Example n 16

Cable Stayed Bridge Construction

(Example 1)

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples

Example n 16 Table of Contents

16

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1) 1

16.1

AIM .......................................................................................................... 1

16.2

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE ........................................................ 1

16.3

RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED ................................................................. 2

16.4

CALCULATION LOG ............................................................................... 3

16.4.1

Introduction ............................................................................... 3

16.4.2

Model generation ...................................................................... 3

16.4.3

Solution 1 .................................................................................. 6

16.4.4

Postprocess 1 ........................................................................... 6

16.4.5

Solution 2 .................................................................................. 7

16.4.6

Postprocess 2 ........................................................................... 7

16.4.7

Macros for postprocessing ........................................................ 8

16.5

RESULTS ................................................................................................ 9

16.5.1

Vertical deflection due to self weight (LS1) ............................... 9

16.5.2

Vertical deflection due to unit cable forces.............................. 10

16.5.3

Results in the final state of the bridge ..................................... 11

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

16

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE

STAYED BRIDGE
CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

16.1

AIM

The aim of this example is to demonstrate how to determine the initial cable forces in
an asymmetric cable-stayed bridge. The initial condition for the cable force
calculation is that the desired shape of the deck is horizontal (zero vertical deflection)
while the desired shape if the pylon is vertical (zero horizontal deflection).

16.2

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE

The figure below is a sketch of the bridge model.

DATA:
GEOMETRY
XPylon= 1.819 m

coordinates of the pylon base

YPylon= -2.070 m
HPylon= 27.13 m +YPylon

height of the pylon (above deck)

Span= 66.8 m

span of the bridge

XDistCable= 9 m

distance between cables at the deck level

XBalAnchor= -38.2 m

location of the anchorage of the balance cable

YBalAnchor= -3.4 m

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

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EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

CONCRETE
HA-25 (EHE)
CABLE STEEL
Y1770C (EHE)
CALCULATION STEPS:
1. The deformations of the deck and the pylon due to the self weight of the
structure are calculated.
2. Every cable is prestressed by unit change in the length (-1 m) one by one and
the deformations of the deck and the pylon are calculated for each case.
3. A system of linear equations is assembled: Kx = U.
-

The response (deflection) of the structure to the unit cable forces are
the elements of the coefficient matrix (K).

The deformations (UY for the deck, UX for the top of the pylon) are the
elements of the vector on the right-hand side (U).

4. The system of linear equations is solved

-

x is determined.

The elements of the x vector are the actual cable forces (i.e. cable
shortenings) to achieve the desired shape of the structure.

5. The x vector is applied as cable forces (i.e. cable shortenings) and the
structure is solved again.

16.3

RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED

1. Deflection of the structure due to self weight.

2. Deflection due to unit cable forces.
3. Optimized cable forces (shortening).
4. Deflection of the structure in its final state.
5. Bending moments diagram.
6. Axial forces diagram.

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CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

16.4

CALCULATION LOG

16.4.1

Introduction

A CivilFEM box bridge section is used to model the bridge deck, therefore the
Bridges Module needs to be activated.
For the postprocessing of the results a series of macros are created (the macro file,
Example16_macros.inp, needs to be placed in the working directory). For each
macro a button is placed in the top toolbar:
DEFLECTION

- Vertical deflection of the structure.

MOMENTZ

- Bending moment about the axis Z.

FORCEX

- Axial force in the deck.

CABLE FORCE

- Cable forces.

CABLE STROKE

- Applied cable shortening.

For the cables LINK11 elements are used. This element allows the application of
shortening as an external load.
The cables have different dimensions (cross section area) that are stored in an array
called A_CABLE.
The list of nodes where the cables are connected to the deck are stored in an array
called ControlNodes. During the analysis it is often necessary to refer to these nodes.
An array on the node ID numbers makes this very simple.
In the first solution phase the deflection of the structure due to its self weight and the
response of the structure to the unit cable forces (shortening) in each cable is
calculated.
In the first postprocessing phase the Kx=U equation is created and solved.
In the second solution phase gravity and the calculated cable forces (shortening) in
each cable are applied.
In the second postprocessing phase the results in the structure with the optimized
cable forces are checked. To see the cable forces and cable shortening two element
tables must be created since these results of LINK11 elements are not accessible
otherwise.
The buttons in the top toolbar can be used for quick access of the results.

16.4.2

Model generation

FINISH
~CFCLEAR,,1
~CFACTIV,NLBR,Y
/TITLE, Cable-stayed foot bridge
/FILNAME,CS_Ex1,1

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

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EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

!use library of macros

*ULIB,Example16_macros,inp
*ABBR,DEFLECTION,*USE,UY
*ABBR,MOMENTZ,*USE,MOMENTZ
*ABBR,FORCEX,*USE,FORCEX
*ABBR,CABLE FORCE,*USE,CFORCE
*ABBR,CABLE STROKE,*USE,CSTROKE
! Setup
! -------------------------------------------------~UNITS,SI
~CODESEL,EC3-92,EC2-91,,,EC8-94
! Parameters
XPylon=1.819
!coordinates of the pylon base
YPylon=-2.070
HPylon=27.13+YPylon
!height of the pylon (above deck)
Span=66.8
!span of the bridge
NCables=7
!number of cables over the deck (CANNOT BE ALTERED)
XDistCable=9
!distance between cables at the deck level
XFirstCable=(Span-(NCables-1)*XDistCable)/2 !location of the first cable
XBalAnchor=-38.2
!location of the anchorage of the balance cable
YBalAnchor=-3.4
! -------------------------------------------------! PREPROCESSING
! -------------------------------------------------/PREP7
! Element types
! -------------------------------------------------ET,1,54 ! deck
ET,2, 3 ! pylon
ET,3,11 ! cables
! Materials
! -------------------------------------------------~CFMP,1,LIB,CONCRETE,EHE,HA-25
!concrete
~CFMP,2,LIB,PREST,EHE,Y1770C
!cable
! Sections
! -------------------------------------------------! Cables
A_STRAND= 140E-6
! strand: 0.6" (15.24 mm) 140 mm2
A_CABLE= $ *DIM,A_CABLE,,8
A_CABLE(1)= 2*A_STRAND ! Cable 1 over the deck
A_CABLE(2)= 3*A_STRAND
A_CABLE(3)= 5*A_STRAND
A_CABLE(4)= 8*A_STRAND
A_CABLE(5)=12*A_STRAND
A_CABLE(6)=12*A_STRAND
A_CABLE(7)=12*A_STRAND
A_CABLE(8)=14*A_STRAND ! Balance cable
! Bridge cross-section
~BRSBOX,1,1,1 ,1 ,1.2,0.2,0.2,0.2,1.2
~BRSMDF,1,NAME,,,Deck
~BRSMDF,1,BOX,KSYM,,1
~BRSMDF,1,BOX,WEB,SLOPE,0.15,1
! create cross-section from the bridge cross-section
~BRSTOCS,1,1,0,0,0,0
! Pylon

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CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

~CSECDMS,2,BOX,1,1.3 ,0.6 ,0.1,0.1

~SECMDF,2,NAME,,,Pylon
! Beam properties (Real constants)
! -------------------------------------------------~BMSHPRO,1,BEAM,1,1,,,54,1,0
!stiffening girder (deck)
~BMSHPRO,2,BEAM,2,2,,, 3,1,0
!pylon
! Solid model
! -------------------------------------------------! Deck
K,1,0,0,0
K,2,XFirstCable,0,0
K,8,Span-XFirstCable
KFILL,2,8
K,9,Span,0,0
*DO,JJ,1,8
LSTR,JJ,JJ+1
*ENDDO
! Pylon
K,10,XPylon,YPylon,0
K,11,XPylon,HPylon,0
LSTR,10,11
!Cables over the deck
*DO,I,2,8
LSTR,11,I
*ENDDO
!Balance cable
K,12,XBalAnchor,YBalAnchor,0
LSTR,11,12
! 6. Meshing
! -------------------------------------------------! Deck
MAT,1
REAL,1
TYPE,1
LSEL,S,LOC,Y,0
ESIZE,0.5
LMESH,ALL
! Pylon
MAT,1
REAL,2
TYPE,2
LSEL,S,LOC,X,XPylon
ESIZE,0.8
LMESH,ALL
ESEL,NONE
! Cables
MAT,2
TYPE,3
*GET,E_PRE,EX,2
ESIZE,,1
LSEL,S,LINE,,10,17
*DO,IL,10,17
IREAL=IL-9+100
*GET,LL,LINE,IL,LENG
R,IREAL,A_CABLE(IL-9)*E_PRE/LL
REAL,IREAL
LMESH,IL

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

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EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

CM,E_Cable_%IL-9%,ELEM
ESEL,NONE
*ENDDO
ALLSEL
! Plot
/ESHAPE,1
/PNUM,REAL,1
/NUM,1
EPLOT
!list of nodes where the cables connects to the deck and the pylon
! (last elem in the vector)
*DIM,ControlNodes,,NCables+1
*DO,I,0,NCables-1
ControlNodes(I+1)=NODE(XFirstCable + I*XDistCable,0,0)
*ENDDO
ControlNodes(NCables+1)=NODE(0,HPylon,0)
! Boundary conditions
! -------------------------------------------------! Left support
D,NODE(0,0,0), , , , , ,UX,UY
! Right Support
D,NODE(Span,0,0),UY
! Pylon base
D,NODE(KX(10),KY(10),KZ(10)),ALL
! Anchore cable
D,NODE(KX(12),KY(12),KZ(12)),ALL
ALLSEL

16.4.3

Solution 1

! SOLUTION 1
!-------------------------------------------------------/SOLU
! LS1: self weight
/TITLE,Self weight
ACEL,,9.81
SOLVE
ACEL,
! remove gravity
!LS2-LS9:
prestressing each cable one-by-one with unit length change
*DO,I,1,8
/TITLE,Cable prestress (1m): Cable %I%
SFEDELE,ALL,ALL,ALL
SFE,E_Cable_%I%,1,PRES,,-1
SOLVE
*ENDDO

16.4.4

Postprocess 1

! POSTPROCESSING 1
!-------------------------------------------------------! Calculate the cable forces using 'K stiffness matrix'
/POST1

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CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

ASize=NCables+1
*DIM,KMat,,ASize,ASize
*DIM,DispVect,,ASize
*DIM,DLVect,,ASize

!array size
!K matrix
!Displacement vector (UY for deck nodes, UX for pylon top)
!DL vector cable shortening

!get and store the vertical deflection of the deck due to gravity
SET,1
*DO,I,1,NCables
DispVect(I)=UY(ControlNodes(I))
*ENDDO
!horizontal displacement of the pylon top
DispVect(ASize)=UX(ControlNodes(ASize))
!get and store the displacements of control nodes due to the unit cable forces
*DO,ICable,1,NCables
SET,1+ICable
*DO,INode,1,NCables
KMat(INode,ICable)=UY(ControlNodes(INode))
*ENDDO
KMAT(ASize,ICable)=UX(ControlNodes(ASize))
*ENDDO
SET,1+ASize
*DO,INode,1,NCables
KMAT(INODE,ASIZE)=UY(ControlNodes(INode))
*ENDDO
KMAT(ASize,ASize)=UX(ControlNodes(ASize))
!solve the linear system to get cable forces at the final stage of the construction
*MOPER,DLVect,KMat,SOLV,DispVect
FINISH

16.4.5

Solution 2

! SOLUTION 2
!-------------------------------------------------------! Solve the model with the calculated prestressing values
/SOLU
/TITLE,Final state of the bridge
ACEL,,9.81
SFEDELE,ALL,ALL,ALL
*DO,I,1,ASize
SFE,E_Cable_%I%,1,PRES,,DLVect(I)
*ENDDO
SOLVE

16.4.6

Postprocess 2

! POSTPROCESSING 2
!-------------------------------------------------------/POST1
!cable forces
ETABLE,CForce,SMISC, 1
!applied cable shortening
ETAB,CSTROKE,NMISC, 3

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

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EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

16.4.7

Macros for postprocessing

File name: Example16_macros.inp

UY
!vertical deflection
/POST1
ALLSEL
/ESHAPE,0
SET,1
/PLOPTS,INFO,3
/PLOPTS,LEG2,0
/DSCALE,ALL,AUTO
/EFACET,1
PLNSOL, U,Y, 0,1.0
/EOF
MOMENTZ
!bending moment
/POST1
ALLSEL
~CFSET,0,1,LAST,
/PLOPTS,INFO,2
/PLOPTS,LEG2,0
~PLLSFOR,M,Z,-1,
/EOF
FORCEX
!axial force
/POST1
ALLSEL
~CFSET,0,1,LAST,
/PLOPTS,INFO,2
/PLOPTS,LEG2,0
~PLLSFOR,F,X,-1,
/EOF
CFORCE
!cable forces
/POST1
ESEL,S,TYPE,,3
/PLOPTS,INFO,3
/PLOPTS,LEG2,0
PLETAB,CFORCE,NOAV
/EOF
CSTROKE
!applied cable shortening
/POST1
ESEL,S,TYPE,,3
/PLOPTS,INFO,3
/PLOPTS,LEG2,0
PLETAB,CSTROKE,NOAV
/EOF

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CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

16.5

RESULTS

16.5.1

Vertical deflection due to self weight (LS1)

This result can be obtained in the first postprocessing phase only.

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

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EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

16.5.2

Vertical deflection due to unit cable forces

These results can be obtained in the first postprocessing phase only.

Cable 5 (LS6):

Anchor cable (LS9):

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CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

16.5.3

Results in the final state of the bridge

These results can be obtained in the second postprocessing phase only.

Cable Stroke (shortening):

Cable Force:

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

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EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

Vertical deflection:

Bending Moment (MZ):

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CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

EXAMPLE N 16: CABLE STAYED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION (Example 1)

Axial Force (FX):

CivilFEM Manual of Advanced Examples - Ingeciber, S.A..

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