Abstract
Hinge joint damage is a typical form of damage occurring in simply supported slab bridges, which can present adverse effects on the overall force distribution of the structure. However, damage identification methods of hinge joint damage are still limited. In this study, a damage identification algorithm for simply supported hinged-slab bridges based on the modified hinge plate method (MHPM) and artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithms was proposed by considering the effect of hinge damage conditions on the lateral load distribution (LLD) of structures. Firstly, MHPM was proposed and demonstrated, which is based on a traditional hinge plate method by introducing relative displacement as a damage factor to simulate hinge joint damage. The effectiveness of MHPM was verified through comparison with the finite element method (FEM). Secondly, damage identification was treated as the inverse problem of calculating the LLD in damage conditions of simply supported slab bridges. Four ABC algorithms were chosen to solve the problem due to its simple structure, ease of implementation, and robustness. Comparisons of convergence speed and identification accuracy with genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization were also conducted. Finally, hinged bridges composed of four and seven slabs were studied as numerical examples to account for the feasibility and correctness of the proposed method. The simulation results revealed that the proposed algorithm could identify the location and degree of damaged joints efficiently and precisely.
Highlights
Under the influence of vehicle load and natural environmental erosion, structural damages inevitably occur, which can seriously affect the safety and durability of bridges
Hou et al [27] who utilized the glowworm swarm optimization algorithm (GSO), which was a new type of particle swarm optimization (PSO), to determine the optimal values of a photovoltaic system, and the results indicated the GSO was obviously superior to traditional algorithms
A damage identification algorithm based on a modified hinged plate method and improved artificial bee colony algorithms was proposed to identify the hinged joint damage of supported hinged-slab bridges
Summary
Under the influence of vehicle load and natural environmental erosion, structural damages inevitably occur, which can seriously affect the safety and durability of bridges. Structural damage identification has become an important part of bridge maintenance and reinforcement. Prefabricated reinforced concrete (RC) bridges have become widely used because of their advantages such as higher quality and shorter construction period, etc. As a typical prefabricated RC bridge, most hinged-slab bridges were built decades ago. According to the investigations of more than 500 bridges for expressways in Jilin Province, the maximum proportion of hinge joint damage was 83.3% on the Changchun–Siping Expressway (in operation since 1996)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
