NONLINEAR MODELING OF CABLE-STAYED BRIDGES

This paper presents an application of a powerful thin-walled element and a special cable element for three-dimensional modelling of steel cable-stayed bridges. Both linear and nonlinear effects are considered, as geometric nonlinearity may arise from the finite displacement of the bridge deck as well as the cables. As cable-stayed bridge decks are normally built-up thin-walled cross-sections, the effects of flexural-torsion coupling as well as warping restraint are included. Finally, several examples of cable-stayed bridges serve to demonstrate the effectiveness of this most comprehensive model.