, the results were also checked after repeating the analysis
including more eigenmodes.

For the linear and nonlinear dynamic analysis results presented in the following study,
the tolerances for the three criteria, used to control the convergence of the bridge-
vehicle dynamic interaction (similar to equation (3.14) in Part A, see also section 9.1),
were set to 0.01. For the nonlinear dynamic procedure, the tolerance for the residual
based convergence criterion (see section 9.1.2) was set to 10
-5
. These tolerance values
were chosen from the practical engineering point of view.

As the main aim of this study is not to develop formulas to be used in design
specifications for calculating the dynamic amplification factors, not much emphasis
was put on simulating realistic trains of moving traffic or finding the most critical
points on the bridge with the highest dynamic amplification factors.

10.1 Simply supported bridge
The simply supported bridge studied earlier in Part A of this thesis was also adopted
for this investigation. The response of this simple bridge model was mainly studied in
order to verify the developed algorithms. This was done by comparing the results with
those obtained using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. The bridge was
discretized, for both the ABAQUS and the present model, using 70 beam elements. For
the present bridge model, the first four bending natural frequencies obtained utilizing
the dead load tangent stiffness matrix are: 3.97, 15.41, 33.19, and 55.91 Hz. As
expected, due to considering shear effects and the utilization of the deformed dead
load tangent stiffness matrix, these are lower than the frequencies given in Table 4.1.

The properties for the bridge and the vehicle models are given in Figure 10.1a. The
modeled vehicle, permitted in Sweden but not within the European community, is a 24
m long truck and trailer with a total weight of 60 ton. As seen, this vehicle was
modeled as two separate sprung mass systems one for the truck and one for the trailer.
Thus, as a result of this simplification, the interaction between the truck and trailer was
145
disregarded and only vertical modes of vibration of the vehicle were considered. The
body-bounce and wheel-hop frequencies for the truck and the trailer models were
chosen as 1.89 Hz and 11.35 Hz, with the corresponding mode shapes shown in Figure
8.1b. The vehicle model was assumed to move, from the left to the right, at the
constant speed of 25 m/s (90 km/h) on a rough road surface having the profile shown
in Figure 10.2a.

In Figure 10.1b-d and 10.2b-d, the ABAQUS and the present mode superposition
solutions, due to only traffic load, are plotted on the same diagrams and the results are
found to be in very good agreement with each other. About 30 % increase in the
vehicle weight is observed in Figure 10.2b as a result of having about 9 mm higher
surface at the bridge entrance than the approach pavement. Only 4 modes were
considered when producing the present solution curves, except for the bending
moment, which required 10 modes to converge. No bridge damping was included,
0 = , except the automatically introduced numerical (artificial) damping in the
ABAQUS solution. This numerical damping is believed to cause the difference in
Figure 10.1d for the mid-point vertical acceleration. The present linear and nonlinear
static traffic load responses were found to be identical. The problem was also solved
using the present direct integration method but the results are not shown as these were
found to be nearly identical to the mode superposition results, except for the mid-point
vertical acceleration. For the present direct integration solution, to obtain a stable mid-
point vertical acceleration curve with good agreement to the curves in Figure 10.1d, it
was essential to introduce numerical damping by setting the parameter to be equal
to 0.05. For the three solutions, 300 increments were chosen with a time step of about
6 ms. In Table 10.1, dynamic amplification factors (DAF) for mid-point
9
vertical
displacement and bending moment are given together with the corresponding CPU
time and maximal iterations per increment required for solving the problem.

For the results in Figures 10.1 and 10.2 it was assumed that, as this is usually the case,
no initial dead load vertical displacements in the bridge deck were present. It is
normally attempted to compensate by precambering the bridge deck during
construction so the dead load displacements are cancelled by the specified camber. If
no compensation is made during construction, the initial displaced geometry of the

9
For a certain point P, the DAF is defined as the ratio of the absolute maximum live load dynamic
response at P to the absolute maximum live load static response at the same point.
Bridge
E

= 3.0 10
10
N/m
2
I

= 3.307 m
4
A

= 4.75 m
2
m = 11400 kg/m
.
v = 25 m/s
Truck and Trailer
m
1
= 0 kg
m
2
= 4400 kg
m
3
= 35600 kg
c
p
= 1.6 10
4
Ns/m
c
s
= 12.0 10
4
Ns/m
k
p
= 14.0 10
6
N/m
k
s
= 8.0 10
6
N/m
.
.
m
3
m
1
m
2
k
s
c
s
k
p
c
p
m
3
/2
m
1
/2
m
2
/2
k
s
/2

c
s
/2
k
p
/2

c
p
/2
34 m
12 m
.
.
24 m

-5.0
-4.0
-3.0
-2.0
-1.0
0.0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
ABAQUS
Present
Static (present)

-5.0
-4.0
-3.0
-2.0
-1.0
0.0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
M
N
m
)
ABAQUS
Present (10 modes)
Static (present)

-0.5
-0.3
0.0
0.3
0.5
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

a
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
/
s
2
)
ABAQUS
Present
Figure 10.1 Mid-point vertical displacement (b), bending moment (c), and acceleration histories (d) for the problem
defined in (a). The road surface roughness profile is shown in Figure 10.2a. The dashed vertical lines
indicate when the trailer enters and the truck leaves the bridge
(c)
(d)
(b)
(a)
-5.0
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
Distance along the bridge (m)
S
u
r
f
a
c
e

r
o
u
g
h
n
e
s
s

(
m
m
)

0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

c
o
n
t
a
c
t

f
o
r
c
e
ABAQUS-truck
ABAQUS-trailer
Present-trailer
Present-truck

-15.0
-5.0
5.0
15.0
25.0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
ABAQUS-truck
ABAQUS-trailer
Present-trailer
Present-truck

-2.0
-1.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

a
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
/
s
2
)
ABAQUS-truck
ABAQUS-trailer
Present-trailer
Present-truck

Figure 10.2 Normalized bridge-vehicle contact force (b), truck and trailer body vertical displacement (c), and
acceleration histories (d), when travelling over a bridge having the road surface profile shown in (a).
The dashed vertical lines indicate when the trailer enters and the truck leaves the bridge
(a)
(d) (c)
(b)
-5.0
-4.0
-3.0
-2.0
-1.0
0.0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
No initial displacement (linear)
With initial displacement (linear)
With initial displacement (nonlinear)

-30.0
-20.0
-10.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
No initial displacement (linear)
With initial displacement (linear)
With initial displacement (nonlinear)

Figure 10.3 Effect of initial dead load displacements on mid-point vertical bridge displacement (a) and on vertical
displacement of the truck body (b)

-5.0
-4.0
-3.0
-2.0
-1.0
0.0
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
= 0 (linear)
= 0.05 (linear)
= 0.05 (nonlinear)

-4.5
-3.5
-2.5
-1.5
-0.5
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75
Time (s)
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
M
N
m
)
= 0 (linear)
= 0.05 (linear)
= 0.05 (nonlinear)

Figure 10.4 Effect of damping on mid-point vertical bridge displacement (a) and bending moment (b)
(a)
(b)
(b)
(a)
149
bridge deck must be considered, as this will influence the bridge-vehicle contact force
and thereby the bridge and vehicle responses. This is shown, using the two present
analysis methods, in Figure 10.3 where mid-point vertical bridge displacements, due to
traffic load only, and truck body displacements, are plotted. The effect of damping is
shown in Figure 10.4, where the undamped solution and the solution with 5 %
damping ratio, assumed constant for all modes, are plotted.

Mode Superposition (present)
4 modes 10 modes
Direct Integration
(present)
DAF
d
1.142 1.145 1.143
DAF
m
1.095 1.151 1.154
CPU time (s) 60 85 830
Max. iterations/inc. 3 3 2
Table 10.1 Dynamic amplification factors for mid-point vertical displacement and
bending moment with the corresponding required CPU time and
maximal iterations per increment
The comparisons, made using this simple numerical example, provide some
confidence in the application of the implemented direct integration and mode
superposition algorithms. Therefore, in the following sections, only analysis results
obtained using these two algorithms will be presented and no comparison will be made
to results from commercial codes like ABAQUS.

10.2 The Great Belt suspension bridge
In this numerical example, the behavior of the Great Belt suspension bridge during
girder erection and under the action of moving vehicles is presented. A frequency
analysis for the completed bridge was also conducted.

The Great Belt (Storeblt) suspension bridge in Denmark has, with its 1624 m main
span, the second largest span in the world
10
. The bridge deck the girder or stiffening

10
Akashi Kaikyo suspension bridge in Japan holds currently the worlds record with a main span
length of 1991 m. Both the Great Belt bridge and the Akashi Kaikyo bridge were opened for traffic in
1998.
150
girder as it is called is a 31 m wide and 4 m deep steel box. This girder is continuous
over the full cable supported length of 2694 m, i.e. without expansion joints at the
pylons. Like many other modern suspension bridges, the girder section is streamlined
(almost wing shaped) to resist strong wind action. The two main cables, each include a
total of 18648 high strength galvanized steel wires 5.38 mm in diameter and have a
final diameter of 0.85 m, were erected in the autumn of 1996 by the air-spinning
method
11
[27]. To minimize deflections under asymmetric traffic load, the main cables
are fixed to the stiffening girder through rigid clamps at mid-span. The ratio of cable
sag to main span length was chosen to be 1/9 as this was found economically
favorable. This gives higher pylons than usual and therefore a more flexible structure.
The total height of the concrete pylons, including cable and cable saddle, is
approximately 258 m.

Figure 10.5 Geometry of the Great Belt suspension bridge

For the results presented here, a simple bridge model consisting of 126 elements, 89
nodes and a total of 215 active degrees of freedom, was used. The bridge geometry
shown in Figure 10.5 and the properties given in Table 10.2 were taken from [28, 47].
The section properties for the pylons were assumed by the author to give the first and
second pylon frequencies 0.147 Hz and 0.803 Hz, which are acceptable when
compared to the measured pylon frequencies reported in [46]. In the bridge model, the
girder was assumed to be simply supported at the ends, and every third hanger from
the original bridge was included and modeled using catenary cable elements. The main
cables were assumed to be fixed at the pylon tops and the pylons were rigidly fixed to
the piers. To simplify the data input process, all internal cable nodes were vertically

11
Much the same method was used for suspension bridges more than 100 years ago, e.g. for the
Brooklyn bridge in New York dating from 1883.
535 m 535 m 1624 m
180
77.6
151
positioned at the same level as the girder, and the configuration of the main cable
under dead load was determined accurately, during analysis, after few iterations.

E (N/m
2
) A (m
2
) I (m
4
) w (t/m)
Girder
(31 m 4 m)
2.110
11
1.00 3.32 14.78
Pylons
0 75.5 m
0.410
11
2 37.5 2 750 2 90
Pylons
75.5 257.6 m
0.410
11
2 (32.5, 30, 25) 2 (275, 200, 150) 2 (78, 72, 60)
Cable
side spans
2.110
11
2 0.41 - 2 3.45
Cable
main span
2.110
11
2 0.40 - 2 3.36
Hangers

2.110
11
2 0.025 -

Mass of hangers and clamps are considered distributed uniformly along the main cable and included
in the cable mass.

Table 10.2 Parameters for the model of the Great Belt suspension bridge

10.2.1 Static response during erection and natural frequency analysis
Erection of a suspension bridge involves many challenging problems, especially
aerodynamic stability problems, which relate to the fact that the bridge structure is
incomplete, thus various structural components do not receive or render the kind of
support intended in the complete structure. The erection of the girder may proceed in a
number of different ways [36, 47, 48]. For the analysis presented in this thesis it was
assumed that the erection proceeded simultaneously from mid-span and anchor blocks
towards the pylons. To study the erection procedure of the Great Belt suspension
bridge and calculate the initial profile for the free hanging cables (i.e. the initial cable
lengths, the cable sag at mid-span, and the pylon tops horizontal displacement), the
simple 2D model described earlier is used.

To start the analysis, the initial side span and main span cable lengths were determined
using a trial and error procedure. Thus the initial cable lengths were estimated and the
152
final dead load profile, i.e. cable sag at mid-span and pylon top displacements, were
determined and compared with the desired dead load profile shown in Figure 10.5. The
estimated values were then improved and the calculation was repeated until the
required dead load profile was obtained. It was found that if the initial lengths of the
side span and main span cables were chosen as 564.8 m and 1672.7 m, the calculated
mid-span cable sag and pylon tops horizontal displacements would be 180.09 m and
0.04 m. Those initial cable lengths were therefore considered to be good enough and
were used for all the following results presented for this example.

When the initial cable lengths were
known, different erection stages
were analyzed and the results are
plotted in Figure 10.6. Studying this
figure one can notice that, to arrive
at the desired dead load profile, the
pylon tops must be displaced about
0.85 m outwards and the cable sag
should be about 173 m, for 0 %
erected girder. This pylon top
displacement is needed to counteract
the displacement caused by the
elongation of the side span main
cable during the subsequent erection
of the girder. Consequently, to
compensate for the later erection of
the girder the saddles at the pylon
tops must therefore, prior to cable
erection, be horizontally displaced in
relation to the vertical pylon axis.
This is done either by displacing the
saddles in relation to the pylon tops
or by pulling back the pylons with
so called tie-back cables or a
combination of the two methods
[36]. It is therefore necessary to
specify this displacement of the
saddles to arrive at vertical pylons
specified final cable sag under
dead load =180 m
170
175
180
185
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of bridge deck erected
C
a
b
l
e

s
a
g

a
t

m
a
i
n

s
p
a
n

(
m
)

0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of bridge deck erected
P
y
l
o
n

t
o
p
s

h
o
r
i
z
o
n
t
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
)

Figure 10.6 Cable sag variation (a) and
horizontal displacement of pylon
tops (b) during girder erection
(b)
(a)
153
with zero bending in the final dead load condition. During the constructing of the
Great Belt suspension bridge, tie-back cables running from each pylon top to the
nearest anchor block were used pulling back each pylon 1.24 m [28] prior to main
cable erection. When the main cables were erected and the tie-back cables were
dismantled, the pylon tops moved back about 0.20 m [28]. Thus, the remaining
displacement before erecting the girder was about 1 m. Acceptable agreement is found,
according to the authors opinion, when comparing this value with the one obtained
from the present analysis, i.e. 0.85 m. It is worth noting that the aims and the essential
goals of this investigation were to study the bridge response using a simple model and
to check the efficiency and applicability of the presented finite elements for modeling
cable supported bridges. For this reason some simplifications and assumptions were
made when modeling the bridge structure and not much emphasis was put on using the
exact properties etc. for each bridge member. This is believed to be the major
explanation for the differences in the results.

Frequency analysis was also conducted for the completed bridge and the first three
natural frequencies and mode shapes are given in Figure 10.7.

mode 1: 0.099 Hz (0.100 Hz)
mode 2: 0.112 Hz (0.115 Hz)
mode 3: 0.130 Hz (0.135 Hz)

Figure 10.7 Natural frequencies and mode shapes for the lowest three vertical
bending modes of vibration. Values inside brackets are reported in
[48]
154
In [47, 48], analytical frequency results from a 3D finite element model and results
from a 1:200 scale aeroelastic bridge model, made for wind tunnel testing, are
presented. These results are also given in Figure 10.7 within brackets and as can be
seen the agreement is very good when comparing with the result obtained from the
present analysis.

The CPU time used by the MATLAB process, to find the tangent stiffness matrix at the
dead load deformed state and to solve the system eigenvalue problem determining all
215 modes of vibration, was about 200 seconds.

10.2.2 Dynamic response due to moving vehicles
The simple suspension bridge model described earlier was also adopted to study the
response of the Great Belt Suspension bridge under the action of two moving trucks.
Each truck, moving on a smooth road surface from the left to the right at the constant
speed of 25 m/s (90 km/h), was assumed to have a total weight of 44 ton and a length
of 18.75 m. The free distance between the two trucks was assumed to be 40 m. The
body-bounce and wheel-hop frequencies, for each truck model, were chosen as 1.89
and 11.35 Hz. The corresponding mode shapes are shown in Figure 8.1b and the
model properties are given in Figure 10.8.

The problem was solved using both the
implemented linear dynamic (mode
superposition) and nonlinear dynamic
(direct integration) procedures. For the
two procedures, reasonably converged
reliable solutions were obtained using
600 increments corresponding to a time
step of about 0.18 s. For the mode super-
v = 25 m/s
m
1
= 0 kg
m
2
= 4840 kg
m
3
= 39160 kg
c
p
= 1.76 10
4
Ns/m
c
s
= 13.2 10
4
Ns/m
k
p
= 15.4 10
6
N/m
k
s
= 8.8 10
6
N/m
m
3
m
1
m
2
k
s
c
s
k
p
c
p
58.75 m
m
3
m
1
m
2
k
s
c
s
k
p
c
p

Figure 10.8 Model of the two trucks
position procedure, the first 25 modes were found to be sufficient for calculating the
dynamic response of the bridge and the trucks, as 25- and 30-mode solutions did not
differ significantly. Bridge damping ratios were evaluated according to equation (8.15)
giving: L 023 . 0 ; 026 . 0 ; 029 . 0
3 2 1
= = = etc. No numerical damping was introduced
in the direct integration procedure.

155
Some interesting diagrams are shown in Figure 10.9 and 10.10 where the linear and
nonlinear solutions are plotted. These figures do not show very significant difference
between the two solutions. Although some differences can be observed between the
linear and nonlinear dynamic moment, acceleration, and contact force curves in
Figures 10.9 and 10.10, these are insignificant from the engineering point of view.

In Table 10.3, dynamic amplification factors for the horizontal displacement of the left
pylon top and the bending moment at the fixed end of the left pylon are given together
with the corresponding CPU time and maximal iterations per increment required for
solving the problem. Even though the excitation of the dynamic system was only
caused by the elastic displacement of the bridge itself, as road surface with no
roughness was assumed, the maximum dynamic moment for the fixed end of the left
pylon was found to be nearly 30 % larger than the static one, see Figure 10.10a.

Linear Dynamic
(mode superposition)
Nonlinear Dynamic
(direct integration)
DAF
d (pylon top)
1.127 1.123
DAF
m (pylon fixed end)
1.250 1.274
CPU time (s) 845 5930
Max. iterations/inc. 4 3
Table 10.3 Dynamic amplification factors for the horizontal displacement of the
left pylon top and the bending moment at the fixed end of the left pylon
with the corresponding required CPU time and maximal iterations per
increment
It can be concluded from the numerical results obtained in this study that, utilizing the
dead load tangent stiffness matrix, linear static and linear dynamic traffic load
response analysis of long span suspension bridges is adequate.

The response was also evaluated neglecting bridge damping and it was found that
correct estimation of bridge damping is very important, as this will greatly affect the
dynamic response of the bridge-vehicle system. As an example, the dynamic
amplification factor for the deck vertical displacement at the center of the bridge will
increase from about 1.10 (Figure 10.9b) to about 1.22, if bridge damping is not
considered.
156
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Time (s)
H
o
r
i
z
o
n
t
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Dynamic (nonlinear)
Dynamic (linear)
Static (linear & nonlinear)
-300
-250
-200
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
m
m
)
Dynamic (nonlinear)
Dynamic (linear)
-0.06
-0.04
-0.02
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Time (s)
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

a
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
m
/
s
2
)

Nonlinear
Linear

Figure 10.9 Horizontal displacement of the left pylon top (a); bridge deck vertical
displacement (b) and vertical acceleration (c) at the center of the bridge.
The curves are not easy to distinguish, as the responses are almost identical
(a)
(b)
(c)
157
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Time (s)
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
M
N
m
)

Dynamic (nonlinear)
Dynamic (linear)

-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Time (s)
B
e
n
d
i
n
g

m
o
m
e
n
t

(
M
N
m
)

Dynamic (nonlinear)
Dynamic (linear)

0.92
0.94
0.96
0.98
1.00
1.02
1.04
1.06
1.08
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Time (s)
N
o
r
m
a
l
i
z
e
d

c
o
n
t
a
c
t

f
o
r
c
e
Nonlinear
Linear

Figure 10.10 Bending moment at the fixed end of the left pylon (a) and for the bridge
deck at the left pylon (b); normalized bridge-vehicle contact force for the
first truck (c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
158
10.3 Medium span cable-stayed bridge
A 2D model of the cable-stayed bridge described in [55] was adopted for this
investigation. The bridge geometry is shown in Figure 10.11 and the properties are
given in Table 10.4. This bridge is similar in configuration to an existing bridge in
Japan (The Meiko-Nishi Bridge in Nagoya) with some modifications in dimension.
The static and dynamic behavior of this bridge has been studied earlier by several
other investigators [4, 40, 55].

E (N/m
2
) A (m
2
) I (m
4
) w (t/m)
Girder

2.010
11
0.93 0.26 19.64
Girder
central part
2.010
11
1.11 1.29 19.64
Pylons
above deck level
2.810
10
13.01 34.52 30.65
Pylons
below deck level
2.810
10
18.58 86.31 43.78
Links
deck to pylons
2.010
11
0.56 0.10 4.38
Including weight of cross beams.

Cable no. E (N/m
2
) A (m
2
)
u
L (m) w (t/m)
1, 24 2.010
11
0.0362 158.13 0.398
2, 11, 14, 23 2.010
11
0.0232 134.66 0.255
3,10, 15, 22 2.010
11
0.0204 111.64 0.225
4, 9, 16, 21 2.010
11
0.0176 89.43 0.194
5, 8, 17, 20 2.010
11
0.0139 68.80 0.153
6, 7, 18, 19 2.010
11
0.0113 51.69 0.125
12, 13 2.010
11
0.0372 158.12 0.409

Table 10.4 Parameters for the cable-stayed bridge model defined in Figure 10.11

159

Figure 10.11 Geometry of the cable-stayed bridge. The cables are numbered from
the left to the right starting with cable 1

For the model, it was assumed that the girder was pinned at the ends, i.e. only rotations
were allowed, and elastically connected to the pylons by vertical links. The pylons
were assumed to be rigidly fixed to the piers, and all cables were assumed fixed to the
pylons and to the girder at their joints of attachment. The simplest model analyzed in
this example, i.e. the model with one element per cable, was composed of 66 elements
and 43 nodal points.

10.3.1 Static response and natural frequency analysis
Figure 10.12 shows the nonlinear behavior of the model under static dead load,
described in terms of the vertical displacement of the girder at the center of the bridge
and the tension in cable 12 and 13. Examining this figure, a hardening characteristic
with respect to the applied load is apparent. It is also evident that at the start there is a
significant nonlinear behavior during the static application of the dead load. Thus, a
nonlinear static analysis under dead load is essential to arrive at the deformed dead
load tangent stiffness matrix. For this cable-stayed bridge with modest main span
length, as the nonlinearity is not so strong above this dead load equilibrium point, it is
believed that this bridge will behave as a linear system, when affected by live static
and dynamic loads, starting from this dead load deformed state. This means that
influence lines and superposition technique can be used in the design process.
However, as the span length increases this nonlinearity will get more pronounced [55]
and linear live load analysis might no longer be adequate.

For the frequency analysis, to include cable motions, natural frequencies were also
determined replacing each stay cable by 3, 5, and 7 catenary cable elements. This was

146.3 m 146.3 m 335.3 m
30.5
45.7
5x3
cable 6
cable12
element 30
element 52
.
.
.
. .
node 14
node 18
node 43
node 7
node 36
cable13
element 61
cable16
.
elem. 36
node 13
160
eigenvalue
problem
0
1
2
3
4
5
-3 -2 0 2 3 5 6
Vertical displacement of the girder at the
center of the bridge (m)
D
e
a
d

l
o
a
d

m
u
l
t
i
p
l
i
e
r
tangent
0
1
2
3
4
5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Tension in cable 12 and 13 (MN)
D
e
a
d

l
o
a
d

m
u
l
t
i
p
l
i
e
r
tangent
Figure 10.12 Nonlinear behavior of the cable-stayed bridge defined in Figure 10.11:
(a) vertical displacement; (b) cable tension

mode 1: 0.334 Hz (0.311 Hz)
mode 2: 0.437 Hz (0.411 Hz)
mode 3: 0.703 Hz (0.650 Hz)

Figure 10.13 Natural frequencies and mode shapes for the first three vertical
bending modes of vibration. Values inside brackets are reported in
[4]
(a)
(b)
161
easily done as the preprocessor code developed can automatically refine the model if
the user requests it. For the simplest model, i.e. the model with one element per cable,
the resulting modes of vibration only include the vibrating girder and pylons. Thus,
cable modes and the dynamic interaction between the vibrating cables and the bridge
were disregarded. For the finer models, pure cable modes, i.e. additional new mode
shapes characterized only by vibrating cables, were obtained between those basic
bending modes. Moreover, it is evident that cable motions are associated with every
mode of vibration, as can be noticed in Figure 10.13. For the four alternative models,
Table 10.5 presents a comparative frequency study of the first ten vertical bending
modes of vibration. The order in which these modes appear is given inside brackets.

Natural frequencies (Hz) and mode order Vertical
bending
mode no.
1
element/cable
3
elements/cable
5
elements/cable
7
elements/cable
1 0.332 (1) 0.334 (1) 0.334 (1) 0.334 (1)
2 0.436 (2) 0.437 (2) 0.437 (2) 0.437 (2)
3 0.692 (3) 0.700 (7) 0.703 (7) 0.703 (7)
4 0.734 (4) 0.739 (8) 0.741 (8) 0.742 (8)
5 0.868 (5) 0.874 (13) 0.875 (13) 0.875 (13)
6 1.044 (6) 1.051 (18) 1.053 (18) 1.053 (18)
7 1.212 (7) 1.218 (27) 1.220 (23) 1.220 (23)
8 1.214 (8) 1.220 (28) 1.222 (24) 1.222 (24)
9 1.379 (9) 1.388 (33) 1.387 (29) 1.388 (29)
10 1.671 (10) 1.690 (42) 1.680 (38) 1.687 (38)

Table 10.5 Comparison of the first ten natural frequencies for vertical bending
modes of vibration. Each cable was modeled using 1, 3, 5 and 7
catenary cable elements. Mode order is given inside brackets

Satisfactory agreement is found when comparing the results from the static and
frequency analysis presented here with those reported in [4, 40, 55]. The disagreement
in the frequency results shown in Figure 10.13 is believed to be due to the fact that the
162
catenary cable element used in the present study is stiffer
12
than the one bar element
with an equivalent modulus used in [4, 55]. Moreover, the girder and pylons were
modeled in [4, 55] using conventional beam elements modified by the stability
functions and a diagonal lumped mass matrix was adopted for all elements.

For the simplest model with a total of 119 active degrees of freedom, the CPU time
used by the MATLAB process, to find the tangent stiffness matrix at the dead load
deformed state and to solve the system eigenvalue problem determining all 119 modes
of vibration, was about 15 seconds. This indicates high efficiency of the presented
elements.

10.3.2 Dynamic response due to moving vehicles parametric study
For the cable-stayed bridge shown in Figure 10.11, a study was conducted to assess the
importance of different factors that influence the dynamic response due to moving
vehicles. The investigation was focused on the following factors that are believed to
have some kind of influence on the dynamic amplification factor: the effect of bridge-
vehicle interaction, number of vehicles on the bridge, surface irregularities at the
bridge entrance, vehicle speed, bridge damping, cable modeling, tuned vibration
absorbers, and girder supporting conditions.

Some interesting figures are presented at the end of this numerical example, where
element and node numbers are referred to. The locations of these nodes and elements
are shown in Figure 10.11. The corresponding dynamic amplification factors (DAF)
for the different studied cases are given in Table 10.6 at the end of this numerical
example. Also, the absolute maximum bridge deck vertical acceleration at the center of
the bridge and the maximum normalized bridge-vehicle contact force are given for
each case in this table. The plotted cable axial forces are the average of the axial forces
at the two ends of the cable. Also, one should observe that the dead load response
(always evaluated using a nonlinear procedure) was subtracted from the solutions, thus
only the responses due to traffic loads are plotted. The linear and nonlinear static
traffic load responses were found to be almost identical and are not plotted separately
for the sake of making the figures more clear. However, these static solutions
corresponding to the linear and nonlinear dynamic solutions were used when

12
This can be concluded when comparing Figure 7.3a with the one published in [7] showing the
response for the one bar element with an equivalent modulus of elasticity.
163
calculating the DAF. The following was adopted for the parametric study unless
otherwise specified:
The simplest bridge model, i.e. the model with one element per cable.
Vehicles moving from the left to the right at the constant speed of 25 m/s (90 km/h)
on a smooth road surface.
The same 44 ton vehicle model as for the Great Belt suspension bridge example.
The body-bounce and wheel-hop frequencies for the truck model were chosen as
1.89 and 11.35 Hz. See Figure 10.8 for the model properties.
1000 increments corresponding to a time step of 0.025 s.
The first 30 modes were considered for the mode superposition solution.
No numerical damping was introduced in the direct integration procedure.
Bridge damping ratios were evaluated according to equation (8.16) giving:
.0056 0
30 2 1
= = = L .

10.3.2.1 Response due to a single moving vehicle
In this study, linear and nonlinear dynamic responses due to a 44 ton moving truck are
compared. In Table 10.6 (original configuration), some results for different time steps
corresponding to 500, 1000, and 1500 increments are given. A linear mode
superposition analysis, including all 119 modes of vibration and using 1000
increments, was also performed for this case and the results are also given in Table
10.6. During the convergence study, for the mode superposition procedure, it was
found that the 30- and 35-mode solutions did not differ significantly. However, as seen
from the results in Table 10.6, there are higher modes than 35 that are affecting the
response. For example, for the bending moment at the right pylon fixed end, the DAF
decreases from 1.180 to 1.159 when considering all 119 modes of vibration.
Comparing the 500, 1000, and 1500 increment solutions it is clear that the 500-
solution is not good enough and the 1000-solution does not give perfectly converged
results. However, from the practical engineering point of view, analyses with 1000
increments and 30 modes give reasonably converged reliable solutions. Consequently,
unless otherwise specified, 1000 increments and 30 modes were adopted for this
investigation.

164
Some linear and nonlinear response curves, for this single moving vehicle case, are
presented in Figures 10.14 10.16. By examining those figures, it is evident that the
two dynamic solutions demonstrate similar behavior throughout the time of loading
and the agreement between them is so good that it is even difficult to see the two
curves in some of the figures. This is an important observation since the linear
dynamic analysis is far less complicated and requires far less computer time than the
nonlinear dynamic analysis. Although there are some minor differences at the peak
regions in, for example, Figures 10.15b and 10.16a, which also lead to differences in
the DAF (see Table 10.6), these are insignificant from the engineering point of view as
they are comparatively small when compared to those resulting from other
simplifications and assumptions made when designing a bridge. For the linear and
nonlinear dynamic solutions, a maximum of 3 and 2 iterations per increment were
required and the corresponding CPU time was 470 s and 1890 s, respectively.

Analysis results indicated that cable 6 has, for the case studied here, the highest DAF
of all cables (1.275). The response curves for the tension in this cable, Figure 10.16a,
show a fluctuation with a frequency of about 1.19 Hz. This fluctuation in cable
tension, also the dominant frequency for the vertical acceleration of the corresponding
cable-girder attachment point, was caused by vibration modes 7 and 8 having a
frequency of about 1.21 Hz.

As mention earlier, for this bridge model it was assumed that the girder was pinned at
the ends. If a simply supported girder at the ends was assumed instead, which is the
traditional way of supporting such a medium long bridge girder, the natural
frequencies for the first three vertical bending modes of vibration will decrease to
0.314, 0.413, and 0.676 Hz. The DAF for this simply supported girder case are also
included in Table 10.6. As can be seen, the DAF for the tension in cable 6 and for the
vertical displacement at node 18 are lower for this case. However, a significant
increase in the DAF was obtained for the tension in cable 13, the horizontal
displacement of the right pylon top, and for the fixed end moment of the same pylon.

Based upon the presented results, three general conclusions can be made. The first is
that linear dynamic analysis give sufficiently accurate results as there is no apparent
nonlinear behavior of the bridge during application of the moving traffic load. The
second conclusion is that high DAF values can be reached (1.39 for the axial force in
the deck at the left pylon) even though a road surface with no roughness was assumed.
165
The third conclusion is that the supporting condition of the bridge girder has a
significant influence on the dynamic response.

10.3.2.2 Response due to a train of moving vehicles, effect of bridge-vehicle
interaction and cable modeling
To investigate the effect of having a number of vehicles simultaneously on the bridge,
a hypothetical train of four moving 44 ton trucks was adopted. The distance between
truck models and model properties are shown in Figure 10.8. According to the study
conducted in Part A, one of the important factors affecting the bridge response is the
dynamic interaction between the vehicles and the bridge deck. Therefore, an
investigation of the bridge-vehicle interaction effect was also conducted for this case,
where the moving vehicles were modeled either as constant moving forces (i.e.
ignoring interaction) or as sprung masses moving on a smooth road surface. In
addition, an investigation of the effect of including cable motions and modes of
vibrations on the dynamic response was conducted where each cable was either
modeled using 1 or 5 catenary cable elements. 1500 increments corresponding to a
time step of 0.021 s was required for this analysis.

For the study of bridge-vehicle interaction effect, Figure 10.17 shows some response
curves obtained from a nonlinear dynamic and nonlinear static traffic load analysis.
The DAF values are given in Table 10.6. Examining this figure and also Table 10.6, it
was found that the moving force model, which usually gives negligible differences in
results compared to the sprung mass results when the road surface roughness is
ignored, gives for this flexible bridge significant differences especially for the tension
in cable 6. As also noticed the DAF decreases for the moving force model except for
the tension in cable 6 where the moving force model increases the DAF tremendously.
It is believed that this difference in response occurs, as mentioned earlier in section
8.4, as the result of having the vehicles acting as vibration absorbers when modeled as
sprung mass systems.

Comparing the nonlinear dynamic results of the one truck case (original configuration)
with the case of four trucks modeled as sprung masses, it was found that the maximal
dynamic part of the contact force increases by 87 %, and the absolute maximal vertical
acceleration of the girder at the bridge center by 125 %. On the other hand, no
particular trend was found when comparing the DAF of the two cases, as the DAF
166
increases significantly for some of the studied elements and nodes but decreases for
others.

The case of four moving trucks modeled as sprung masses was also solved for the
bridge model with 5 catenary cable elements per cable. Consequently, cable motions
and cable vibration modes were considered in this analysis. In Figure 10.18, some
response curves obtained from a nonlinear dynamic and nonlinear static traffic load
analysis are presented. Mixed results were obtained when the new solution was
compared with the 1 element per cable solution, see Table 10.6. As an example, the 1
element per cable case underestimated the dynamic response and therefore the DAF
for the tension in cable 6 but overestimated it for the tension in cable 13. Furthermore,
no particular trend could be found for the cables, as the tension in all cables were
effected regardless of their length or position (side or main span). Evaluation of the
DAF for the entire bridge model revealed that the largest difference in response
occurred for the axial force in deck element 36 (see Figure 10.18c), where the DAF
increased from 1.388 to 1.658, when the 5 element per cable model was adopted. For
the cable tension, the largest difference was found for cable 16 where the DAF
increased from 1.333 to 1.422. The fluctuation of tension in this cable is shown in
Figure 10.18d. A significant increase in DAF (from 1.400 to 1.596), see Figure 10.18b,
was also found for the bending moment in pylon element 61.

As a conclusion, the dynamic interaction between the vehicles and the bridge deck
should always be taken into account even if a road surface with no roughness is
assumed. Moreover, to avoid an underestimation of the dynamic response, the cables
should always be modeled so their motion and modes of vibration are considered in
the analysis.

10.3.2.3 Speed and bridge damping effect
To investigate the effect of vehicle speed and bridge damping on the dynamic
response, a single 44 ton moving truck was adopted. This is the same case as the so-
called original configuration but is solved here for the new speeds of 50, 70, 110, and
130 km/h. 1500 increments were used for the solution of the 50 and the 70 km/h cases,
and 1000 increments for the rest. The original configuration (v = 90 km/h) was also
analyzed here for new bridge damping ratios, namely: 0, 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.03. Only
167
nonlinear dynamic analysis was performed and the results are presented in Figure
10.19 and in Table 10.6.

The vertical displacement of the girder at the center of the bridge is shown in Figures
10.19a and 10.19b for different speeds and damping ratios. The variation of the DAF,
for some selected elements and nodes, with respect to different speeds and damping
ratios are shown in Figures 10.19c and 10.19d. As seen, even though the DAF tends to
reduce at certain speeds, it is evident that the response generally increases with the
increase in vehicle speed.

As expected, damping reduces the DAF. The effect of damping on the reduction of the
bridge dynamic response was found to be considerable. Among the selected elements
and nodes, the amount of reduction is largest for the axial force in pylon element 52
and the vertical displacement at node 18, while the influence of damping on the axial
force in deck element 30 and the tension in cable 6 are comparatively small. In
addition, it is noted in Figure 10.19d that the relationship between bridge damping
ratio and the DAF is not always linear.

Form this study one can conclude that the response generally increases with the
increase in vehicle speed and that bridge damping have a significant effect upon the
response and should be considered if accurate representation of the true dynamic
response is required.

10.3.2.4 Effect of surface irregularities at the bridge entrance
To roughly study the effect of irregularities in the deck and over the bearings at the
entrance to the bridge, a 3 cm high and 2.5 m long bump located at the left end of the
bridge, was generated as described in section 8.3.2. Results from the nonlinear
dynamic analysis are presented in Figure 10.20 and in Table 10.6. Figures 10.20a-c
show response curves for a vehicle speed of 90 km/h, and in Figure 10.20d some
curves are plotted to show the variation of the DAF with the vehicle speed.

From those results we can infer that the effect of this type of irregularity, on the
bridge-vehicle response, is considerable. As noted from Table 10.6, a 45 % larger
contact force than the static one was obtained. Also, for as little bump height as 3 cm,
which is not unusual, a significant increase in the axial force in deck element 30 was
168
found, increasing the DAF from 1.39 to 1.60. Of course, the response of nodes and
elements that are located close to the bridge entrance were affected the most by this
bump, whereas, e.g., the bridge deck vertical displacement and acceleration at the
center of the bridge were not affected at all. Again the highest DAF for all cables was
found for cable 6. Moreover this bump affected the response of this cable more than
the response of other cables.

From this study one can conclude that not only maintenance of the bridge road surface
is important to reduce damage to bridges but also the elimination of irregularities
(unevenness) in the approach pavements and over bearings is important as these
strongly influence the response.

10.3.2.5 Effect of tuned vibration absorbers
The effectiveness of a tuned mass damper (TMD) in suppressing vibrations due to a
single 44 ton moving truck is investigated in this study. The truck was assumed to
move on a smooth road surface at the constant speed of 110 km/h. The TMD was
positioned at the center of the bridge (node 14) and tuned to the first bending mode of
vibration (0.33 Hz). The optimum tuning parameters given in equation (8.18) were
adopted, where the mass ratio was set to 0.005 giving a TMD mass of approximately
15.6 ton. Some results from the nonlinear dynamic analysis are presented in Table 10.6
and in Figures 10.21-10.23. The results for this case presented in Table 10.6 should be
compared with those corresponding to v =110 km/h.

Examining the results, it was found that the two anchorage cables 1 and 24 had the
largest reduction in the DAF value. The DAF for cable 1 (highest DAF among all
cables) was reduced by the TMD from 1.348 to 1.306. For cable 24, the tension due to
traffic load is shown in Figure 10.22c, and the DAF was reduced from 1.130 to 1.063.
A considerable reduction was also found for the horizontal displacement of node 43
and the moment in pylon element 52, see Table 10.6. However, The results also
revealed that the TMD not always is very effective in reducing the maximum dynamic
response during the forced vibration period (i.e. when the vehicle is on the bridge). In
fact, due to the interaction between the bridge-vehicle-TMD systems, the response and
the DAF for certain elements and nodes can even increase due to the TMD. As an
example, the DAF for cable 14 increased from 1.049 to 1.079, when the TMD was
considered. However, it is evident that the TMD is very effective in reducing the
169
vibration level in the free vibration period, even for the case of cable 14. This is due to
the increase of the overall damping of the bridge by the TMD.

Power spectral densities (PSD) of the vertical acceleration response of the girder at the
center of the bridge (node 14) and the horizontal acceleration response of the right
pylon top (node 43), with and without TMD, are presented in Figures 10.23b and
10.23c. The corresponding bending modes of vibration are also indicated in those
figures. It is clear from those figures that several modes were excited, but the first
mode has the largest contribution to the response of the two chosen nodes. To further
reduce the vibration level of the bridge one might install extra TMDs, e.g. tuned to the
third mode and installed at the top of the two pylons. As expected and observed in
those figures, a TMD tuned to the first mode is only effective in reducing the
contribution of this mode to the dynamic response. This is one of the disadvantages of
a TMD, see the discussion in section 8.4.

In addition, it is noted that the PSD for the vertical response at the center of the bridge
does not have peaks corresponding to the antisymmetric modes as these mode shapes
have zero displacements at this node, e.g. see mode 2 in Figure 10.13. On the other
hand, as seen in Figure 10.23c and also Figure 10.13, these antisymmetric modes do
contribute for the pylon tops horizontal response. This should be taken into
consideration when conducting field measurements to estimate the vibration
frequencies of a bridge of this type, as an accelerometer installed at the pylon top will
identify not only the symmetric modes but also the antisymmetric ones.

From this investigation it is concluded that a TMD, despite the fact that it is not always
effective in reducing the maximum dynamic response during the forced vibration
period, increases the overall damping of the bridge by working as an additional energy
dissipater.

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Time (s)
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Dynamic (nonlinear)
Dynamic (linear)

Figure 10.14 Vertical displacement (a) and acceleration histories (b) at node 14; vertical displacement at node 18 (c);
axial force in deck element 30 at node 7 (d). The dashed vertical lines indicate when the vehicle is at the
left and right pylon
(c)
(d)
(b)
(a)
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Dynamic (linear)

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Time (s)
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Dynamic (nonlinear)
Dynamic (linear)

Figure 10.15 Horizontal displacement of node 43 (a); bending moment (b), axial force (c), and shear force (d) in
element 52 at node 36. The dashed vertical lines indicate when the vehicle is at the left and right pylon
(a)
(d) (c)
(b)
-0.08
-0.04
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0.12
0.16
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Linear

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Nonlinear
Linear

Figure 10.16 Axial force in cable 6 (a); axial force in cable 13 (b); truck body vertical displacement (c), and
acceleration histories (d). The dashed vertical lines indicate when the vehicle is at the left and right
pylon
(c)
(d)
(a) (b)
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Static

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Figure 10.17 Vertical displacement at node 18 (a); bending moment (b), and axial force (c) in element 52 at node 36;
axial force in cable 6 (d)

(c)
(d)
(a) (b)
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Figure 10.18 Vertical displacement at node 14 (a); bending moment in pylon element 61 at the attachment point of
cable 17; (b), axial force in element 36 at node 13 (c); axial force in cable 16 (d)

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
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v
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Bridge damping ratio,
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Vertical displacement at node 14 Axial force in element 52 at node 36 Axial force in cable 6
Axial force in deck element 30 at node 7 Bending moment in element 52 at node 36 Axial force in cable 13

Figure 10.19 Vertical displacement at node 14 calculated for different vehicle speeds (a) and damping ratios (b); the
influence of vehicle speed (c) and damping ratio (d) on some dynamic amplification factors
(a) (b)
(d)
(c)
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50 70 90 110 130
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Axial force in deck element 30 at node 7
Bending moment in element 52 at node 36
Axial force in cable 6

Figure 10.20 Axial force in cable 6 (a); axial force in deck element 30 at node 7 (b); truck body vertical displacement
(c); the influence of vehicle speed on some dynamic amplification factors (30 mm bump) (d)

(a) (b)
(d)
(c)
Effect of tuned vibration absorbers
177
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Figure 10.21 Vertical displacement at node 14 (a) and node 18 (b); horizontal
displacement at node 43 (c). The dashed vertical line indicate when the
truck leaves the bridge
(a)
(b)
(c)
178
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with TMD
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Figure 10.22 Vertical displacement (a) and acceleration (b) of the TMD mass; axial
force in cable 24 (c). The dashed vertical line indicate when the truck
leaves the bridge
(a)
(b)
(c)
179
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1.E-8
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1.E+0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0
Frequency (Hz)
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1
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3
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5
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9
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1.E-8
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0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0
Frequency (Hz)
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1
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4
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6
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,8
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10
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Figure 10.23 Bending moment in element 52 at node 36 (a); power spectral densities
(PSD) of the vertical acceleration response at node 14 (b) and the
horizontal acceleration response at node 43 (c) (y axis in log scale)
(a)
(b)
(c)
original configuration - convergence study simply supported 4 trucks 4 trucks moving
number of increments 500 1000 1500 1000 500 1000 1500 girder force model
linear dynamic - 30 modes all modes nonlinear dynamic linear nonlin. linear nonlin. linear nonlin.
Vertical displacement at node 14 1.207 1.186 1.179 1.186 1.208 1.187 1.180 1.131 1.130 1.060 1.056 1.048 1.048
Vertical displacement at node 18 1.270 1.243 1.234 1.243 1.240 1.235 1.230 1.119 1.112 1.286 1.265 1.171 1.162
Horizontal displacement of node 43 1.086 1.065 1.057 1.065 1.094 1.060 1.053 1.250 1.247 1.279 1.274 1.202 1.199
Axial force in deck element 30 at node 7 1.404 1.393 1.391 1.394 1.374 1.390 1.387 1.360 1.364 1.237 1.246 1.205 1.214
Shear force in element 52 at node 36 1.212 1.174 1.164 1.160 1.205 1.154 1.149 1.222 1.087 1.285 1.271 1.198 1.181
Axial force in element 52 at node 36 1.284 1.270 1.268 1.268 1.279 1.301 1.275 1.270 1.290 1.251 1.202 1.229 1.173
Bending moment in element 52 at node 36 1.222 1.180 1.166 1.159 1.210 1.152 1.150 1.431 1.442 1.276 1.262 1.207 1.188
Axial force in cable 6 1.316 1.294 1.284 1.284 1.240 1.275 1.268 1.240 1.238 1.086 1.035 1.358 1.345
Axial force in cable 13 1.157 1.133 1.125 1.133 1.164 1.135 1.126 1.232 1.234 1.239 1.242 1.211 1.213
Absolute maximum vertical accel. at node 14 (m/s
2
) 0.160 0.125 0.123 0.125 0.158 0.140 0.124 0.121 0.136 0.336 0.316 0.275 0.266
Maximum normalized bridge-vehicle contact force 1.049 1.039 1.036 1.039 1.049 1.039 1.036 1.041 1.041 1.071 1.073 1.000 1.000
D
y
n
a
m
i
c

A
m
p
l
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n

F
a
c
t
o
r
s

(
D
A
F
)

Vertical displacement at node 14
Vertical displacement at node 18
Horizontal displacement of node 43
Axial force in deck element 30 at node 7
Shear force in element 52 at node 36
Axial force in element 52 at node 36
Bending moment in element 52 at node 36
Absolute maximum vertical accel. at node 14 (m/s
2
)
Maximum normalized bridge-vehicle contact force
D
y
n
a
m
i
c

A
m
p
l
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n

F
a
c
t
o
r
s

(
D
A
F
)
4 trucks v = 50 v = 70 v = 110 v = 130 = = = = = bump TMD
5 elem/cable km/h km/h km/h km/h 0 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.03 30 mm v = 110
nonlinear nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin. nonlin.
1.087 1.041 1.132 1.282 1.204 1.220 1.164 1.143 1.124 1.093 1.188 1.245
1.289 1.057 1.003 1.427 1.060 1.285 1.202 1.170 1.143 1.102 1.233 1.378
1.272 1.178 1.086 1.131 1.205 1.106 1.032 1.010 0.992 0.984 1.059 1.065
1.237 1.112 1.176 1.414 1.427 1.401 1.381 1.372 1.362 1.329 1.601 1.413
1.272 1.195 1.100 1.331 1.230 1.211 1.127 1.102 1.097 1.087 1.172 1.266
1.272 1.189 1.241 1.511 1.461 1.395 1.258 1.222 1.193 1.168 1.329 1.463
1.268 1.178 1.104 1.323 1.244 1.239 1.123 1.103 1.097 1.087 1.211 1.260
1.101 1.024 1.101 1.206 1.408 1.300 1.258 1.241 1.226 1.202 1.331 1.205
1.208 1.082 1.008 1.104 1.205 1.180 1.107 1.082 1.063 1.038 1.138 1.083
0.316 0.067 0.091 0.145 0.202 0.195 0.118 0.099 0.086 0.075 0.141 0.137
1.078 1.024 1.042 1.059 1.060 1.039 1.039 1.039 1.039 1.040 1.446 1.059

Table 10.6 Dynamic amplification factors (DAF), absolute maximum vertical acceleration at node 14, and maximum
normalized bridge-vehicle contact force. Note that even the linear dynamic analysis referred to in this
table is based on the dead load tangent stiffness matrix obtained from a nonlinear static analysis
181
Chapter
______________________________________________________________________
Conclusions and Suggestions for Further
Research
______________________________________________________________________
11.1 Conclusions of Part B
The conclusions from the study conducted in Part B of this thesis are presented in the
following two subsections. In the first subsection, conclusions concerning the
nonlinear finite element modeling of cable supported bridges are presented, and in the
second subsection, conclusions are presented concerning the response due to moving
vehicles.

11.1.1 Nonlinear finite element modeling technique
The present work has presented a method for modeling cable supported bridges for the
nonlinear finite element analysis. A two-node catenary cable element was adopted for
modeling the cables and a beam element for modeling the girder and the pylons. This
study has shown that the adopted elements are accurate and efficient for nonlinear
analysis of cable-stayed and suspension bridges. It has been confirmed that the main
advantages of the cable element are the simplicity of including the effect of pretension
of the cable and the exact treatment of cable sag and cable weight. Moreover, the
iterative process adopted, to find the internal force vector and tangent stiffness matrix
for the cable element, was found to converge very rapidly.

According to the authors opinion, linear analysis utilizing the traditional equivalent
modulus approach, is not satisfactory for modern cable-stayed bridges. Modern cable-
stayed bridges built today or proposed for future bridges are, as they are highly
flexible, subjected to large displacements. The equivalent modulus approach however
182
accounts only for the sag effect but not for the stiffening effect due to large
displacements [7]. It was found that the catenary cable element is simple to formulate,
accurate, and can correctly model the geometric change of the cable at any tension
level. This makes the element very attractive, especially for static response
calculations, and the author strongly recommends the use of this element. However,
one drawback is when using commercial finite element codes for analysis, as only few
commercial codes, e.g. ABAQUS, enable the users to define their own elements. This
disadvantage applies also to the one bar element equivalent modulus approach.

It has been demonstrated that cable supported bridges have a hardening characteristic
with respect to the applied load. Furthermore, due to the highly nonlinear behavior
during the static application of the dead load, a nonlinear static analysis is required to
arrive at the deformed dead load tangent stiffness matrix.

Replacing each cable by several catenary cable elements has demonstrated that, in
addition to obtaining new pure cable modes of vibration, cable motions are also
associated with every bending mode of vibration. To simplify the data input process
when utilizing the multi-element cable discretization, one can start from a straight
cable configuration and during analysis the cable configuration under its own weight is
determined accurately after few iterations.

Finally, this work has only focused on two-dimensional modeling of cable supported
bridges. However, the catenary cable element used in this study is also applicable for
modeling cables in other types of cable structures [35, 63, 64], such as: suspended
roofs, guyed masts, electric transmission lines, moored floating bridges, etc. Moreover,
with some minor modifications of the cable element matrices this element can also be
used for modeling cables for three-dimensional analysis. For such analysis, three-
dimensional catenary cable and beam elements can be found in [35, 61].

11.1.2 Response due to moving vehicles
An investigation was conducted to analyze the response of realistic two-dimensional
cable-stayed and suspension bridge models under the action of moving vehicles. For
the analysis of the dynamic response, two approaches were implemented: one for
evaluating the linear dynamic response and one for the nonlinear dynamic response.
Further, nonlinear geometric effects, exact cable behavior, and realistically
183
estimated bridge damping, were considered. This investigation has mainly focused on
comparing linear and nonlinear traffic load dynamic responses and also on the effect
of bridge-vehicle interaction, road surface roughness, vehicle speed, bridge damping,
cable modeling, and tuned vibration absorbers. Based on this investigation of the
traffic load response of cable-stayed and suspension bridges, the following conclusions
can be made:
utilizing the tangent stiffness matrix (obtained from a nonlinear static analysis
under dead load), linear static and linear dynamic traffic load analysis of cable
supported bridges give sufficiently accurate results from the engineering point of
view. Moreover, the mode superposition technique was found to be very efficient
as accurate results could be obtained based on only 25 to 30 modes of vibration.
Thus, this linear dynamic procedure is especially appropriate for analyzing bridge
models with many degrees of freedom
bridge deck surface roughness and irregularities in the approach pavements and
over bearings have a tremendous effect on the dynamic response. To reduce
damage to bridges not only maintenance of the bridge deck surface is important but
also the elimination of irregularities (unevenness) in the approach pavements and
over bearings. It is also suggested that the formulas for dynamic amplification
factors specified in bridge design codes should not only be a function of the
fundamental natural frequency or span length (as in many present design codes) but
should also consider the road surface condition
for more detailed and accurate studies where the most accurate representation of
the true dynamic response is required, it is recommended to consider the cables
motion and modes of vibration in the dynamic analysis by utilizing the multi-
element cable discretization. This is also necessary to avoid an underestimation of
the bridge dynamic response
bridge damping has a significant effect upon the response and should always be
considered in such analysis. Some dynamic amplification factors are very sensitive
to bridge damping ratio and the relationship is not always linear. Bridge damping
ratios should be carefully estimated to insure more correct and accurate
representation of the true dynamic response. To obtain realistic damping ratios,
such estimation should be based on results from tests on similar bridges.
Unfortunately, results from many studies of the dynamic response of cable-stayed
184
bridges found in the literature are not useful, as they have been conducted using
either unrealistically high damping ratios for such bridges or no damping at all
a tuned mass damper is not very effective in reducing the maximum dynamic
response during the forced vibration period (i.e. when the vehicle is on the bridge).
In fact, such a device can even increase some of the dynamic amplification factors.
However, the reduction of the vibration level in the free vibration period is
significant as the tuned mass damper increases the overall damping of the bridge
by working as an additional energy dissipater
the moving force model (constant force idealization of the vehicle load) can lead to
unnecessary overestimation of the dynamic amplification factors compared to the
sprung mass model. It is believed that the sprung mass vehicle models are causing
this by acting as vibration absorbers
the dynamic amplification factors of cable supported bridges can reach high values,
higher than 1.30, even if maintenance of the road surface is made regularly. This
situation should be considered in the design practice of such bridges. For the
studied cable-stayed bridge, high dynamic amplification factors were obtained for
the axial force in the girder near the pylons and for the tension in the shortest
cables in the side spans. For this bridge, the designer should consider installation of
cable dampers especially for the shortest cables to increase the fatigue life of the
cables.

11.2 Suggestions for further research
Based on the performed investigation, the following suggestions for further research
can be given:
The effect of cable modeling and tuned mass dampers should be more thoroughly
investigated using realistic trains of moving vehicles and considering road surface
roughness and different vehicle speeds, as this could not be accomplished in this
study due to time limitation. Moreover, for future research it is suggested to use
simulated trains of moving traffic based on collected statistical traffic data.
The dependency of bridge response and dynamic amplification factors on the way
in which the girder is connected to the pylons and on other modern girder
supporting conditions, should be investigated.
185
Further work is needed to study the effect of using finer models (i.e. more elements
for discretizing the bridge girder and pylons) of the two studied cable supported
bridges and also three-dimensional models to include torsional effects and torsional
modes of vibration in the analysis.
Extensive testing on a cable supported bridge should be performed to assess the
validity of the analysis methods and the theoretical findings.
Research is needed to thoroughly study active structural control of cable supported
bridges and examine the effectiveness of active devices on suppressing bridge
vibrations due to moving vehicles.

As discussed earlier in section 8.4, the performance of a tuned mass damper (TMD,
passive device) significantly deteriorates when the dynamic characteristics of the
bridge changes (i.e. are different from the original characteristics assumed during the
optimal design of the TMD). Thus, a superior solution can be obtained by using a so-
called active tuned mass damper (ATMD). Such a damper comprises computer
controlled servo-hydraulic actuators that can, when needed, modify the TMD
properties to improve its efficiency. The computer continuously monitors the dynamic
characteristics of the bridge using e.g. sensors attached to the bridge deck.

Active control of structures using cables was proposed by Freyssinet as early as 1960
[67]. Today, active control is applied in advanced airplanes for suppression of
aerodynamic instability, in high-speed trains like the Swedish train X2000 to improve
riding comfort, and in modern cars like the Mercedes A-class to improve stability.
Active controls, e.g. active modification of bridge deck edge shape to enhance
resistance to aerodynamic instabilities like flutter, are also considered for new cable
supported bridges with very long spans such as for the Messina crossing and the
Gibraltar crossing. It is believed that, as the cost of such active systems is high, they
can only be economical for long span bridges where they can induce big saving in
construction material. Furthermore, since some people are perhaps not ready to rely on
computers when crossing a bridge, active control should as a first step only be used to
improve serviceability aspects such as riding comfort, whereas e.g. the stability of the
bridge have to rely entirely on the bridge structure itself.

For cable-stayed bridges real time vibration control can be achieved by e.g. computer
controlling the tension in some cables, so-called active cables, in order to counteract
186
traffic loads at any time. Such control system is based on the idea of constantly
monitoring movements of the bridge using attached sensors and via computer
controlled tensioning jacks, the pretensioning force in the cables is changed. Such
bridges can be referred to as smart bridges as they have the capability of modifying
their behavior during the dynamic loading.

The author believes that active vibration control of long span cable-stayed and
suspension bridges will be an area of significant interest in the future. Till now
analysis and application of active vibration control of structures excited by moving
loads have attracted limited research efforts. For the interested reader, excellent
literature review and state-of-the-art review on control and monitoring of civil
engineering structures are found in [30, 67]. Recent studies describing active control of
bridges are presented in [5, 62, 69].
187
Appendix
______________________________________________________________________
Maple Procedures
______________________________________________________________________
The Maple procedures, used to generate the Fortran code for the elements presented in
Chapter 7, are given below. Each comment line starts with the symbol #.

A.1 Cable element
# Tangent stiffness matrix Kt for;
# the catenary cable element;
readlib(fortran);
with(linalg);
Ly:=1/(2*E*A*w)*(Tj^2-Ti^2)+(Tj-Ti)/w;
Lx:=-P1*(Lu/E/A+1/w*ln((P4+Tj)/(Ti-P2)));
P3:=-P1;
P4:=w*Lu-P2;
Ti:=sqrt(P1^2+P2^2);
Tj:=sqrt(P3^2+P4^2);
f11:=diff(Lx,P1):
f12:=diff(Lx,P2):
f21:=diff(Ly,P1):
f22:=diff(Ly,P2):
f:=matrix(2,2,[f11,f12,f21,f22]):
k:=inverse(f):
k1:=k[1,1]:
k2:=k[1,2]:
k4:=k[2,2]:

188
Kt:=matrix(4,4,[-k1,-k2,k1,k2,-k2,-k4,k2,k4,k1,k2,-k1,-k2,k2,k4,-k2,-k4]):
fortran(Kt,optimized):

A.2 Beam element
# Internal force vector p and;
# tangent stiffness matrix Kt for;
# the beam element;
readlib(fortran);
with(linalg);
ux:=(u4-u1)/L; wx:=(u5-u2)/L;
t:=(u3+u6)/2; tx:=(u6-u3)/L;
e:=(1+ux)*cos(t)+wx*sin(t)-1;
g:=wx*cos(t)-(1+ux)*sin(t);
k:=tx;
PIe:=1/2*L*E*A*e^2;
PIg:=1/2*L*G*A*g^2;
PIk:=1/2*L*E*I*k^2;
PI:=PIe+PIg+PIk;
p:=grad(PI,[u1,u2,u3,u4,u5,u6]);
Kt:=hessian(PI,[u1,u2,u3,u4,u5,u6]);
fortran(p,optimized);
fortran(Kt,optimized);

189
______________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________
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Bridge-Beam Dynamic Model

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