With the rapid developments of the high-speed railway in China, a great number of long-span bridges have been constructed in order to cross rivers and gorges. At present, the longest main span of a constructed high-speed railway bridge is only 630 m. The main span of Hutong Yangtze River Bridge and of Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge, which are under construction, will be much longer, at 1092 m each. In order to overcome the technical issues that originate from the extremely large dead loading and the relatively small structural stiffness of long-span high-speed railway bridges, many new technologies in bridge construction, design, materials, and so forth have been developed. This paper carefully reviews progress in the construction technologies of multi-function combined bridges in China, including combined highway and railway bridges and multi-track railway bridges. Innovations and practices regarding new types of bridge and composite bridge structures, such as bridges with three cable planes and three main trusses, inclined main trusses, slab-truss composite sections, and steel-concrete composite sections, are introduced. In addition, investigations into high-performance materials and integral fabrication and erection techniques for long-span railway bridges are summarized. At the end of the paper, prospects for the future development of long-span high-speed railway bridges are provided.
Different strategies can be used to perform reparations and reinforcements of ancient bolted and riveted metallic bridges. As the riveting process is not currently a common practice, it requires proper equipment and skilled workers. Another solution is the use of welding. However, the weldability of old steels is poor. Bolts are very attractive alternative solutions, and are most commonly used to repair old metallic bridges. Fitted bolts are expensive solutions; the alternative is the use of resin-injected bolts. The behavior of bolted joints with preloaded resin-injected bolts has been studied using quasi-static and creep tests; however, few studies on the slip and fatigue behavior of these joints can be found in the literature. This paper presents an overview of a few experimental programs that were carried out by several authors aiming at evaluating the fatigue behavior of single and double shear resin-injected bolted connections. A comparison between the experimental data of joints with preloaded standard bolts and preloaded resin-injected bolts shows a fatigue strength reduction in the latter. Since Eurocode 3 (EC3) suggests the same fatigue strength curve for joints made of resin-injected bolts and standard bolts, this may raise some concerns. Furthermore, research on the feasibility of using both bonded and bolted connections is shown. This last study was performed with high-strength low-alloy structural steel plates and an acrylic structural adhesive for metal bonding. For both case studies, a statistical analysis is performed on fatigue experimental data using linearized boundaries and the Castillo and Fernández-Canteli model. Fatigue design curves are proposed and compared with the design suggestions of several European and North American standards.
The synergistic use of partially encased concrete and composite girders with corrugated steel webs (CGCSWs) has been proposed to avoid the buckling of corrugated steel webs and compression steel flanges under large combined shear force and bending moment in the hogging area. First, model tests were carried out on two specimens with different shear spans to investigate the mechanical behavior, including the load-carrying capacity, failure modes, flexural and shear stress distribution, and development of concrete cracking. Experimental results show that the interaction of shear force and bending moment causes the failure of specimens. The bending-to-shear ratio does not affect the shear stiffness of a composite girder in the elastic stage when concrete cracking does not exist, but significantly influences the shear stiffness after concrete cracking. In addition, composite sections in the elastic stage satisfy the assumption of the plane section under combined shear force and bending moment. However, after concrete cracking in the tension field, the normal stresses of a corrugated web in the tension area become small due to the “accordion effect,” with almost zero stress at the flat panels but recognizable stress at the inclined panels. Second, three-dimensional finite-element (FE) models considering material and geometric nonlinearity were built and validated by experiments, and parametric analyses were conducted on composite girders with different lengths and heights to determine their load-carrying capacity when subjected to combined loads. Finally, an interaction formula with respect to shear and flexural strength is offered on the basis of experimental and numerical results in order to evaluate the load-carrying capacity of such composite structures, thereby providing a reference for the design of partially encased composite girders with corrugated steel webs (PECGCSWs) under combined flexural and shear loads.
The wind-induced vibration of stay cables of cable-stayed bridges, which includes rain-wind-induced vibration (RWIV) and dry galloping (DG), has been studied for a considerable amount of time. In general, mechanical dampers or surface modification are applied to suppress the vibration. In particular, several types of surface-modification cable, including indentation, longitudinally parallel protuberance, helical fillet, and U-shaped grooving, have been developed. Recently, a new type of aerodynamically stable cable with spiral protuberances was developed. It was confirmed that the cable has a low drag force coefficient, like an indented cable, and that it prevented the formation of water rivulets on the cable surface. In this study, the stability for RWIV of this cable was investigated with various flow angles and protuberance dimensions in a wind-tunnel test. It was found that the spiral protuberance cable is aerodynamically stable against both RWIV and DG for all test wind angles. The effects of the protuberance dimensions were also clarified.
Wind-induced vibrations commonly represent the leading criterion in the design of long-span bridges. The aerodynamic forces in bridge aerodynamics are mainly based on the quasi-steady and linear unsteady theory. This paper aims to investigate different formulations of self-excited and buffeting forces in the time domain by comparing the dynamic response of a multi-span cable-stayed bridge during the critical erection condition. The bridge is selected to represent a typical reference object with a bluff concrete box girder for large river crossings. The models are viewed from a perspective of model complexity, comparing the influence of the aerodynamic properties implied in the aerodynamic models, such as aerodynamic damping and stiffness, fluid memory in the buffeting and self-excited forces, aerodynamic nonlinearity, and aerodynamic coupling on the bridge response. The selected models are studied for a wind-speed range that is typical for the construction stage for two levels of turbulence intensity. Furthermore, a simplified method for the computation of buffeting forces including the aerodynamic admittance is presented, in which rational approximation is avoided. The critical flutter velocities are also compared for the selected models under laminar flow.
This research focuses on identifying the damping ratio of bridges using nonstationary ambient vibration data. The damping ratios of bridges in service have generally been identified using operational modal analysis (OMA) based on a stationary white noise assumption for input signals. However, most bridges are generally subjected to nonstationary excitations while in service, and this violation of the basic assumption can lead to uncertainties in damping identification. To deal with nonstationarity, an amplitude-modulating function was calculated from measured responses to eliminate global trends caused by nonstationary input. A natural excitation technique (NExT)-eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA) was applied to estimate the damping ratio for a stationarized process. To improve the accuracy of OMA-based damping estimates, a comparative analysis was performed between an extracted stationary process and nonstationary data to assess the effect of eliminating nonstationarity. The mean value and standard deviation of the damping ratio for the first vertical mode decreased after signal stationarization.
This paper presents the flutter derivatives (FDs) extracted from a stochastic system identification (SSI) method under different turbulent flows. The objective of the study is to investigate the effects of oncoming turbulence on the flutter of suspended long-span bridges using a section model wind-tunnel test. Several wind-tunnel tests were performed on a truss bridge deck section with different oncoming turbulent properties involving reduced turbulence intensities and turbulent scales. This study includes an investigation of the effect of oncoming flows on modal dynamic responses. The transient and buffeting response data from the wind-tunnel test are analyzed using the system identification technique in extracting FDs, and the difficulties involved in this method are discussed. The time-domain SSI is applied to extract all FDs simultaneously from one and two degree-of-freedom (1DOF and 2DOF) systems. Finally, the results under different conditions are discussed and conclusions are formed.
Wind-tunnel tests of a large-scale sectional model with synchronous measurements of force and vibration responses were carried out to investigate the nonlinear behaviors of vertical vortex-induced forces (VIFs) on three typical box decks (i.e., fully closed box, centrally slotted box, and semi-closed box). The mechanisms of the onset, development, and self-limiting phenomenon of the vertical vortex-induced vibration (VIV) were also explored by analyzing the energy evolution of different vertical VIF components and their contributions to the vertical VIV responses. The results show that the nonlinear components of the vertical VIF often differ from deck to deck; the most important components of the vertical VIF, governing the stable amplitudes of the vertical VIV responses, are the linear and cubic components of velocity contained in the self-excited aerodynamic damping forces. The former provides a constant negative damping ratio to the vibration system and is thus the essential power driving the development of the VIV amplitude, while the latter provides a positive damping ratio proportional to the square of the vibration velocity and is actually the inherent factor making the VIV amplitude self-limiting. On these bases, a universal simplified nonlinear mathematical model of the vertical VIF on box decks of bridges is presented and verified in this paper; it can be used to predict the stable amplitudes of the vertical VIV of long-span bridges with satisfactory accuracy.
The history of the formation of the alpine region is affected by the activities of the glaciers, which have a strong influence on underground works in this area. Mechanized tunneling must adapt to the presence of sound and altered rock, as well as to inhomogeneous soil layers that range from permeable gravel to soft clay sediments along the same tunnel. This article focuses on past experiences with tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) in Switzerland, and specifically on the aspects of soil conditioning during a passage through inhomogeneous soft soils. Most tunnels in the past were drilled using the slurry mode (SM), in which the application of different additives was mainly limited to difficult zones of high permeability and stoppages for tool change and modification. For drillings with the less common earth pressure balanced mode (EPBM), continuous foam conditioning and the additional use of polymer and bentonite have proven to be successful. The use of conditioning additives led to new challenges during separation of the slurries (for SM) and disposal of the excavated soil (for EPBM). If the disposal of chemically treated soft soil material from the earth pressure balanced (EPB) drive in a manner that is compliant with environmental legislation is considered early on in the design and evaluation of the excavation mode, the EPBM can be beneficial for tunnels bored in glacial deposits.
In the past decades, many underwater tunnels have been constructed in the mainland of China, and great progress has been made in related tunneling technologies. This paper presents the history and state of the art of underwater tunnels in the mainland of China in terms of shield-bored tunnels, drill-and-blast tunnels, and immersed tunnels. Typical underwater tunnels of these types in the mainland of China are described, along with innovative technologies regarding comprehensive geological prediction, grouting-based consolidation, the design and construction of large cross-sectional tunnels with shallow cover in weak strata, cutting tool replacement under limited drainage and reduced pressure conditions, the detection and treatment of boulders, the construction of underwater tunnels in areas with high seismic intensity, and the treatment of serious sedimentation in a foundation channel of immersed tunnels. Some suggestions are made regarding the three potential great strait-crossing tunnels—the Qiongzhou Strait-Crossing Tunnel, Bohai Strait-Crossing Tunnel, and Taiwan Strait-Crossing Tunnel—and issues related to these great strait-crossing tunnels that need further study are proposed.
As a result of a sustained drought in the Southwestern United States, and in order to maintain existing water capacity in the Las Vegas Valley, the Southern Nevada Water Authority constructed a new deep-water intake (Intake No. 3) located in Lake Mead. The project included a 185 m deep shaft, 4.7 km tunnel under very difficult geological conditions, and marine works for a submerged intake. This paper presents the experience that was gained during the design and construction and the innovative solutions that were developed to handle the difficult conditions that were encountered during tunneling with a dual-mode slurry tunnel-boring machine (TBM) in up to 15 bar (1 bar = 105 Pa) pressure. Specific attention is given to the main challenges that were overcome during the TBM excavation, which included the mode of operation, face support pressures, pre-excavation grouting, and maintenance; to the construction of the intake, which involved deep underwater shaft excavation with blasting using shaped charges; to the construction of the innovative over 1200 t concrete-and-steel intake structure; to the placement of the intake structure in the underwater shaft; and to the docking and connection to an intake tunnel excavated by hybrid TBM.
Abrasive waterjets (AWJs) can be used in extreme mining conditions for hard rock destruction, due to their ability to effectively cut difficult-to-machine materials with an absence of dust formation. They can also be used for explosion, intrinsic, and fire safety. Every destructible material can be considered as either ductile or brittle in terms of its fracture mechanics. Thus, there is a need for a method to predict the efficiency of cutting with AWJs that is highly accurate irrespective of material. This problem can be solved using the energy conservation approach, which states the proportionality between the material removal volume and the kinetic energy of AWJs. This paper describes a method based on this approach, along with recommendations on reaching the most effective level of destruction. Recommendations are provided regarding rational ranges of values for the relation of abrasive flow rate to water flow rate, standoff distance, and size of abrasive particles. I also provide a parameter to establish the threshold conditions for a material’s destruction initiation based on the temporary-structural approach of fracture mechanics.
The success of a tunnel-boring machine (TBM) in a given project depends on the functionality of all components of the system, from the cutters to the backup system, and on the entire rolling stock. However, no part of the machine plays a more crucial role in the efficient operation of the machine than its cutterhead. The design of the cutterhead impacts the efficiency of cutting, the balance of the head, the life of the cutters, the maintenance of the main bearing/gearbox, and the effectiveness of the mucking along with its effects on the wear of the face and gage cutters/muck buckets. Overall, cutterhead design heavily impacts the rate of penetration (ROP), rate of machine utilization (U), and daily advance rate (AR). Although there has been some discussion in commonly available publications regarding disk cutters, cutting forces, and some design features of the head, there is limited literature on this subject because the design of cutterheads is mainly handled by machine manufacturers. Most of the design process involves proprietary algorithms by the manufacturers, and despite recent attention on the subject, the design of rock TBMs has been somewhat of a mystery to most end-users. This paper is an attempt to demystify the basic concepts in design. Although it may not be sufficient for a full-fledged design by the readers, this paper allows engineers and contractors to understand the thought process in the design steps, what to look for in a proper design, and the implications of the head design on machine operation and life cycle.
With the rapid development of the exploitation of underground space, more and more large- or super-large-diameter tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) are being employed to construct underground space projects. At present, because conventional circular TBMs cannot completely meet the requirements of underground space exploitation regarding the cross-section and space-utilization ratio, non-circular TBMs, which are the tunneling equipment for an ideal cross-section, have become the new market growth point. This paper first presents the technical features and development status of non-circular TBMs. Next, in reference to typical projects and technological innovation, this paper investigates key techniques including shield design optimization, multi-cutterhead excavation, special-shaped segment erection, and soil conditioning in loess strata for a rectangular pipe-jacking machine and a horseshoe-shaped TBM, in order to provide a set of feasible solutions for the design, manufacture, and construction of non-circular TBMs. Relevant engineering practice shows that non-circular TBMs with customized design and manufacture have great advantages in terms of construction schedule, settlement control, and space utilization.
