Study on nonlinear analysis of a highly redundant cable-stayed bridge

A comparison on nonlinear analysis of a highly redundant cable-stayed bridge is performed in the study. The initial shapes including geometry and prestress distribution of the bridge are determined by using a two-loop iteration method, i.e., an equilibrium iteration loop and a shape iteration loop. For the initial shape analysis a linear and a nonlinear computation procedure are set up. In the former all nonlinearities of cable-stayed bridges are disregarded, and the shape iteration is carried out without considering equilibrium. In the latter all nonlinearities of the bridges are taken into consideration and both the equilibrium and the shape iteration are carried out. Based on the convergent initial shapes determined by the different procedures, the natural frequencies and vibration modes are then examined in details. Numerical results show that a convergent initial shape can be found rapidly by the two-loop iteration method, a reasonable initial shape can be determined by using the linear computation procedure, and a lot of computation efforts can thus be saved. There are only small differences in geometry and prestress distribution between the results determined by linear and nonlinear computation procedures. However, for the analysis of natural frequency and vibration modes, significant differences in the fundamental frequencies and vibration modes will occur, and the nonlinearities of the cable-stayed bridge response appear only in the modes determined on basis of the initial shape found by the nonlinear computation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.