Influence of structural system measures on the dynamic characteristics of a multi-span cable-stayed bridge

Abstract

A three-dimensional finite element model for the Jiashao Bridge, the longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge in the world, is established using the commercial software package ANSYS. Dynamic characteristics of the bridge are analyzed and the effects of structural system measures including the rigid hinge, auxiliary piers and longitudinal constraints between the girders and side towers on the dynamic properties including modal frequency, mode shape and effective mass are studied by referring to the Jiashao Bridge. The analysis results reveal that: (i) the installation of the rigid hinge significantly reduces the modal frequency of the first symmetric lateral bending mode of bridge deck. Moreover, the rigid hinge significantly changes the mode shape and effective mass of the first symmetric torsional mode of bridge deck; (ii) the layout of the auxiliary piers in the side-spans has a limited effect on changing the modal frequencies, mode shapes and effective masses of global vibration modes; (iii) the employment of the longitudinal constraints significantly increases the modal frequencies of the vertical bending modes and lateral bending modes of bridge deck and have significant effects on changing the mode shapes of vertical bending modes and lateral bending modes of bridge deck. Moreover, the effective mass of the first anti-symmetric vertical bending of bridge deck in the longitudinal direction of the fully floating system is significantly larger than that of the partially constrained system and fully constrained system. The results obtained indicate that the structural system measures of the multi-span cable-stayed bridge have a great effect on the dynamic properties, which deserves special attention for seismic design and wind-resistant design of the multi-span cable-stayed bridge.