Based on the theory of pattern recognition, the concept of closeness degree between fuzzy sets is brought into the condition assessment of long span bridges. Using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process （FAHP）, a mathematical model of a multi-objective assessment of a long span suspension bridge is set up. An example is given to show the procedure in the synthetical condition assessment of the Runyang Suspension Bridge, which includes the hierarchical division, the definition of factor weights and fuzzy membership functions, and the calculation of closeness degrees, etc. The assessment combines both the data from the health monitoring system and the manual tests. The classification of evaluation items as well as the calculation of deterministic and nondeterministic items is presented. Compared with the traditional method of point rating, this method can better describe the discreteness of monitoring data and the fuzziness in the condition assessment.
The strong wind characteristics of the Runyang Suspension Bridge（ RSB） including the wind speed and direction, the turbulence intensity, the turbulence integral length and power spectrum are analyzed based on measurement data from the wind environment monitoring subsystem of the structural health monitoring system （SHMS）of the RSB and field tests during strong winds. The differences between the typhoon and the strong northern wind are especially studied. It is found that the mean wind speed of the strong northern wind is a little smaller and the mean wind direction is more stable than that of the typhoon. The turbulence intensity of both the typhoon and the strong northern wind is greater than the values suggested in Chinese code, and the turbulence integral length difference between the typhoon and a strong northern wind is not clear. As for the along-wind turbulence power spectrum, the spectrum of the strong northern wind can fit the Kaimal spectrum better than that of the typhoon. The obtained results can provide measurement data for founding a strong wind characteristic database and determining the strong wind characteristic parameter values of the RSB.
Runyang Suspension Bridge (RSB) with the main span of 1490 m is the longest bridge in China and the third longest one in the world. In this bridge the rigid central buckle is employed for the first time in the mid-span of the suspension bridge in China. For such a super-long-span bridge, the traditional finite element (FE) modeling technique and stress analysis methods obviously cannot satisfy the needs of conducting accurate stress analysis on the central buckle. In this paper, the submodel method is in- troduced and for the first time used in analyzing the stresses of the central buckle. After an accurate FE submodel of the central buckle was specially established according to the analysis results from the whole FE model, the connection technique between the two-scale FE models was realized and the ac- curate stresses of the central buckle under various vehicle load cases were then conducted based on the submodel method. The calculation results were testified to be accurate and reliable by the field measurements, which show the efficiency and reliability of the submodel method on analyzing the mechanical condition of the central buckle of long-span suspension bridges. Finally, the working be- havior and mechanical characteristics of the central buckle of the RSB under vehicle loads were ana- lyzed based on the calculation and measurement results. The results obtained in this paper can provide theoretic references for analyzing and designing the rigid central buckle in long-span suspension bridges in future.
The spatial resolution of conventional distributed fiber optic sensors is 1 m at best, which is inadequate to locate the damage precisely. We adopt an improved sensing technique based on the Brillouin optical time-domain analysis （BOTDA）. The stepped pump light is input to stimulate the phonon so that the spatial resolution can be increased to centimeter order and the strain accuracy of 25 micro-strains is obtained. The feasibility of this sensing technique is demonstrated through strain measurement of three concrete box-girders in bending. Experimental results show that the improved BOTDA measurement can provide a comprehensive description on the strain distribution of steel rebar or concrete. Compared with the conventional strain gauges, the improved BOTDA measurement is more stable. By virtue of higher spatial resolution and better measurement accuracy, it has become possible to perform crack detection and localization for concrete structures.
