Finite element analysis of long-span rail-cum-road cable-stayed bridge subjected to ship collision

Abstract

Ship collision is rare, yet it leads to serious consequences once it occurs, in particular for long-span bridges. This study investigates dynamic responses of a long-span, rail-cum-road cable-stayed bridge under ship collision through finite element analysis. Three ship tonnages were investigated, which are 3000, 5000, and 8000 t, respectively. The displacement, velocity, and acceleration of the bridge under ship collision are analyzed. The collision process is simulated in two explicit steps to improve the computational efficiency. First, the collision force is determined through a collision simulation of the ship to a rigid body that simulates the massive bridge pier. The collision force is then applied to the bridge to analyze the dynamic responses of the bridge. The simulation results of the collision force are compared with four different design codes. Analysis results from different codes show significant discrepancies, demonstrating lack of reliability of the formula recommended by the codes. The results indicate that the maximum displacement and acceleration occur at the top of the bridge pylon. The bridge’s responses under ship collision decrease as the collision angle increases from 0° to 20°.

Numerical Simulation of a Cable-Stayed Bridge Subjected to Ship Collision

“…For comparison, rigid body, elastic and K&C model are adopted to model the concrete material. Elastic modulus of elastic constitutive model is assumed to be 3.65×10 4 MPa.…”

“…These bridges usually span over busy navigation channels and are thus subjected to high collision risk from passing vessels. Reportedly, at least one serious ship collision accident occurs per year worldwide 4 . For example, the Interstate 40 bridge disaster occurred southeast of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, United States on May 26, 2002 when freight barges on the Arkansas River collided with a pier of the bridge, causing a section of the bridge to collapse, killing 14 people, and injuring another 11.…”

Method for Predicting Barge Impact Force Based on Nonlinear Spring Stiffness

“…As the computer becomes more efficient and gains more progress in accuracy, HPFEM technology was introduced for the calculation of the impact force by barge-bridge collision. HPFEM is a reliable method to calculate the impact force between barge and bridge [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] but costs plentiful computer resources and time and requires strong analysis capability. Under this background, a simplified dynamic load method was conceived [10][11][12][13].…”