Seismic Analysis of Long-Span Cable-Stayed Bridges by an

Integrated Finite Strip Method

Hamidreza Naderian1; Moe M. S. Cheung2; Zhenyuan Shen3; and Elena Dragomirescu4

Abstract: This paper provides a very efficient, integrated framework for seismic analyses of long-span cable-stayed bridges. The efficiency
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comes from the dramatic reduction in formation time and the degrees of freedom (DOF) associated with the structure, using the integrated finite
strip method (IFSM) along with the application of a very robust and efficient time history method (THM) using the Newmark scheme for dynamic
analysis of the bridge structure. The previous versions of the finite strip method are limited to modeling the bridge deck only, whereas other struc-
tural components are replaced by assumed boundary conditions. Using the IFSM, all components of the long-span cable-stayed bridge can be mod-
eled in a unified system, and consequently, the real dynamic behavior including the interactions between deck, piers, and cables can be perfectly
considered. To verify the solution, the geometric and dynamic properties of the Kap Shui Mun (KSM) Bridge, as a real example of a long-span
cable-stayed bridge, are derived by the proposed finite strip method. Then, the seismic response of KSM Bridge under uniform and nonuniform
earthquake loadings is investigated by using the THM. The results show that the IFSM can be applied successfully for seismic analysis of long-span
cable-stayed bridges, and the analysis can be performed in a minimal amount of time. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000821. This work is
made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Author keywords: Seismic analysis; Time history method; Newmark method; Long-span bridge; Cable-stayed bridge; Dynamic;
Integrated finite strip method.

Introduction
To meet the economic, social, and recreational needs of the commu-
nity for safe and efficient transportation systems, long-span bridges
have been built throughout the world. These bridges represent some
of the most challenging kinds of structures designed in civil engi-
neering. Today, long-span cable-stayed bridges are of great interest,
mainly as an alternative and a more economical solution than sus-
pension bridges. Because of their great flexibility, modern long-span
cable-stayed bridges are usually very susceptible to dynamic loads.
Therefore, the wind-resistant and earthquake-resistant designs are
key issues for successful construction of these bridges.
The structural response of long-span bridges under dynamic and
aerodynamic loads is very complicated, and powerful computa-
tional techniques that can accurately analyze and predict the struc-
tural behavior of these massive structures are required. This is a
major point in successful and optimized design of long-span cable-
stayed bridges. Most of the bridge structural analyses are performed
by the aid of the well-known FEM. Quasi-static numerical analysis
1
Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ.
of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5.
2 oneered by Y. K. Cheung in the 1970s (Cheung and Cheung 1971),
Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong
Univ. of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong; Western China
Earthquake and Hazards Mitigation Research Centre, Sichuan Univ.,
Chengdu 610065, China.
3
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Univ. of
Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong (corresponding author).
E-mail: zhenyuanshen@gmail.com
4
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Univ. of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada KIN 6N5.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on August 20, 2014; approved
on June 17, 2015; published online on December 30, 2015. Discussion pe-
riod open until May 30, 2016; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Bridge
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 1084-0702.
using FEM has been one of the most widely adopted approaches for
the study and design of long-span bridges in the last few decades
(Cook et al. 1989). With increased span lengths and successful
application of lightweight composite materials for bridges, the
dynamic characteristics of these structures have become more com-
plex and the conventional FEM approach might not always be suffi-
cient. In contrast, the formulation of a FEM model and setting up of
the boundary conditions of a three-dimensional bridge structure for
dynamic analysis is very complicated and time consuming, espe-
cially for long-span cable-stayed bridges, and because of the
extremely high number of degrees of freedom (DOF) involved,
such a procedure becomes inconvenient in practice. The conver-
gence rate of the conventional FEM in dynamic problems also is
usually slow, because the nonlinearities associated with the flexible
bridge structures lead to significant redistribution of the internal
forces. One of the solutions for improving the convergence rate is to
use very small-sized elements throughout the structure, resulting in
a large number of DOF. Therefore, in the case of long-span cable-
stayed bridges, with thousands of DOF, and at the same time with
high nonlinear behavior under dynamic and aerodynamic forces,
the finite element analysis does not seem to be efficient enough.
The finite strip method, as a semianalytical numerical analysis pi-
has shown great potential for analyzing bridge structures. However,
because of some limitations, this method is not as popular as the
FEM. For instance, the ordinary finite strip method can deal only
with prismatic members with simply supported end conditions.
Moreover, the method cannot handle shear forces, internal supports,
and concentrated loads. In spite of the large number of references on
the use of the finite strip method in structural analysis, the application
of the existing finite strip methods in seismic analysis is restricted to
bridge superstructures or bridges with assumed pier conditions only.
In the conventional finite strip methods, the piers and the cables of
the bridge are normally replaced by certain boundary conditions, and
this assumption is reasonable only when the stress distribution along

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J. Bridge Eng., 2016, 21(3): 04015068

 the girders and the slabs of the bridge superstructures is required. An
alternative solution in considering the pier and the cable effects is to
combine the finite strip bridge deck with piers and cables modeled by
other types of elements, such as the boundary element, and thus, the
interactions between the bridge deck and the piers can be obtained
via an iterative process. Nevertheless, this approach can be effective
only for static and quasi-static analysis. When a complicated
dynamic analysis, such as the nonuniform seismic analysis, is con-
sidered, the ground excitations are transmitted from the piers and the
cables to the superstructure. Thus, the dynamic characteristics of
these structural components play an important role in the prediction
of the overall dynamic response of the bridge. With the recent devel-
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opments in the formulation of the finite strip method, which is
achieved through the so-called integrated finite strip method (IFSM)
(Cheung et al. 2009; Shen et al. 2013; Naderian et al. 2015), it is sug-
gested that this method can be used for complete dynamic analysis of
long-span cable-stayed bridges. In a recent study (Shen et al. 2013),
the authors compared the computational times required by IFSM and
FEM analyses. For similar modeling and mesh conditions, a 10%
(approximately 24 min) timesaving was determined when perform-
ing the dynamic analysis of a medium-span slab-girder bridge by
IFSM (274 min) over that when performing a finite element analysis
(298 min). However, the number of sections for each strip in the inte-
grated finite strip mesh could be even further reduced, and conse-
quently, the computational timesaving will be greater. The reason for
such low computational time can be attributed to the semianalytical
nature of the IFSM model in the longitudinal direction, through
which the number of sections for each strip can be reduced consider-
ably without losing the accuracy of the outcomes. Moreover, the fi-
nite strip method can be programmed easily, such that only a limited
amount of the input data is needed. Considering that it was only a
simple case study, there is no doubt that for long-span cable-stayed
bridges, with an impressive number of DOF, the amount of computa-
tional timesaving is much more significant than that with finite ele-
ment dynamic analysis. Therefore, IFSM can provide simple means
for a rapid and accurate seismic analysis of long-span cable-stayed
bridges, with various types of end and interior supports. It is worth
mentioning that when applied to most structural problems, IFSM
yields a relatively narrowband matrix of a small-to-moderate size;
thus, it requires little computational effort. In IFSM, the different
structural elements of a long-span cable-stayed bridge—such as the
bridge deck, the piers, the towers, and the cables—are represented by
different types of strips, and a perfect connection between them
needs to be defined to model the entire bridge as an integrated system.
In the current research, the flat shell spline finite strip is used for mod-
eling the deck, whereas the column strip has been developed for mod-
eling the piers and the towers (pylons). On the basis of the column
strip, the so-called cable strip is proposed for modeling the cables.
Last, a so-called transition section has been developed so that differ-
ent structural components can be connected together. The IFSM has
the order continuity C2 because it uses B3-splines, which are piece-
wise cubic polynomials with continuity over the entire interval up to
the second derivative. It should be noted that the same order continu-
ity C2 in FEM can be achieved only if a fifth-order polynomial is
introduced for the interpolation. In common FEMs, the order conti-
nuity is usually C0 or C1. It means that more grid points and conse-
quently more iterations are needed to ensure the convergence of the
results for the nonlinear terms in FEM.
In terms of dynamic analysis and design of long-span bridges, par-
ticular considerations should be made regarding the safety criteria dur-
ing extreme earthquakes and wind events. In recent decades, many
researchers have achieved great fundamental progress in promoting
the seismic random analysis of long-span structures and their
© ASCE 04015068-2
J. Bridge Eng., 2016, 21(3): 04015068
engineering applications (Lee and Penzien 1983; Dumanoglu and
Severn 1990; Lin et al. 1990; Berrah and Kausel 1992; Kiureghian
and Neuenhofer 1992; Heredia-Zavoni and Vanmarcke 1994). In the
area of finite strip dynamic analysis, Cheung and Cheung (1971) first
proposed the finite strip solution for the free vibration analysis of thin-
walled structures with different boundary conditions. Dawe (2002)
performed extensive research on the use of both conventional and
spline finite strip methods, for determining the behavior of composite
laminated, prismatic plate, and shell structures, based on the thin plate
theory. The same study used the finite strip method to analyze natural
frequencies of single-span and multispan structures and to estimate
the transient response to dynamic loading for flat plates. Wang and
Zhang (2005) introduced a layerwise B-spline finite strip method for
free vibration analysis of both thick and thin composite laminated
plates. In this method, the composite laminated plates are divided into
a number of layers along the thickness direction. In the area of aerody-
namics, the finite strip method was extended to flutter analysis of
long-span cable-stayed bridges by Lau et al. (2000) and Cheng et al.
(2003). However, the extension is not a pure finite strip solution, but,
rather, a combination with the FEM. Free vibration analysis of arbitra-
rily shaped plates and shells was performed by Li (1988) and Cheung et
al. (1988). Cheung et al. (2009) and Shen et al. (2013) introduced the
integrated finite strip solution for dynamic analysis of slab-girder and
box-girder bridges in the framework of frequency domain method.
In the environment of IFSM, this paper deals with time history
analysis of long-span cable-stayed bridges under seismic load effects.
First, the derivation of the dynamic properties of a long-span cable-
stayed bridge, including stiffness, mass, and damping matrices, by
IFSM is briefly presented. Using the stiffness and mass matrices
derived from IFSM, the time history analysis of cable-stayed bridges
is performed by using the Newmark scheme. The Newmark method
is a powerful technique for solving the dynamic problems within the
time history environment, which is used and explained in this paper.
The accuracy of the integrated finite strip solution in dynamic anal-
ysis of long-span cable-stayed bridges is evaluated by comparing the
natural frequencies of the Kap Shui Mun (KSM) Bridge with those
obtained by FEM and with the natural frequencies reported from the
field-test measurements (Lau et al. 1999). In addition, the effects of
uniform, nonuniform, and varying seismic excitations on structural
behavior of the KSM Bridge are investigated. The numerical results
show that the convergence and accuracy of IFSM in dynamic analysis
of long-span cable-stayed bridges is very high, which confirms the ef-
ficiency and capability of this numerical technique.
Dynamic Properties Estimation Using IFSM
For extensive structural systems with numerous DOF, the finite strip
method is one of the most efficient methods for the structural analysis
of bridges; reduced computational time with no effect on affecting
the degree of accuracy has been reported. Therefore, the finite strip
method is an ideal platform for the traditional time-consuming
dynamic analysis of long-span bridges. Cheung et al. (2009) and
Shen et al. (2013) recently introduced an IFSM for analyzing multi-
span continuous slab-on-girder and box-girder bridges by modeling
the bridge deck, the piers, and the bearings together so that the inter-
actions between piers and decks can be considered in the analysis.
The method has been extended to the analysis of long-span cable-
stayed bridges by developing other types of strips as well. The IFSM
has been successfully applied to static and free vibration analysis of
long-span cable-stayed bridges (Naderian et al. 2015).
By representing the entire bridge as a single integrated system,
the actual dynamic behavior of the bridge can be studied, and the
interactions between different structural components can also be
J. Bridge Eng.
 four DOF, three translational u, v, and w, and one rotation u . The
total potential energy of a flat shell strip may be obtained from alge-
braic summation of the in-plane and out-of-plane deformations.
The displacement parameter vector of a shell spline strip cen-
tered at ym is given by

fd gm ¼ ½uim ; vim ; wim ; u im ; ujm ; vjm ; wjm ; u jm T (1)

The IFSM is based on the use of unequally spaced B3-spline

functions, through which the transition section is developed for con-
Fig. 1. Flat shell spline finite strip necting different structural components together. Moreover, it
allows the locations of the supports and the concentrated load to
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coincide with the knots on the nodal lines, thus leading to more
considered. In the following subsection, the development of the accurate results. Also, the introduction of unequally spaced interior
dynamic properties of a long-span cable-stayed bridge using IFSM knots enables one to describe the accurate response in the region of
is briefly presented. high-stress gradients, or at the locations of abrupt geometric
changes, by spacing the knots more closely. The unequally spaced
B3-spline function centered at ym can be expressed as
Displacement Functions 8
>
> 0 y < ym2
>
>
The displacement of a strip in the IFSM is obtained by applying B3- >
> Am ðy  ym2 Þ3 ym2  y < ym1
spline functions (Prenter 1975) in the longitudinal direction. For the >
< A ðy  y Þ3 þ C ðy  y Þ3
m m2 m m1 ym1  y < ym
transverse direction, the concept was adapted from the FEM, in Um ðyÞ ¼
>
> B ðy  yÞ 3
þ D ðy  yÞ 3
ym  y < ymþ1
which the cubic polynomials are used to represent the transverse >
>
m mþ2 m mþ1
>
> B ðy  yÞ 3
ymþ1  y < ymþ2
shape function of the strip. The same approach is used by the spline >
:
m mþ2
0 y y
finite strip method. mþ2

Assuming that the bridge deck is a shell structure, both in-plane (2)
and out-of-plane DOF are included in the analysis. A flat shell
spline strip is shown in Fig. 1, in which each knot of a nodal line has in which

Am ¼ ½ðymþ1  ym2 Þðym  ym2 Þðym1  ym2 Þ1

Bm ¼ ½ðymþ2  ym1 Þðymþ2  ym Þðymþ2  ymþ1 Þ1

Cm ¼ ðymþ2  ym2 Þ½ðymþ2  ym1 Þðymþ1  ym1 Þðym  ym1 Þðym1  ym2 Þ1

Dm ¼ ðymþ2  ym2 Þ½ðymþ1  ym2 Þðymþ1  ym1 Þðymþ1  ym Þðymþ2  ymþ1 Þ1 (3)

The membrane displacement functions u and v and the flex- equations are cubic Hermite polynomial functions used for vertical
ural displacement function w are expressed as the product of displacement variation and linear interpolation for in-plane dis-
transverse polynomials and longitudinal B3-splines, as in the placements as
following:
N1 ¼ 1  X; N2 ¼ X; N3 ¼ 1  3X 2 þ 2X 3 ;
X
rþ1
u¼ ðN1 U1m ðyÞuim þ N2 U5m ðyÞujm Þ (4)
m¼1 N4 ¼ xð1  2X þ X 2 Þ; N5 ¼ ð3X 2  2X 3 Þ (7)

X
rþ1 where X ¼ x=b. ½U1m  to ½U8m  are row matrices, and each matrix
v¼ ðN1 U2m ðyÞvim þ N2 U6m ðyÞvjm Þ (5) has (m þ 3) local B3-splines. ½U1m , ½U2m , ½U5m , and ½U6m  are
m¼1 related to displacements u and v of nodal lines i and j, respec-
tively, whereas ½U3m , ½U4m , ½U7m , and ½U8m  are related to dis-
X
rþ1 placement w.
w¼ ðN3 U3m ðyÞwim þ N4 U4m ðyÞu im þ N5 U7m ðyÞwjm The cantilever behavior of the piers and the towers is modeled
m¼1 by using the so-called column strip, which is similar to the flat shell
spline finite strip. However, this is modeled as a vertical strip fixed
at one end, for providing the support boundary conditions, and free
þ N6 U8m ðyÞu jm Þ (6) at the other end, as shown in Fig. 2. In fact, the global z-direction of
the column strip is similar to the local y-direction in the flat shell
where r = total number of longitudinal sections on a nodal line. spline finite strip, which is controlled by the in-plane stiffness, in
Transverse shape functions adopted in the aforementioned the corresponding direction, whereas the global v-direction of the

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J. Bridge Eng., 2016, 21(3): 04015068

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Fig. 2. Column strip in local coordinate system (data from Cheung et
al. 2009)
column strip is similar to the local z-direction of the shell spline fi-
nite strip. With the assumed displacement functions and the preset
boundary conditions, the shape function of the column strip can be
developed by using the traditional finite element concepts.
Sometimes a one-dimensional (1D) column strip is more ap-
plicable in modeling piers and towers because it has only one
nodal line and is similar to the beam element used in the FEM.
Each knot belonging to the nodal line has three translational
DOF. Consequently, the displacement function can be defined as
X
rþ1
u¼ um Um ðzÞ (8)
m¼1
X
rþ1
w¼ wm Um ðzÞ (9)
m¼1
X
rþ1
v¼ vm Um ðzÞ (10)
m¼1
For the displacement–strain relationships, only the bending in the ver-
tical and transverse directions and the axial stress are considered, whereas
the shear stress and torsional moment are assumed to be negligible,
because the amount of these forces are very low in a 1D column strip.
To model the cables in the finite strip environment, the cable
strip is developed, which is a simplified version of the 1D column
strip. In general, a cable can only resist against the axial tension
stresses. Therefore, only the axial stress defines the strain–displace-
ment relationship for a cable strip.
It should be noted that all the strips in the finite strip method
must come with the preset boundary conditions. There are some
techniques, such as the penalty method for considering the end
boundary conditions of the strips, that can be simply applied to fi-
nite strip modeling (Cheung et al. 1996).
Modeling the Transition Section
With the concept of elements and nodes in the FEM, there is no par-
ticular difficulty in adding other elements to the bridge deck and con-
necting them together. However, the concept element in the longitu-
dinal direction is not defined in the ordinary finite strip method or in
the spline finite strip method. To solve this problem, a special transi-
tion section was developed within the IFSM and is applied to connect
© ASCE 04015068-4
J. Bridge Eng., 2016, 21(3): 04015068
Fig. 3. Transition section (data from Shen et al. 2013)
different components of a complicated structure, such as a long-span
cable-stayed bridge. As previously mentioned, the transition section
is developed by using unequally spaced B3-spline functions.
Moreover, the bearings can be modeled as special boundary condi-
tions for the transition section. A typical transition section connect-
ing two different components is shown in Fig. 3. Not losing general-
ization, it is assumed that the width of the normal and the transition
sections are H and h, respectively. For instance, the vertical line can
be called a nodal line on the pier strip and the horizontal line can be
called a nodal line on the deck strip. The vertical and horizontal lines
overlap at Knots 3 and 8 of the deck and the pier strips, respectively.
To model a fixed bearing, which allows rotations but restricts transla-
tions, for example, Knots 3 and 8 should have the same displacement
value to achieve compatibility. To have identical displacement at
Knots 3 and 8, the ratio of h=H should be infinitely small. Using the
developed transition section in the spline finite strip procedure, the
compatibility for displacements of different components of the struc-
ture is satisfied.
Stiffness, Mass, and Damping Matrices
After defining the displacement functions for all the structural mem-
bers of the long-span cable-stayed bridge, in the environment of
IFSM, the stiffness [k] and mass [m] matrices of different compo-
nents can be calculated by using the standard finite element proce-
dure, which will be applied in the following form:
ð
½k ¼ ½BTi ½D½Bj dA (11)
ð
½m ¼ r t½NTi ½Nj dA (12)
in which r = density of the strip, and t = thickness of the strip;
[D] and [B] are the elastic matrix and the strain matrix, respec-
tively; and [N] is the shape function matrix. Similar to the FEM,
the IFSM strip properties are converted to nodal properties during
the model formulation process, although the number of nodes
required are significantly reduced because of the semianalytical na-
ture of the IFSM method. Thus, the derived matrices can be
assembled using the standard assembling techniques, making the
global stiffness matrix [K] and the global mass matrix [M] of the
bridge.
There are different methods for evaluating the damping matrix
[C] (Humar 2012). In this research, the classic Rayleigh damping is
J. Bridge Eng.
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Fig. 4. KSM Bridge (data from Naderian et al. 2015)

Table 1. Material Properties of the Bridge Deck (data from Naderian

supports. The RSM is widely known for seismic analysis of
et al. 2015)
short-span bridges, because they are assumed to be under uni-
Mechanical property Main span Side spans form excitations (De Silva 2005). It has been further extended
for the seismic analysis of long-span structures. Nevertheless, the
Modulus of elasticity (kPa) 2:00  10 8
3:00  107
RSM needs more improvements to reach perfect accuracy and
Mass density (kg/m3) 3,880 3,630
efficiency.
Poisson’s ratio 0.3 0.2
The second group is named the deterministic methods, such as
Moment of inertia (vertical) (m4) 191 363
the time history method (THM). The THM is the most popular
Moment of inertia (transverse) (m4) 2,530 5,560
method for dynamic analysis of complex bridge structures and can
be applied to the seismic analysis of long-span bridges without the-
oretical difficulties. However, it requires a perfect selection of
adopted, in which the damping matrix of the bridge [C] is a function ground acceleration record samples for solving the dynamic equa-
of stiffness and mass matrices of the bridge as tions. The numerical results are then processed statistically to pro-
½C ¼ a½M þ b ½K (13) duce the quantities required by the design requirements (De Silva
2005). The computational cost is very high for the THM, especially
if it is performed in the environment of the FEM. Using the finite
where a and b are the Rayleigh damping factors, which can be strip method, it is believed that time history analysis costs much
investigated by having two structural damping ratios j associated less.
with two specific frequencies. The damping ratio of j , the nth mode The dynamic motion equation of a discrete bridge structure is
of a structure, is given by
written as
1 vn
jn ¼ aþ b (14) ½Mfd€ ðtÞg þ ½Cfd_ ðtÞg þ ½Kfd ðtÞg ¼ fPðtÞg (15)
2v n 2
where fd ðtÞg = relative displacement parameter vector; ½C =
Assuming the same damping ratio j for two different modes,
damping matrix; and fPðtÞg = external force vector. For a linear
a and b can be calculated.
multi-DOF structure subjected to uniform ground acceleration exci-
tation €x g ðtÞ, the equation of motion is expressed as
Time History Analysis
½Mfd€ ðtÞg þ ½Cfd_ ðtÞg þ ½Kfd ðtÞg ¼ ½Me€x g ðtÞ (16)
There are two groups of numerical methods used for dynamic
and seismic analysis of long-span bridges subjected to spatially where e is a vector indicating the DOF influenced by the ground
varying earthquake ground motion. The first group is called sto- motion. For a long-span bridge discretized by the IFSM and sub-
chastic methods and includes the random vibration method jected to differential ground motions, the dynamic equation of
(RVM) and the response spectrum method (RSM). RVM is motion in the global coordinate system is given by the following
based on a statistical characterization of the set of motions at the formulation:

          
Ms Msb d€s ðtÞ þ
Cs Csb d_ s ðtÞ þ
Ks Ksb d s ðtÞ
¼
0
(17)
T
Msb Mb d€b ðtÞ T
Csb Cb d_ b ðtÞ T
Ksb Kb d b ðtÞ Pb ðtÞ

in which the subscripts b and s represent the master (support dis- and Pb ðtÞ is the reaction force vector. Ms , Cs , and Ks are the mass,
placements) and slave DOF of the long-span structure, respectively, damping, and stiffness matrices associated with the unrestrained

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J. Bridge Eng., 2016, 21(3): 04015068

 DOF d s , respectively; Mb , Cb , and Kb are mass, damping, and stiff- d s ¼ ys þ yr (18)
ness matrices associated with the restrained (support displacements)
DOF d b , respectively; and Msb , Csb , and Ksb are coupling mass, where ys and yr are pseudostatic and dynamic displacement vectors of
damping, and stiffness matrices, respectively. Moreover, d s , d_ s , d s , respectively. Moreover, ys satisfies the following relationship:
and d€s are absolute displacement, velocity, and acceleration vectors
of unrestrained DOF, respectively, whereas d b , d_ b , and d€b are abso- ys ¼ Ks1 Ksb d b (19)
lute displacement, velocity, and acceleration vectors of restrained
(support) DOF, respectively. It is worth mentioning that in a lumped- Substituting Eqs. (18) and (19) into Eq. (17) leads to
mass model, Msb is equal to zero in Eq. (17).
In nonuniform excitation, the absolute displacement vector d s is Ms€y r þ Cs y_ r þ Ks yr ¼ Ms Ks1 Ksb d€b þ ðCs Ks1 Ksb  Csb Þd_ b
decomposed into dynamic displacement and pseudostatic displace- (20)
ment as
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It should be noted that Eq. (20) cannot be reduced to the conven-

tional Eq. (16) when d b represents uniform ground displacements
(Clough and Penzien 1993). In fact, in Eq. (20), it is assumed that
the damping forces are dependent on the absolute velocity vector.
To eliminate this inconsistency, the damping forces should be
assumed to be dependent on the relative velocity vector fyr ; 0gT in
0T

Eq. (20), which leads to the following equation (De Silva 2005):

Ms€y r þ Cs y_ r þ Ks yr ¼ Ms Ks1 Ksb d€b (21)

or

Ms€y r þ Cs y_ r þ Ks yr ¼ Ms rd€b (22)

where

½r ¼ Ks1 Ksb (23)

Fig. 5. Geometrical properties of the deck: (a) top view; (b) front view
(data from Naderian et al. 2015) The matrix ½r is, in fact, the influence matrix that describes the
effect of the substructure on the superstructure.

Fig. 6. Towers of the KSM Bridge (data from Naderian et al. 2015)

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 There are different schemes for solving Eq. (16): the Newmark ½Mfd€ i g þ ½Cfd_ i g þ ½Kfd i g ¼ fPi g (24)
method, the Wilson u method (Clough and Penzien 1993), and the
precise integration method (Zhong and Williams 1995). In this
research, the time-stepping analysis in the framework of the
Newmark method, described in the following section, was applied. ½Mfd€ iþ1 g þ ½Cfd_ iþ1 g þ ½Kfd iþ1 g ¼ fPiþ1 g (25)

Newmark Scheme for Numeral Integration
Assuming that at t ¼ ti and t ¼ tiþ1 , the equations of motion can be
written as
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Using the Newmark method, similar to other types of time-step-
ping methods, the bridge responses at t ¼ tiþ1 can be predicted
under the condition that the responses at t ¼ ti and the loading at
both times are known.

Table 2. Natural Frequencies of the KSM Bridge

Natural frequency (Hz) Error (%)

a
Mode number IFSM (1) FEM (2) Field tests (3) Nature of mode shape [(1)-(2)/(2)] [(1)-(3)/(3)]
1 0.2113 0.2061 — First mode of the tower 2.5 —
2 0.2409 0.2338 — Second mode of the tower 3.0 —
3 0.4250 0.4226 0.39 First vertical bending of the deck 0.5 8.9
4 0.5217 0.5160 0.49 First lateral bending of the deck 2.1 6.4
5 0.7526 0.7179 0.83 First torsional mode of the deck 4.8 −9.3
6 0.8523 0.8500 0.66 Second vertical bending of the deck 0.2 29.1
7 0.9305 0.9257 0.90 Second lateral bending of the deck 0.5 3.3
8 1.0032 1.0023 1.07 Third vertical bending of the deck 0.0 −6.2
9 1.1381 1.1048 — Third mode of the tower 3.0 —
10 1.1391 1.1058 — Fourth mode of the tower 3.0 —
a
Lau et al. (1999).

Fig. 7. Some critical points for seismic response investigation

Fig. 8. (Color) Longitudinal acceleration responses under uniform sine wave excitation at Point F (see Fig. 7) at the top of the east tower

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 The responses at t ¼ tiþ2 ; tiþ3 ; tiþ4 ; ::: can be calculated using an
iteration process. As a result, the time history response of the bridge
is obtained. According to Eqs. (24) and (25), the number of
unknowns are more than the number of equations. For that reason,
further assumptions must be introduced so that all the unknown
responses can be solved.
As previously mentioned, there are a number of approximate
methods—such as the excitation interpolation method, the central
difference method, the Newmark method, and the Wilson u
method—that can be used for this purpose. In the present study,
the Newmark method is used; it is considered the most popular
method because of its ability to deal with nonlinear structures
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d_ iþ1 ¼ d_ i þ ½ð1  g ÞDtd€i þ ð g DtÞd€iþ1
  
1
d iþ1 ¼ d i þ Dtd_ i þ  λ Dt2 d€i þ ðλDt2 Þd€iþ1 (26)
2
where Dt = time increment, which is usually assumed to be a con-
stant from step to step as Dt ¼ tiþ1  ti . The time increment Dt is
generally assumed to be less than 1% of the period of the system. In
Eq. (26), g and λ are Newmark parameters that define the variation
of the acceleration over a time step and determine the accuracy and
stability of the method (Chang 2004). For the Newmark parameters,
g ¼ 0:5 and 1=6 < λ < 1=4 are the typical values. A mathemati-

and structures with multiple DOF (Chang 2004).

The assumption that d_ iþ1 and d iþ1 are related to d€ iþ1 ; d i ; d_ i cally different set of parameters is assigned, depending on the vari-
and d€ i is made, as ous physical interpretations. Some examples are introduced next.

Fig. 9. (Color) Longitudinal displacement responses under uniform sine wave excitation at Point F (see Fig. 7) at the top of the east tower

Fig. 10. (Color) The acceleration record of Chichi earthquake

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 In the case of the average acceleration, in which the acceleration 1 1 _ 1
Dd€ i ¼ Dd i  d i  d€i
between ti and tiþ1 is considered the average of d€i and d€iþ1 , the λDt2 λDt 2λ
Newmark parameters are g ¼ 0:5 and λ ¼ 0:25. In the linear accel-
eration, the acceleration between ti and tiþ1 varies linearly between 1
d€i and d€iþ1 , and the Newmark parameters are g ¼ 0:5 and Dd i ¼ Dtd_ i þ Dt2 d€i þ ðλDt2 ÞDd€i (30)
2
λ ¼ 1=6. The Newmark time history analysis has an incremental
form. Subtracting Eq. (25) from Eq. (24) leads to Substituting Eq. (30) into Eq. (27) leads to
MDd€i þ CDd_ i þ KDd i ¼ DPi (27) ^ Dd i ¼ DP
K ^i (31)

in which the response and the force increments are given by in which
Dd€i ¼ d€iþ1  d€i ; Dd_ i ¼ d_ iþ1  d_ i ; Dd i ¼ d iþ1  d i
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(28)
^ ¼Kþ g Cþ 1 M
K (32)
λDt λDt2
Using the defined increments, Eq. (26) can be rewritten as
    
Dd_ i ¼ Dtd€i þ ð g DtÞDd€i (29) M gC _ M g
^ i ¼ DPi þ
DP þ di þ þ Dt  1 d€i (33)
or λDt λ 2λ 2λ

Fig. 11. (Color) Transverse acceleration responses under uniform Chichi earthquake excitation at Point B (see Fig. 7) on the deck

Fig. 12. (Color) Transverse displacement responses under uniform Chichi earthquake excitation at Point B (see Fig. 7) on the deck

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 The displacement increment Dd i can be obtained through Eq.
(31), whereas the acceleration and velocity increments are obtained
from Eq. (30).
The time history response of the bridge estimated by the Newmark
method can be programmed by using programming languages or tech-
nical software. In the present research, MATLAB software was used
because it has numerous mathematical subroutines for scientific com-
putation, including the present problem (Chang 2004).
Numerical Studies
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total length of 750 m and a main span of 430 m. The KSM Bridge is
located between the islands of Lantau and Mawan and is the world’s
longest cable-stayed bridge that carries both road and railway traf-
fic. The bridge structure includes two concrete towers 145 and 133
m in height; four concrete piers—namely, 1, 2, 3, and 4—24.8,
32.9, 16.9, and 26.8 m in length, respectively; 176 cables; bearings;
and one deck. To investigate the response of the bridge under seis-
mic loading, in the current research, the bridge model is simplified
with a number of assumptions, which are explained in the following
sections.
Finite Strip Modeling of the Bridge

General
The main span of the KSM Bridge consists of a composite steel/
As a case study, the KSM Bridge in Hong Kong was selected (Fig. concrete structure. The side spans are made of concrete box girders.
4). It is a massive long-span cable-stayed bridge structure with a Here, the deck is modeled as a flat shell in the integrated finite strip

Fig. 13. (Color) Longitudinal acceleration at Point E (see Fig. 7) at the west tower for velocity = 500 m/s

Fig. 14. (Color) Longitudinal acceleration at Point E (see Fig. 7) at the west tower for velocity = 1,000 m/s

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 environment. The material properties considered for the bridge
model, listed in Table 1, were used as reported by Zhang et al.
(2001), and the geometrical properties are illustrated in Fig. 5. The
deck is divided into four shell spline strips, and all the strips are di-
vided into several sections. The lengths of the sections vary along
the deck so that the locations of the knots will match the ends of
cables.
The strip meshing of the towers is shown in Fig. 6. The 1D column
strip is adopted for the tower structures in the finite strip model. In each
tower there are three struts, which link the upper, intermediate, and
lower parts of the towers. The link beams are rigid, and all six DOF of
the joints should be restrained. However, in the 1D column strip, each
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strip model. It should be noted that all the cables are prestressed by con-
verting the thermal loads into equivalent tension forces applied at the
two ends of the strips.
Verification of the Integrated Approach
To validate the IFSM for the dynamic analysis of a long-span cable-
stayed bridge, the first 10 natural frequencies of the KSM Bridge are
obtained (listed in Table 2). The first two vibration modes of the
bridge occur in the towers, and the next modes are vertical bending
of the deck, lateral bending of the deck, and torsional mode. The fi-
nite strip results are compared with those obtained by FEM as well

knot has only three translational DOF, and the rotational DOF are not
taken into account. The four piers of the bridge are also modeled by 1D
column strips. The boundary conditions for the towers and the piers are
all fixed at the connection with the ground. The 176 cables are assumed
to be linear elastic elements and are modeled by a cable strip in the finite
as field measurement tests for vibration of the deck (Lau et al. 1999).
The finite element analysis was performed by SAP2000 software. In
the SAP model, the deck is modeled as thin shell elements, the piers
and the towers are modeled as beam elements, and for the cables,
truss elements are assigned. As can be seen clearly in Table 2, there

Fig. 15. (Color) Longitudinal acceleration at Point E (see Fig. 7) at the west tower for velocity = infinite

Fig. 16. (Color) Longitudinal displacement at Point E (see Fig. 7) at the west tower for velocity = 500 m/s

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 is very good agreement between the results, which confirms the ac-
curacy of the IFSM in terms of dynamic analysis. Slightly higher
values for the natural frequencies were found when using the IFSM,
especially for two mode shapes, the first lateral mode and the first
torsional mode of the deck. The maximum error percentage when
comparing the natural frequencies obtained from the IFSM with
those from the finite element analysis was 4.8%, whereas when com-
paring the same results with the field measurement test data, the
maximum error percentage was less than 10%, except for the second
vertical bending mode of the deck, for which the measurements
showed considerable difference between the results. Thus, the regis-
tered data are questionable (Lau et al. 1999). In general, the field
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modes; therefore, they were not reflected in the field measurement
data, which considered only the deck vibration measurements.
Natural frequencies of long-span cable-stayed bridges have a
major effect on the bridge dynamic performance. Therefore, high
consistency of the natural frequencies is very important; moreover,
good agreement between the results confirms that the IFSM is capa-
ble of capturing the bridge dynamic characteristics. Consequently,
the seismic analysis of long-span cable-stayed bridges can be per-
formed in a very efficient manner.
Seismic Analysis

measurements resulted in values for the natural frequencies of the

KSM Bridge (Lau et al. 1999) that were slightly lower than those Several case studies are performed for the seismic analysis of the
obtained with both numerical methods, IFSM and FEM. The first two KSM Bridge using the time domain method within the IFSM environ-
modes reported by the IFSM and the FEM were bending tower ment. Moreover, the results are validated against finite element

Fig. 17. (Color) Longitudinal displacement at Point E (see Fig. 7) at the west tower for velocity = 1,000 m/s

Fig. 18. (Color) Longitudinal displacement at Point E (see Fig. 7) at the west tower for velocity = infinite

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 analysis for some of the cases analyzed. To investigate the seismic
response of KSM Bridge, certain critical points for which the dis-
placements and stresses can be problematic for the structure are
selected as shown in Fig. 7. The dynamic analysis results for these
locations are evaluated and plotted in the following subsections.
In the finite element SAP model, the direct integration method
was adopted when performing the dynamic analysis.
Seismic Wave Effect on Long-Span Cable-Stayed Bridge
at different supports at different times. The incoherence effect refers
to the loss of coherence of seismic waves due to multiple reflection
and refraction waves, as they propagate through the highly inhomo-
geneous soil medium. Also, the change in the amplitude and fre-
quency content of seismic ground motion, because of different local
soil conditions, is known as local effect (Saxena et al. 2000). The
wave-passage effect is of particular importance for the seismic
response of long-span bridges, whereas the incoherence effect is of
comparatively less importance (De Silva 2005).

In the category of short-span bridges, all supports can be assumed

Seismic Behavior under Uniform Excitation
to move uniformly (uniform excitation) under seismic loads. In con-
trast, various spatial effects, such as the wave-passage effect, the As the simplest case, all the DOF in the corresponding direction
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incoherence effect, and the local site effect, may play an important vibrate under the same ground motion. An artificial sine wave and a
role in the seismic response of the long-span bridges. The wave-pas- real seismic wave are selected and applied to the bridge structure,
sage effect is a dynamic phenomenon in which seismic waves arrive and their effects are investigated using the IFSM.

Fig. 19. (Color) Vertical components of seismic waves: (a) Input 1; (b) Input 2

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 Under the effect of the sine wave ground acceleration, the longi-
tudinal acceleration and the displacement output results at Point F
in the east tower of the KSM Bridge are obtained (shown in Figs. 8
and 9, respectively), and they are compared with the finite element
time history analysis results. Perfect agreement can be seen between
the results of IFSM and those of FEM for the time history analysis
under uniform excitation. As seen from the curves, the amplitude of
both displacements and accelerations are increasing, and the rate of
the increase in the first 10 s is higher than for the following time
intervals. However, the amplitude of acceleration and displacement
responses obtained from the finite strip time history analysis are
slightly higher than the finite element results.
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earthquake were not uniform. According to Figs. 11 and 12, the maxi-
mum displacements and the maximum accelerations were encoun-
tered in the period between 15 and 20 s. It is worth noting that the
amount of displacement registered before this period was very low,
consistent with the low-acceleration input of the Chichi earthquake
for the same time interval. Again, the numerical results from both
FEM and IFSM for time history analysis are in very good agreement.
Seismic Behavior under Nonuniform Excitation
When considering nonuniform excitation of long-span bridges, dif-
ferent motions should be prescribed at different supports. Using the
integrated finite strip and time domain methods, the effects of

As further research, the Chichi earthquake, a real earthquake wave

(plotted in Fig. 10), is assigned to all DOF of the KSM Bridge in the
transverse direction. The same analysis approach is used in both
IFSM and FEM, and the transverse acceleration and displacement
results at Point B in the deck of the KSM Bridge are calculated and
shown in Figs. 11 and 12, respectively. In contrast with the sine wave
excitation (Figs. 8 and 9), the seismic responses under Chichi
wave-passage and varying seismic excitations as the samples of
nonuniform excitations applied to KSM Bridge model are studied.
Wave-Passage Effect
The wave-passage effect accounts for the time delay in ground motions,
because the seismic waves do not arrive at bridge foundations at the

Fig. 20. (Color) Longitudinal components of seismic waves: (a) Input 1; (b) Input 2

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 same time, especially for massive structures, such as a long-span
bridge, in which the distances between the piers and the towers are
long. Wave-passage or out-of-phase effects occur where nonvertical
waves reach different points at the ground surface at different times
and produce a time shift between the motions at these points.
The Chichi earthquake wave is adopted as the input source; how-
ever, for the parametric study, the velocities of the earthquake
waves are assumed to be 500 and 1,000 m/s in the longitudinal
direction. The earthquake wave is assumed to start propagating
from the first west pier, and afterward, the ground motion will be
transmitted to the following towers and piers one by one. In the
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finite strip model, this is achieved by inputting the seismic waves
with different time lags at the various supports. An earthquake
wave with infinite velocity is also adopted, which means that there
is no time lag when transmitting the seismic wave between different
supports, which is equivalent to the uniform excitation.
After applying the nonuniform excitation from Chichi earth-
quake in the longitudinal direction, but with different wave veloc-
ities, the acceleration and displacement responses of Point E, situ-
ated at the top of the west tower, are determined as depicted in
Figs. 13–18. Looking at seismic curves, it can be seen that the
maximum responses were encountered when the bridge was under

Fig. 21. (Color) Vertical displacement responses at Point A (see Fig. 7) on the deck: Input 1 þ Input 1 (see Fig. 19)

Fig. 22. (Color) Vertical displacement responses at Point A (see Fig. 7) on the deck: Input 2 þ Input 2 (see Fig. 19)

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 the effect of uniform excitation (Figs. 15 and 18). Furthermore,
the maximum amplitudes of displacement and acceleration are
identified in the period between 15 and 20 s for all velocities
investigated. It can be concluded that under uniform excitation,
the displacements and the accelerations of the bridge are higher
than those of nonuniform excitation. As the velocity of the earth-
quake waves increases, the amplitude of the accelerations
increases. According to Figs. 16 and 17, the maximum displace-
ment recorded at Point E decreases when the velocity increases
from 500 to 1,000 m/s.
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Seismic Excitation
In the THM, the numerical results are highly dependent on the
selected ground acceleration sample records. To investigate the
dynamic behavior of a long-span cable-stayed bridge under varying
seismic excitation at the supports, the earthquake records from Strong
Motion Array in Taiwan, Phase I (SMART-1) are used. SMART-1 is
a dense digital array of strong motion seismographs built by the
Institute of Earth Sciences (Taiwan) and the University of California
at Berkeley. The earthquake records in SMART-1 are the raw data
observed at different places during an earthquake event. Therefore,

Fig. 23. (Color) Vertical displacement responses at Point A (see Fig. 7) on the deck: Input 1 þ Input 2 (see Fig. 19)

Fig. 24. (Color) Longitudinal displacement responses at Point G (see Fig. 7) on the east tower: Input 1 þ Input 1 (see Fig. 20)

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 the records have already included the influence of the incoherence
effect, attenuation effect, and site effect. Two acceleration records,
Input 1 and Input 2, observed at two places at a distance of 1,000 m
apart, are used. The vertical and longitudinal components of both
acceleration records are illustrated in Figs. 19 and 20, respectively.
Three analysis cases are undertaken. For the first and second
cases, Input 1 and Input 2 are assigned to the entire bridge at the
supports. Thus, these two cases correspond to the uniform excita-
tion. In the third case, Input 1 is applied to the two west piers and
the tower of the KSM Bridge, whereas Input 2 is applied to the two
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east piers and the east tower. The vertical displacement response at
Point A, in the middle of the deck, and the longitudinal displace-
ment response at Point G, at the top of the east tower, were obtained
and are presented in Figs. 21–23 and Figs. 24–26, respectively.
Thus, the seismic response in different case studies can be com-
pared, and it can be witnessed that under uniform excitations (Figs.
21, 22, 24, and 25), the numbers of displacements at Points A and G
are higher than those obtained from nonuniform excitation (Figs. 23
and 26). In almost all cases, the displacement is zero at the targeted
points from the start time to t = 5 s. Also, the maximum

Fig. 25. (Color) Longitudinal displacement responses at Point G (see Fig. 7) at the east tower: Input 2 þ Input 2 (see Fig. 20)

Fig. 26. (Color) Longitudinal displacement responses at Point G (see Fig. 7) at the east tower: Input 1 þ Input 2 (see Fig. 20)

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 displacements occur in the period between 10 and 15 s. It seems that
in all three cases, the displacement curves are converging to zero.
Conclusions
The present research was performed in the environment of the
IFSM for seismic analysis of long-span cable-stayed bridges. Using
the integrated system, the dynamic properties of the whole bridge
can be derived by using the finite strip method. Current practice of
using the finite strip methods for performing dynamic analysis is
limited to investigation of the bridge superstructure, subjected to
simulated boundary conditions over the pier supports and cables.
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Subsequently, the interactions between the bridge deck (superstruc-
ture) and the other components could not be considered when using
the conventional finite strip methods. By using the finite strip solu-
tion proposed in the current research, the entire bridge can be mod-
eled as an integrated system, in which the structural interactions
between the structural elements can be considered also.
In this study, the development of the IFSM was briefly pre-
sented. Using the stiffness and mass matrices derived from IFSM,
the time history analysis of cable-stayed bridges was performed by
the Newmark method. The proposed dynamic finite strip analysis
was formulated and programmed by comprehensive computer lan-
guages and programs, including Cþþ and MATLAB. The accuracy
of the proposed technique was evaluated by comparing the natural
frequencies of the KSM Bridge obtained by the finite strip method
with those obtained by FEM, and those reported from the field-test
measurements, and were found to be in very good agreement. The
difference in values was lower than 4.8 and 10%, respectively. The
seismic analysis of the KSM Bridge, under uninform and nonuni-
form excitations, used within the IFSM, showed that the displace-
ment and acceleration responses at different locations along the
bridge were higher for uniform earthquake excitations, which is
also consistent with the results obtained from the FEM analysis of
the same bridge.
The computational time is a very important factor in the seismic
analysis of long-span bridges. Because of the considerable reduction
in the DOF, the developed code for the IFSM is efficient enough in
complicated analyses of massive structures, such as dynamic analy-
sis of the KSM Bridge. Complete modeling of a long-span cable-
stayed bridge using IFSM and application of the time domain method
suggest that the seismic analysis of a complicated structure can be
performed in a minimal amount of time. The numerical results show
that the convergence and efficiency of the IFSM is very high in com-
parison with those of other numerical methods.
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