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In order to study the influence of far-field long-period seismic waves on high-pier and long-span continuous beam bridge, taking a high-pier and long-span continuous beam bridge with span arrangement of (95+170+95) m as an example, a numerical analysis model is established based on finite element software. According to the established wave selection criterion, 10 far-field long-period seismic records and 10 ordinary seismic records are selected from the strong earthquake record database. Using nonlinear time history analysis method, the difference of seismic response of long-span continuous beam bridge with isolated high piers under the action of ordinary ground motion and far-field long-period ground motion is studied. The results show that compared with the ordinary ground motion, the seismic response of long-span continuous beam bridge with isolated high piers is obviously increased under the action of long-period ground motion in the far field. When building isolated long-span bridges in areas with great influence of long-period ground motion in the far field, attention should be paid to the adverse effects caused by the frequency spectrum characteristics of ground motion.

Steel heating and melting processes consume the majority of the energy used in advanced short-process steelmaking practices. Economic and environmental pressures from energy consumption drive the research to improve the furnace operation efficiency and energy efficiency. The goal of this research is to utilize computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to provide useful tools and recommendations on the steel heating and melting practices in the steelmaking process. The steel slab reheating process, the steel scrap preheating process and the steel scrap melting process are studied. A transient three-dimensional (3-D) CFD model was developed to simulate the flow characteristics, combustion process and multi-scale, multi-mode heat transfer inside the reheating furnace. The actual geometry of an operating industrial furnace was used and typical operating conditions were simulated. Specific walking speeds of slabs in production were modeled using a dynamic mesh model which is controlled by a user-defined function (UDF) solved using ANSYS Fluent. Fuel variations at different zones with respect to time were also considered. The model was validated with instrumented slab trials conducted at the SSAB Mobile (Alabama) mill. The temperature field in the furnace and the temperature evolution of a slab predicted by the CFD model are in good agreement with those obtained from the instrumented slab trials. Based on the simulation results, the slab reheating process and the temperature uniformity of a slab at discharge were able to be properly evaluated. In addition, a comprehensive two-dimensional (2-D) numerical heat transfer model for slab reheating in a walking beam furnace was developed using the finite difference method. An in-house code was developed. The model is capable of predicting slab temperature evolution during a reheating process based on real time furnace conditions and steel physical properties. The model was validated by using mill instrumented slab trials and production data. The results show that the temperature evolution predicted by the model is in good agreement with that measured by the thermocouples embedded in the instrumented slab. Compared with 3-D CFD simulation of a reheating process, this 2-D heat transfer model used for predicting slab temperature evolution requires less computing power and can provide results in a few seconds. A graphical user interface was also developed to facilitate the input and output process. This is a very convenient and user-friendly tool which can be used easily by mill metallurgists in troubleshooting and process optimization. CFD models for steel scrap preheating and melting processes by the combined effects of the heat source from both oxy-fuel combustion and electric arc were also developed. The oxy-fuel burners firing natural gas (NG) are widely used in EAF operation during the scrap preheating and melting stages. In order to understand the role of oxy-fuel combustion and potentially increase the energy input from NG while decreasing the electricity consumption, numerical simulation of scrap preheating by oxy-fuel combustion in an EAF was firstly conducted. A 3-D CFD model was developed with detailed consideration of gas flow, oxy-fuel combustion, heat transfer between gas and solid scrap and scrap oxidation. The model was validated by a small-scale experimental study and applied onto a real-scale EAF. Scrap melting in bath is comprehensively studied with a CFD model developed to simulate the melting in bath process under given operating conditions. Two sub-models were developed for model integration: steel melting model and coherent jet model. The multiphase volume of fluid (VOF) model and the enthalpy-porosity technique are applied to describe the steel melting process. The coherent jet model calculates the gas jet momentum and is integrated into the flow model to calculate its effect on the fluid flow in the bath. The electric arc was treated as a heat flux to represent the heat transfer from the electric arc during the melting process. Model validations were conducted for each sub-model to ensure their accuracy. Parametric studies were also carried out to obtain useful information for real practice. Overall, the CFD models developed in this research work have demonstrated value in improving energy efficiency in the energy-intensive steelmaking processes. The developed CFD models also provide insights for better understanding of the multi-physics processes.

The seismic response of a high-pier long-span continuous rigid frame bridge under the action of far-field long-period ground motions is studied. A numerical calculation model of a high-pier long-span continuous rigid frame bridge whose span layout is (95+170+95)m is established by using finite element software. According to the established wave selection criteria, 10 long-period far-field seismic records and 10 ordinary seismic records are selected from the strong earthquake record database. Using the dynamic time history analysis method, the seismic response of the bridge structure under the far-field long-period seismic record and the ordinary seismic record was obtained through calculation, and a comparative analysis was carried out. The results show that the seismic response of a high-pier long-span continuous rigid frame bridge under far-field long-period ground motions is significantly greater than that of ordinary ground motions, the effect of ground motion spectrum characteristics should be considered in seismic design of such Bridges.

The dynamic characteristics of long-span suspension bridges are complex. The natural vibration frequency is changed with different structural parameters, and the sensitivity to different parameters is different. In order to solve this problem, the spatial model of a long-span suspension bridge was established by using finite element software, and the first 20 natural vibration periods, natural vibration frequencies and vibration modes were analyzed and calculated. The accuracy of the obtained natural vibration frequency data was verified through field tests. Finally, based on the model, the stiffness of structural components is studied by one -factor-at-one-time, and the influence of various variables on the frequency and mode of a certain mode is studied by one-factor-at-one-time method. The results show that different structural parameters have different effects on the vibration frequency. When the stiffness of stiffening girder and main tower is changed, with the increase of stiffness, the variation of frequency mostly presents an upward trend, and the range is large. With the change of the secondary dead load, most of the frequencies decrease first and then tend to be stable. It can be seen from the field test results that the vibration shapes and frequencies measured by numerical simulation and test are close to each other, which can meet the requirements of engineering precision. The stiffness of the main cable and the main tower has a great influence on the modes and periods corresponding to them. The increase of the secondary dead load can reduce the natural vibration frequency of the suspension bridge, but it is not unlimited to increase the secondary dead load to reduce the frequency. The stiffness of the stiffening girder has a great influence on the frequency of the suspension bridge. When the bending stiffness of the stiffening girder increases to 3 times of the original one, the order of vibration modes of the structure will change. The research results can provide references for structural design and dynamic parameter adjustment of long-span suspension bridge.