Stability Analysis of Curved Cable-Stayed Bridges

Abstract

This chapter investigates the stability behavior of a curved cable-stayed bridge with a variety of geometric parameters, including the radius of the curved bridge deck. In recent days, cable-stayed bridges have become more popular due to their pleasant aesthetic and their long span length. When the span length increases, cable-stayed bridges become more flexible than the conventional continuous bridges and therefore, their stability analysis is essential. A three-dimensional finite element model is used in which the eigen-buckling analysis is applied to find the minimum critical loads. The numerical results first indicate that as the radius of the bridge deck increases, the fundamental critical load decreases. Furthermore, as the radius of the curved bridge deck becomes greater than 500 m, the fundamental critical loads does not decrease significantly and they approach those of the bridge with straight bridge deck. The comparison of the results between the curved bridges with various radiuses and that of a straight bridge deck determines the curvature effects on stability analysis.