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Using theoretical modeling combined with monitoring data, the typical dynamic and static behaviors of a continuous steel truss arch railway bridge are evaluated. The dynamic behavior involves an impact factor induced by the action of running trains, and the static behavior refers to axial bending performance and the stress distribution among different planes of the truss. The transverse position, length, and speed of running trains are introduced to conduct an analysis of their influences on the dynamic and static behaviors of the bridge superstructure. A structural safety evaluation is also conducted by comparison with the provisions recommended by design codes and by analysis of absolute stress. It is concluded that three types of members present different dynamic behaviors and that the value of the impact factor for chords B exceeds the provision recommended by the design codes. Chords C present the greatest ratio of bending stress versus axial stress. An imbalance of stress distribution exists among the three planes of the truss, and the difference is the smallest when trains run along the middle railways. Because the train-induced stress is considerably lower, the dynamic and static performances of the bridge are within the scope of safety.

Nanjing Dashengguan Bridge, which serves as the shared corridor crossing Yangtze River for both Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu railway, is the first 6-track high-speed railway bridge with the longest span throughout the world. In order to ensure safety and detect the performance deterioration during the long-time service of the bridge, a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system has been implemented on this bridge by the application of modern techniques in sensing, testing, computing, and network communication. The SHM system includes various sensors as well as corresponding data acquisition and transmission equipment for automatic data collection. Furthermore, an evaluation system of structural safety has been developed for the real-time condition assessment of this bridge. The mathematical correlation models describing the overall structural behavior of the bridge can be obtained with the support of the health monitoring system, which includes cross-correlation models for accelerations, correlation models between temperature and static strains of steel truss arch, and correlation models between temperature and longitudinal displacements of piers. Some evaluation results using the mean value control chart based on mathematical correlation models are presented in this paper to show the effectiveness of this SHM system in detecting the bridge’s abnormal behaviors under the varying environmental conditions such as high-speed trains and environmental temperature.

Making use of long-term transverse vibration monitoring data of DaShengGuan Bridge, the early-warning method of train running safety of the high-speed railway bridge is established by adopting principal component analysis (PCA) method. Firstly, the root mean square (RMS) of the transverse acceleration of the main girder is used as the monitoring parameter for the train running safety. The correlation model between the RMS values measured from different positions is further adopted as the evaluating model for the train running safety. Finally, the effects of the environmental changes on the evaluating model are eliminated using the PCA method and the warning index for the train running safety is further constructed. The analysis results show that the correlation between the RMS values of the accelerations from different measuring positions on the main girder can be analyzed by a quadratic polynomial fitting model. The PCA method can effectively remove the environmental effects on the quadratic polynomial fitting model. The proposed warning method provides a good capability for detecting the abnormal changes of the measured transverse accelerations and hence it is suitable for early-warning of the train running safety.

Fatigue cracking is crucial issue for welded steel bridges that endure repeated vehicle loads. With typical fatigue-life evaluation methods, it is difficult to consider the influence of low stress amplitude. Based on existing full-range S-N curves and their formulas for base metal, a unified fatigue-life evaluation method is recommended for welded joints. The basis for construction of full-range S-N curves is to obtain the welding residual stress and stress concentration factor. In this paper, rib-to-deck welded joints are introduced as examples to demonstrate the detailed steps of a fatigue-life evaluation procedure. From the analysis of welding residual stress, it can be concluded that residual stress is influenced by the geometric dimensions of the composite members.With an increase in the geometric dimensions, the level of residual stress is increased. In addition, static-load experiments were conducted to obtain the stress concentration factor. A hot-spot full-range S-N curve was then obtained for rib-to-deck welded joints by calibrating the formula fromsmall quantities of fatigue experiments. An actual bridge installed with a structural health monitoring system (SHMS) was used as a case study to compare the recommended model with typical fatigue codes. The comparison results indicate that the recommended model is more conservative than typical fatigue codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The driving security of trains at high speeds is among the pivotal issues significantly affected by the smoothness of rail lines. For high-speed railway steel bridges, the fatigue cracking of typical positions under the rail lines will reduce the stiffness of the deck plate, inducing the smoothing of the rail lines. In this paper, a new theoretical approach is proposed that integrates the fatigue assessment of a typical welded joint for high-speed railway steel bridges in service. Based on the strain history data recorded by a structural health monitoring system, the theoretical approach includes various factors, including stress concentration, environmental corrosion, and train flow. Upon application in an actual high-speed railway bridge with an orthotropic steel deck, the approach was used to conduct determinative and reliable fatigue-life evaluation of the bridge. A static-load experiment was conducted to obtain the stress distribution around the weld and the difference in stress between the positions of the weld and strain gauge. The effect of environmental corrosion integrated two aspects: increased stress and reduced fatigue resistance. Without consideration of train-weight growth, in conclusion, the fatigue life of a typical welded joint will be infinite even if the train flow grows constantly. In addition, the fatigue life of typical welded joints, determinative or reliable, may be less than the designed service period when the growth rate of the train weight reaches 5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature field data from the steel truss arch girder and longitudinal displacement data from six groups of rubber bearings were collected by the structural health monitoring system for the Dashengguan Yangtze Bridge. By using long-term monitoring data, two correlations are investigated: the linear correlation between the longitudinal displacement and the temperature field (including uniform temperature and temperature gradient); and the linear correlation of the longitudinal displacements in different locations. A multivariate linear regression equation is used to model the first correlation, and a Lagrange polynomial interpolation is used to model the second correlation. The final mathematical models, representing the healthy state of the bearings, can be applied to simulate the longitudinal displacements of the main girder. Furthermore, the change regularity of longitudinal displacements for the degraded rubber bearings is revealed taking advantage of a hysteretic model and presumed envelope curves of frictions caused by bearing degradation. A method of detection and location for the degraded bearings is proposed in four detailed steps, and the numerical results demonstrate that this method is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the health monitoring system installed on the main span of Sutong Cable-Stayed Bridge, GPS displacement and wind field are real-time monitored and analyzed. According to analytical results, apparent nonlinear correlation with certain discreteness exists between lateral static girder displacement and lateral static wind velocity; thus time series of lateral static girder displacement are decomposed into nonlinear correlation term and discreteness term, nonlinear correlation term of which is mathematically modeled by third-order Fourier series with intervention of lateral static wind velocity and discreteness term of which is mathematically modeled by the combined models of ARMA(7, 4) and EGARCH(2, 1).Additionally, stable power spectrum density exists in time series of lateral dynamic girder displacement, which can be well described by the fourth-order Gaussian series; thus time series of lateral dynamic girder displacement are mathematically modeled by harmonic superposition function. By comparison and verification between simulative and monitoring lateral girder displacements from September 1 to September 3, the presented mathematical models are effective to simulate time series of lateral girder displacement from main girder of Sutong Cable-Stayed Bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]