Release Time:2019-03-12  Hits:

Indexed by: Journal Article

Date of Publication: 2018-08-01

Journal: APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL

Included Journals: SCIE

Volume: 8

Issue: 8

ISSN: 2076-3417

Key Words: suspension bridge; main cable system; catenary cable element; search algorithm; penalty factor

Abstract: This paper develops an improved analytical algorithm on the main cable system of suspension bridge. A catenary cable element is presented for the nonlinear analysis on main cable system that is subjected to static loadings. The tangent stiffness matrix and internal force vector of the element are derived explicitly based on the exact analytical expressions of elastic catenary. Self-weight of the cables can be directly considered without any approximations. The effect of pre-tension of cable is also included in the element formulation. A search algorithm with the penalty factor is introduced to identify the initial components for convergence with high precision and fast speed. Numerical examples are presented and discussed to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed analytical algorithm.