Bowstring Bridge: Suspension Removal and Base for Progressive Collapse Analysis

Abstract

AbstractThe following study presents one of the main challenges in structural engineering, which is the progressive collapse of steel bridges. This phenomenon can be triggered by multiple factors such as extreme or abnormal loading, a local lack of resistance, or a simple human error during design or construction. If not handled correctly, progressive collapse can lead to catastrophic disproportionate consequences. This paper is an initiation towards enhancing progressive collapse resistance of bridges; it will highlight major aspects related to structural failures: history and previous research, methods, and approaches to design bridges against progressive collapse. Finally, a case study on a bowstring bridge using Euro codes, the Alternative Load Path (ALP) method, and Numerical linear static analysis. The aim is to evaluate the steel structure’s behavior; particularly the variation of normal stress and displacement in different suspension removal case scenarios. The study leads to noticing the importance of proper spacing of suspension lines in a bridge, understanding the variation of stress and displacement in different scenarios, and finally the limitations of the static linear analysis and the requirement of further analysis such as quasi-static analysis, and non-linear dynamic procedure in the time domain.KeywordsSteel bridgesBridge responseProgressive collapse analysisStress behaviorDisplacement behaviorLinear analysisStatic analysisNumerical analysis