Search

The dynamic characteristics of bridge structures are important in wind stability analysis, seismic design, fatigue assessment, health inspection, and maintenance of bridge structures; however, the mechanical and dynamic properties of different bridge types are different. A long-span cable-stayed bridge has the advantages of large flexibility, long natural vibration period, low natural frequency, dense spectrum, and denser modal than those of general structures. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of a cable-stayed bridge with single pylon and single cable plane in the maximum cantilever stage and the complete bridge are analyzed. The single-tower cable-stayed bridge has some unique characteristics, such as lower cost, and a more beautiful appearance, but its torsional rigidity is lower, which increases the risk of wind damage and earthquake damage. Therefore, a finite element analysis of this bridge in the maximum cantilever state is carried out, and the influences of the main components’ rigidity, the inclination angles of the stayed cables, the supporting conditions, and the locations of the auxiliary piers are analyzed for the sustainability of this type of cable-stayed bridge. The analysis results show that a cable-stayed bridge with single pylon and single cable plane has more flexibility, and that the lateral rigidity and torsional rigidity are smaller. Structure rigidity, dip angles of the stayed cables, and positions of the auxiliary piers all have significant influences on the dynamic characteristics of cable-stayed bridges.

The dilation of concrete in the radial direction is crucial in understanding the failure process and the key to predicting the confining level of passively confined concrete. To better understand this problem, we established a mesoscale model of concrete by considering the random distribution of coarse aggregate and the different properties between mortar and concrete. The model’s validity was demonstrated by comparing with the stress–strain curves in code and the lateral–axial strain curves in test. The simulation results show that the lateral dilation is non-uniformly distributed along the specimen height and the circumferential direction of sections. Moreover, the deformation mainly occurs in the middle part of the specimen ranging from 3/8 to 5/8. The strength of concrete influences the stress ratio at maximum compressive strain, while it slightly influences the stress ratio at zero volumetric strain. The secant strain ratio is about 0.5 as the compressive stress reaches the strength of concrete. Compared with the simulation, the relationship between lateral strain and axial strain proposed by Teng and Binici shows excellent performance on the dilation trend prediction of plain concrete.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is the predominant cause of an acute, highly contagious enteric disease in neonatal piglets. There are currently no approved drugs against PEDV infection. Here, we report the development of a nanoluciferase (NLuc)-based high-throughput screening (HTS) platform to identify novel anti-PEDV compounds. We constructed a full-length cDNA clone for a cell-adapted PEDV strain YN150. Using reverse genetics, we replaced the open reading frame 3 (ORF3) in the viral genome with an NLuc gene to engineer a recombinant PEDV expressing NLuc (rPEDV-NLuc). rPEDV-NLuc produced similar plaque morphology and showed similar growth kinetics compared with the wild-type PEDV in vitro. Remarkably, the level of luciferase activity could be stably detected in rPEDV-NLuc-infected cells and exhibited a strong positive correlation with the viral titers. Given that NLuc expression represents a direct readout of PEDV replication, anti-PEDV compounds could be easily identified by quantifying the NLuc activity. Using this platform, we screened for the anti-PEDV compounds from a library of 803 natural products and identified 25 compounds that could significantly inhibit PEDV replication. Interestingly, 7 of the 25 identified compounds were natural antioxidants, including Betulonic acid, Ursonic acid, esculetin, lithocholic acid, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, caffeic acid phenethyl ester, and grape seed extract. As expected, all of the antioxidants could potently reduce PEDV-induced oxygen species production, which, in turn, inhibit PEDV replication in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, our findings provide a powerful platform for the rapid screening of promising therapeutic compounds against PEDV infection.