Abstract
A new concept for passive control of bridges based on prestressed tendon systems is proposed and studied in this paper. It consists of a two-level prestressing cables system whereas permanent (dead) loads are relieved by the first level prestressing cables and moving loads together with excessive displacements are supported by the second level prestressing system. Advantages of using this system instead of classical active and passive control schemes are discussed. The structural analysis problem with the prestressed tendon controllers is formulated as an optimal control problem for structures governed by variational inequalities. Exact and simplified solution methods are considered. An engineering oriented design method is proposed and demonstrated by means of a numerical example.
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