A new bridge-vehicle system part II: Parametric study

Chan, Tommy H.T.,Yu, Ling,Yung, T.H.,Chan, Jeffrey H.F. Techno-Press 2003 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.15 No.1

The formulation of a new bridge-vehicle system using shell with eccentric beam elements has been introduced in a companion paper (Part I). The new system takes into account of the contribution of the twisting and pitching modes of vehicles to the bridge responses. It can also be used to study the dynamic transverse load distribution of a bridge. This paper presents a parametric study on the impact induced by one vehicle or multi-vehicle running across a bridge using the proposed model. Several parameters were considered as variables including the mass ratio, the speed parameter, the frequency ratio and the axle spacing parameter to investigate their effects on the impact factor. A total number of 189 cases were carried out in this parametric study. Within the realistic range of vehicle considered, the maximum impact factors could be 2.24, 1.78 and 1.49 for bridges with spans 10 m, 20 m and 30 m respectively.

A new bridge-vehicle system part I: Formulation and validation

Chan, Tommy H.T.,Yu, Ling,Yung, T.H.,Chan, Jeffrey H.F. Techno-Press 2003 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.15 No.1

This paper presents the formulation of a new bridge-vehicle system with validation using the field data. Both pitching and twisting modes of the vehicle are considered in the contribution of the dynamic effects in the bridge responses. A heavy vehicle was hired as a control vehicle with known axle weight, axle spacing and spring coefficients. The measured responses were generated from the control vehicle running at a particular speed at a test span at Ma Tau Wai Flyover. The measured responses were acquired using strain gauges installed beneath the girder beams of the test bridge. The simulated responses were generated using BRVEAN that is a self-developed program based on the proposed bridge-vehicle system. The validation shows that the bridge model is valid for representing the test bridge and the governing equations are valid for representing the motion of moving vehicles.

Statistical models from weigh-in-motion data

Chan, Tommy H.T.,Miao, T.J.,Ashebo, Demeke B. Techno-Press 2005 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.20 No.1

This paper aims at formulating various statistical models for the study of a ten year Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) data collected from various WIM stations in Hong Kong. In order to study the bridge live load model it is important to determine the mathematical distributions of different load affecting parameters such as gross vehicle weights, axle weights, axle spacings, average daily number of trucks etc. Each of the above parameters is analyzed by various stochastic processes in order to obtain the mathematical distributions and the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method is adopted to calculate the statistical parameters, expected values and standard deviations from the given samples of data. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) method of approach is used to check the suitability of the statistical model selected for the particular parameter and the Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the distributions of maximum value stochastic processes of a series of given stochastic processes. Using the statistical analysis approach the maximum value of gross vehicle weight and axle weight in bridge design life has been determined and the distribution functions of these parameters are obtained under both free-flowing traffic and dense traffic status. The maximum value of bending moments and shears for wide range of simple spans are obtained by extrapolation. It has been observed that the obtained maximum values of the gross vehicle weight and axle weight from this study are very close to their legal limitations of Hong Kong which are 42 tonnes for gross weight and 10 tonnes for axle weight.

Use of vibration characteristics to predict the axial deformation of columns

H.N. Praveen Moragaspitiya,David P. Thambiratnam,Nimal J. Perera,Tommy H.T. Chan 국제구조공학회 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.50 No.1

Vibration characteristics of columns are influenced by their axial loads. Numerous methods have been developed to quantify axial load and deformation in individual columns based on their natural frequencies. However, these methods cannot be applied to columns in a structural framing system as the natural frequency is a global parameter of the entire framing system. This paper presents an innovative method to quantify axial deformations of columns in a structural framing system using its vibration characteristics, incorporating the influence of load tributary areas, boundary conditions and load migration among the columns.

The use of eccentric beam elements in the analysis of slab-on-girder bridges

Chan, Tommy H.T.,Chan, Jeffrey H.F. Techno-Press 1999 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.8 No.1

With the advent of computer, the finite element method has become a most powerful numerical method for structural analysis. However, bridge designers are reluctant to use it in their designs because of its complex nature and its being time consuming in the preparation of the input data and analyzing the results. This paper describes the development of a computer based finite element model using the idea of eccentric beam elements for the analysis of slab-on-girder bridges. The proposed method is supported by a laboratory test using a reinforced concrete bridge model. Other bridge analytical schemes are also introduced and compared with the proposed method. The main aim of the comparison is to prove the effectiveness of the shell and eccentric beam modelling in the studies of lateral load distribution of slab-on-girder bridges. It is concluded that the proposed finite element method gives a closer to real idealization and its developed computer program, SHECAN, is also very simple to use. It is highly recommended to use it as an analytical tool for the design of slab-on-girder bridges.

Statistical models from weigh-in-motion data

Tommy H.T. Chan,T. J. Miao,Demeke B. Ashebo 국제구조공학회 2005 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.20 No.1

This paper aims at formulating various statistical models for the study of a ten year Weighin-Motion (WIM) data collected from various WIM stations in Hong Kong. In order to study the bridge live load model it is important to determine the mathematical distributions of different load affecting parameters such as gross vehicle weights, axle weights, axle spacings, average daily number of trucks etc. Each of the above parameters is analyzed by various stochastic processes in order to obtain the mathematical distributions and the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method is adopted to calculate the statistical parameters, expected values and standard deviations from the given samples of data. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) method of approach is used to check the suitability of the statistical model selected for the particular parameter and the Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the distributions of maximum value stochastic processes of a series of given stochastic processes. Using the statistical analysis approach the maximum value of gross vehicle weight and axle weight in bridge design life has been determined and the distribution functions of these parameters are obtained under both free-flowing traffic and dense traffic status. The maximum value of bending moments and shears for wide range of simple spans are obtained by extrapolation. It has been observed that the obtained maximum values of the gross vehicle weight and axle weight from this study are very close to their legal limitations of Hong Kong which are 42 tonnes for gross weight and 10 tonnes for axle weight.

Evaluation of typhoon induced fatigue damage using health monitoring data for the Tsing Ma Bridge

Chan, Tommy H.T.,Li, Z.X.,Ko, J.M. Techno-Press 2004 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.17 No.5

This paper aims to evaluate the effect of typhoons on fatigue damage accumulation in steel decks of long-span suspension bridges. The strain-time histories at critical locations of deck sections of long-span bridges during different typhoons passing the bridge area are investigated by using on-line strain data acquired from the structural health monitoring system installed on the bridge. The fatigue damage models based on Miner's Law and Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) are applied to calculate the increment of fatigue damage due to the action of a typhoon. Accumulated fatigue damage during the typhoon is also calculated and compared between Miner's Law and the CDM method. It is found that for the Tsing Ma Bridge case, the stress spectrum generated by a typhoon is significantly different than that generated by normal traffic and its histogram shapes can be described approximately as a Rayleigh distribution. The influence of typhoon loading on accumulative fatigue damage is more significant than that due to normal traffic loading. The increment of fatigue damage generated by hourly stress spectrum for the maximum typhoon loading may be much greater than those for normal traffic loading. It is, therefore, concluded that it is necessary to evaluate typhoon induced fatigue damage for the purpose of accurately evaluating accumulative fatigue damage for long-span bridges located within typhoon prone regions.

Use of vibration characteristics to predict the axial deformation of columns

Moragaspitiya, H.N. Praveen,Thambiratnam, David P.,Perera, Nimal J.,Chan, Tommy H.T. Techno-Press 2014 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.50 No.1

Vibration characteristics of columns are influenced by their axial loads. Numerous methods have been developed to quantify axial load and deformation in individual columns based on their natural frequencies. However, these methods cannot be applied to columns in a structural framing system as the natural frequency is a global parameter of the entire framing system. This paper presents an innovative method to quantify axial deformations of columns in a structural framing system using its vibration characteristics, incorporating the influence of load tributary areas, boundary conditions and load migration among the columns.

An improved modal strain energy method for structural damage detection, 2D simulation

Parviz Moradipour,Tommy H.T. Chan,Chaminda Gallage 국제구조공학회 2015 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.54 No.1

Structural damage detection using modal strain energy (MSE) is one of the most efficient and reliable structural health monitoring techniques. However, some of the existing MSE methods have been validated for special types of structures such as beams or steel truss bridges which demands improving the available methods. The purpose of this study is to improve an efficient modal strain energy method to detect and quantify the damage in complex structures at early stage of formation. In this paper, a modal strain energy method was mathematically developed and then numerically applied to a fixed-end beam and a three-story frame including single and multiple damage scenarios in absence and presence of up to five per cent noise. For each damage scenario, all mode shapes and natural frequencies of intact structures and the first five mode shapes of assumed damaged structures were obtained using STRAND7. The derived mode shapes of each intact and damaged structure at any damage scenario were then separately used in the improved formulation using MATLAB to detect the location and quantify the severity of damage as compared to those obtained from previous method. It was found that the improved method is more accurate, efficient and convergent than its predecessors. The outcomes of this study can be safely and inexpensively used for structural health monitoring to minimize the loss of lives and property by identifying the unforeseen structural damages.

A new look at the restrictions on the speed and magnitude of train loads for bridge management

Aflatooni, Mehran,Chan, Tommy H.T.,Thambiratnam, David P. Techno-Press 2015 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.53 No.1

In current bridge management systems (BMSs), load and speed restrictions are applied on unhealthy bridges to keep the structure safe and serviceable for as long as possible. But the question is, whether applying these restrictions will always decrease the internal forces in critical components of the bridge and enhance the safety of the unhealthy bridges. To find the answer, this paper for the first time in literature, looks into the design aspects through studying the changes in demand by capacity ratios of the critical components of a bridge under the train loads. For this purpose, a structural model of a simply supported bridge, whose dynamic behaviour is similar to a group of real railway bridges, is developed. Demand by capacity ratios of the critical components of the bridge are calculated, to identify their sensitivity to increase of speed and magnitude of live load. The outcomes of this study are very significant as they show that, on the contrary to what is expected, by applying restriction on speed, the demand by capacity ratio of components may increase and make the bridge unsafe for carrying live load. Suggestions are made to solve the problem.