1 New Procedure for Estimating Cable Force in Cable-stayed Bridge

2
3
4 Dong-Ho Choi, Ph.D., Professor
5 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University
6 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu
7 Seoul 133-791, Korea
8 +82-2-2220-4155 (Phone)
9 +82-2-2220-4322 (Fax)
10 samga@hanyang.ac.kr
11
12 Wan-Soon Park *, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow
13 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University
14 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu
15 Seoul 133-791, Korea
16 +82-2-2220-4155 (Phone)
17 +82-2-2220-4322 (Fax)
18 ilubataru@hanmail.net
19
20 Hani Nassif, Ph.D., P.E., Professor
21 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
22 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
23 623 Bowser Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854
24 (848)-445-4414 (Phone)
25 (732)-445-0577 (Fax)
26 nassif@rci.rutgers.edu
27

28

29 * corresponding author
30 Submission date : July 30, 2012
31 Word count :7,142 words (4,892 words for text + 2,250 words for five figures and four tables)
32

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 1

1 ABSTRACT

2 In structural health monitoring of the cable-stayed bridges, estimation procedure for the cable
3 tension influences the accuracy of monitoring system. Although some formulas are used in many
4 monitoring systems, the results from these formulas are not accurate because they neglect the
5 initial deflection, the natural frequency changing, and the initial curvature shortening of an
6 oscillating cable. This paper presents a new estimation procedure that considers these neglected
7 effects in the existing formulas and achieves the modified accuracy in estimating the tension
8 force in the cable. Considering the initial deflection of the cable at the static status derives a
9 clear explanation about the natural frequency changing for the change of the slenderness ratio of
10 the cable. And by considering the stretching force induced by the initial curvature shortening, the
11 additional forces acting on the supports of the cable conservatively are also investigated. In this
12 paper, the concept of total tension force is proposed to increase the accuracy in tension force
13 estimation for the cable. The re-estimation for the cable-stayed Alamillo Bridge, Spain shows
14 that the new procedure estimates tension force of the cables more accurately and that this can be
15 used as an alternative procedure in the structural health monitoring system.

16

17 Key Words:

18 Cable force

19 Cable-stayed bridges

20 Structural health monitoring

21 Tension force

22

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 2

1 INTRODUCTION

2 Over the last decade, the number of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems for cable-stayed
3 bridges has increased. These SHM systems have become more complicated (1, 2, 3) due to their
4 demand on understanding the behaviour of cable-stayed bridges. Until now, the exact estimation
5 of the cable tension force has been the main objective of these SHM systems. For this purpose,
6 some formulas were developed to incorporate the raw data collected from the SHM systems. But
7 the accuracy of the estimation procedure has remained as the unsolved problem. The simple
8 estimation formulas used in the vibration method for the bridge cable can be derived from the
9 transverse vibrations of a taut string with the assumption of no sag. However, bridge cables do
10 not behave as taut strings because of their flexural rigidities. The flexural rigidity is extremely
11 important in calculating the tension force of bridge cables just as it was investigated by many
12 Japanese researchers.

13 Shinke et al. (4) proposed their first estimation formula that can account for the flexural
14 rigidity effects in tension force calculations; this formula is very practical, but the flexural
15 rigidity of the deflected cable is needed in the calculation. For more practical use, Zui et al. (5)
16 proposed a modified formula in which the first, second, and high natural frequencies of deflected
17 cables can be used. Utsuno et al. (6) of Kobe Steel, Ltd. also proposed an estimation method that
18 determines the tension force and the flexural rigidity of deflected cables simultaneously. This
19 method is based on the same partial differential equations used by Zui et al. but it simplifies the
20 solution by assuming the boundary conditions. Since publication, this method has been widely
21 used owing to its convenience and practicality. Outside of Japan, Robert et al. (7) proposed a
22 simple estimation formula that considers the flexural rigidity in calculating cable tension, and
23 Mehrabi and Tabatabai (8) modified the aforementioned formula to consider both flexural
24 rigidity and sag effects in bridge cables. Ren et al. (9) proposed a practical formula for rapid
25 calculation considering flexural rigidity and the sag effect. In their formula, the estimation
26 procedure offers one of two cases: considering only the cable sag effect and considering only the
27 cable bending stiffness effect. To estimate the cable tension only using the first natural frequency,
28 Kim et al. (10) derived a new formula by using the variational method.

29 To correct the difference between the calculated results by the existing formulas and the

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 3

1 measured data from field tests, Ahn (11) proposed compensating formulas. To increase the
2 accuracy of the cable tension estimates, Park et al. (12) proposed the system identification theory
3 using the finite element method. For the thermal axial force or thermal bending moment applied
4 to the cable, Treyssède (13) proposed a new formula considering thermal stress effects.
5 Installation of a damper or tube at the support of a cable changes the characteristics of the
6 vibration. However, the existing formulas do not consider this effect. To solve this problem, Yan
7 et al. (14) proposed a simplified new formula that considers the support stiffness. This formula
8 has a similar form to Utsuno et al.'s formula.

9 The boundary condition of the cable is the factor that affects the natural frequency of the
10 cable. The existing formulas for estimating the tension force assume hinge support conditions. In
11 fact, the supports of a cable in a bridge are partially fixed. If the slenderness ratio of the cable
12 decreases, the support stiffness of the cable increases and the support conditions are closer to
13 that of the fixed support condition. However, if the slenderness ratio of the cable increases, the
14 support stiffness of the cable decreases and the support conditions are close to that of the hinge
15 support condition. Because the slenderness ratio of the cables in a bridge is greater than 200 in
16 most cases, the support stiffness of the cable is very small and the support condition of the cable
17 can be assumed to match the hinge support condition.

18 The free vibrations of axially loaded beams under gravity effects were first studied by
19 Shih et al. (15). They explained the vibration of axially loaded beam as the sum of static and
20 dynamic deflections. An approximate solution for the dynamic response was derived by
21 perturbation methods based on nonlinear partial differential equations, and the governing
22 equation for dynamic response in their study was very similar to the existing equation for cable
23 tension estimation. Hughes and Bert (16) found an error in the governing equation of Shih et al.
24 and proposed a new governing equation for the dynamic response, which has the same form as
25 the existing equation for cable tension estimation. Although Hughes and Bert proposed an exact
26 governing equation, they did not clearly explain the dynamic response in symmetric and anti-
27 symmetric modes.

28 To consider the gravity effect, the nonlinear solution for the static deflection is needed to
29 transform the beam from the static status to the dynamic status. This problem is related to the

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 4

1 curvature shortening effect. If immovable ends are assumed at the supports, the curvature
2 shortening effect is restrained. Zaslavsky (17) investigated the curvature shortening behaviour
3 and the reaction at immovable ends for changes in the support position.

4 In this paper, a new practical procedure is developed to increase the accuracy in

5 estimation of the cable tension in the cable-stayed bridge. In the new, practical procedure, the
6 initial deflection of the cable by the gravity effect, which is not considered in the existing
7 formulas, is taken into account. By considering this effect, the dynamic characteristics of
8 nonlinear cable oscillations can be understood in depth. The problem of underestimating the
9 value of the cable tension when using the existing formulas results from ignoring a self-
10 stretching force, which is induced from the boundary condition of the immovable ends is also
11 cleared. To verify the effectiveness of the new procedure, this paper included the re-estimation
12 of the tension forces for the cable-stayed Alamillo Bridge, Spain. For the re-estimation, the
13 research paper about the tension force estimation of the Alamillo Bridge's cable by Casas (18, 19)
14 was referenced.

15

16 CORRELATED NOLINEAR INFLUENCES

17 Initial Deflection

18 The differential equation for the static deflection of the bridge cable to account for the curvature
19 shortening effect can be described as follows (20):

d 4 ws ª L
EA § dws ·
2 º d 2w
EI
dx 4
 « Na 
« ³
2 L ¨© dx ¸¹
d x »
» dx 2
s
q q U gA  (1)
¬ 0 ¼

20 where EI is the flexural rigidity of the undeflected cable, EA is the axial rigidity of the cable, L is
21 the undeflected length of the cable, Na is the pure applied axial load, q is the uniform weight per
22 unit length,  is the cable density, g is the gravity acceleration, and s is the static deflection
23 when tension force is applied. The relation between the resultant axial load N and the pure
24 applied axial load Na is defined as follows:

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 5

L 2
EA § dws ·
N Na  ³
2 L ¨© dx ¸¹
0
dx (2)

L 2
EA § dwo ·
1 If Na becomes zero, then ws wo , N ³
2 L ¨© dx ¸¹
0
dx. and Equation (1) becomes

d 4 wo ª EA L § dw · 2 º d 2 w
EI
dx 4
« ¨ ³ o
« 2 L 0 © dx ¹
¸ dx »
» dx 2
o
q (3)
¬ ¼

2 where o is the static deflection when tension force is not applied, and we denote
L 2
EA § dwo ·
N conserv ³
2 L ¨© dx ¸¹
0
dx (4)

3 Equation (3) can be rewritten as follows:

d 4 wo d 2 wo
EI  N conserv q (5)
dx 4 dx 2

L 2
EA § dws ·
4 If Na becomes very large, then ws | 0, ³
2 L ¨© dx ¸¹
0
dx | 0. and Equation (1) becomes

d 4 ws d 2 ws
EI  Na q (N Na ) (6)
dx 4 dx 2

5 Under the immovable ends condition, the linear static deflection s() becomes

§ § L x · Na · §x Na ·
sinh ¨ ¨  ¸ ¸ sinh ¨ ¸¸
q x  L  x  2 EI q ¨ © 2 2 ¹ EI ¸ ¨2 EI
ws  x   © ¹ © ¹
(7)
2Na Na 2
§ L Na ·
cosh ¨
¨ 2 EI ¸¸
© ¹

6 Changing of Nonlinear Natural Frequency

7 The total deflection of vibration () consists of the initial static deflection s() in Equation (7)
8 and the continuously changing dynamic deflection d():

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 6

f f
Sx Sx
w( x) ws ( x)  wd ( x) ¦i 1
wi sin(
L ¦
i)  an (t ) sin( n)
n 1
L
(8)

1 wherei is the coefficient of the Fourier sine series for initial static deflection, and n is the
2 coefficient of the Fourier series for dynamic deflections. To build the differential equation for the
3 vibration of the bridge cable, the inertia and dynamic stretching forces are added to Equation (6).

ª º 2
EA § ww  x, t  ·
L 2
w 4 w( x, t ) « w w( x, t ) w 2 w( x, t )
EI
wx 4
 N  ¨
« a 2 L ¨© wx ¸¹ ³ ¸ dx »
» wx 2
 U A
wt 2
q (9)
¬ 0 ¼

4 For i=n, substituting Equation (8) in Equation (9) gives

f

¦a
n 1
n ''(t )  g n1an (t )  g n 2 an 2 (t )  g n3 an3 (t ) 0 (10)

5 where

§ EI · § n S · § ·
4
N L2 3 Awi 2
g n1 ¨ ¸¨ ¸ ¨¨1  2 a2  ¸¸ (for n 1,3,5...) (11)
© U A ¹ © L ¹ © n S EI 4I ¹

§ EI · § n S · § ·
4
N L2
¨ ¸¨ ¸ ¨¨1  2 a2 ¸¸
(for n 2, 4, 6...)
© U A ¹ © L ¹ © n S EI ¹

4
§ EI · § n S · § 3 Awi ·
gn2 ¨ ¸¨ ¸ ¨ ¸ (for n 1,3,5...)
© U A ¹ © L ¹ © 4I ¹ (12)
0 (for n 2, 4,6...)

4
§ EI · § n S · § A ·
g n3 ¨ ¸¨ ¸ ¨ ¸ (for n 1, 2,3...) (13)
© U A ¹ © L ¹ © 4I ¹

6 By using the multiple scale method, the approximate solution of Equation (10) can be expressed
7 as follows (21):

a 2H 2 g n 2 a 2H 2 g n 2 cos(2Zn t  2 E 0 )
an  t  a H cos(Zn t  E 0 )    O (H 3 ) (14)
2 g n1 6 g n1

8 where n is the angular nonlinear natural frequency of the system and is calculated as follows:

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 7

Zn

ª a 2H 2 9 g g  10 g 2
g n1 «1 
n 3 n1 n2  º»  O(H 3
)
« 2 » (15)
24 g n1
¬« ¼»

1 where a is the parametric amplitude,  is the perturbation parameter, and O(3) represents terms
2 equal to or higher than 3. By eliminating nonlinear terms from Equation (15), the angular linear
3 natural frequency n0 is determined as follows:

Zn0 g n1 (16)

4 If EI is zero, Equation (15) results in the natural frequency of the taut string. For the nonlinear
5 natural frequency n, the parameter a H is needed and dependent on the initial displacement and
6 velocity at the initial excitation. To determine a H , the initial displacement n0 and initial velocity
7 n0 of n(t) are assumed as follows:

sn0 an0 cos  En0  , vn0 an0Zn0 sin  En0  (17)

8 where an0 and n0 are the amplitude and the phase angle of the initial excitation, respectively.
9 Because of the disturbance due to nonlinear oscillation, the natural frequency of the system
10 changes from n0 at the initial excitation to n. Substituting the initial conditions of Equation (17)
11 in Equation (14) gives

§
¨
 an 0 ¨ 3 g n1sn 0  3an 0

g n1sn 0 3 g n1sn 0  8an20 g n 2  4 sn20 g n 2  ·¸
an20 ¸
¨ ¸
aH © ¹ (for n 1,3,5...) (18)
(4an20  2 sn20 ) g n 2

aH an0 (for n 2,4,6...)

12 In the nonlinear vibration of the cable, the amplitude an0 of the initial excitation may be several
13 times the initial midpoint deflection parameter i. In addition, the phase angle n0 may be
14 considered as zero for convenient calculation.

15

16 Restraining of Initial Curvature Shortening

17 As the cable becomes heavier or longer, the stretching force due to initial curvature shortening
18 by self-weight increases. If the cables in cable-stayed bridges have small diameters and are light

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 8

1 (slenderness ratio < 200), this stretching force is much smaller than the applied axial load Na;
2 therefore, the tension force of the cable can be estimated with only a small error margin using
3 the existing formulas while neglecting this stretching force. If the slenderness ratio of the cable
4 is greater than 200, or if the weight of cable is further increased by grouting, this stretching force
5 should be considered in the tension force calculation.

6 If the support conditions of the cable is simply supported, this force moves the end side
7 of cable on roller support to the opposite side (large displacement occurs). In this case, the cable
8 cannot act as the structural member. To sustain the applied tension force and vibrate normally,
9 the cable should have the immovable-end conditions. And under this support conditions, the
10 stretching force due to initial curvature shortening acts as the conservative force restraining the
11 large displacement of the cable. This force can be calculated using a second order elastic
12 analysis or via the relation between the elongation of stretching force Nconserv and the static
13 deflection o () by self-weight in Equation (4). However, to use Equation (4), an iteration
14 calculation is needed to find the stretching force Nconserv. This iterative procedure may be too
15 much trouble. The stretching force Nconserv can be also determined by the relation between the
16 nonlinear natural frequency and the applied axial load Na. As shown in Equation (18), there is
17 the border line to divide the imaginary natural frequency and the real natural frequency. If the
18 radicand in Equation (18) is positive, the nonlinear natural frequency n of the cable becomes
19 the real number. This means that the cable will be vibrating under the given condition. However,
20 if it is negative, the nonlinear natural frequency n becomes the imaginary number. In this case,
21 the cable would sway but the vibration of the cable would not occur. By equating the radicand in
22 Equation (18) with zero and solving for Na, the axial load to divide the imaginary natural
23 frequency region and the real natural frequency region can be decided. This axial load becomes
24 the stretching force Nconserv which can be described as follows:
1/ 3
EI S 2 § 22 EA L2 q 2 ·
N conserv  ¨ ¸¸ (19)
L2 ¨ S4
© ¹

25

26

27

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 9

1 NEW TENSION ESTIMATION PROCEDURE

2 Comparison with Existing Formulas

3 Figure 1 shows the difference between the linear natural frequency f10 and nonlinear natural
4 frequency f1 with the natural frequencies calculated by the existing formulas. In addition, the
5 sag-to-span ratio , defined as 1/L, is plotted in Figure 1. For the nonlinear natural frequency f1 ,
6 an amplitude an 0 equal to the initial midpoint deflection parameter 1 is assigned ( = 1.0). The
7 frequency curves of the taut string and derived from the work of Zui et al. (5) and Mehrabi and
8 Tabatabai (8) are also plotted.
9 As the applied axial load Na increases, the nonlinear natural frequency f1 increases and
10 the sag-to-span ratio  decreases. If the applied axial load Na is slightly greater than the
11 stretching force Nconserv , the increasing rate of the nonlinear natural frequency f1 becomes large,
12 and the decreasing rate of the span ratio  becomes slow. If the applied axial load Na is much
13 greater than the stretching force Nconserv , the increasing rate of the nonlinear natural frequency f1
14 and decreasing rate of the span ratio  are constant.
15 As the applied axial load Na increases, all frequency curves approach the taut string’s
16 frequency curve. The curve obtained from the formula of Zui et al. (5) is slightly larger than the
17 taut string’s natural frequency curve. This is because in the formula of Zui et al. (5), some
18 constant frequency (related to the flexural rigidity of the cable) is reflected. However, this
19 formula does not catch the nonlinear phenomenon when the applied axial load Na is small. The
20 natural frequency curve from the formula of Mehrabi and Tabatabai (8) is similar to that of the
21 linear natural frequency f10 . Considering the fact that Mehrabi and Tabatabai (8) used parameter

22 Ɖ2 as proposed by Irvine (22) in their formula, this similarity may be expected. However, the

23 formula of Mehrabi and Tabatabai (8) gives incorrect results when small axial loads are applied
24 to the cable.

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 10

1
2 (a) Overall comparison (Na = 0 ~ 3000kN)

3
4 (b) High tension region comparison (Na=2500~3000 kN)
5 FIGURE 1 Comparison between new and existing formulas for tension force calculations (continued).

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 11

1
2 (c) Comparison for short span beam (L=10m)
3 FIGURE 1 Comparison between new and existing formulas for tension force calculations.
4

5 Total Tension Force and Estimation Procedure

6 The behaviour of an axial loaded cable with immovable ends is different from that of an axial
7 loaded and simply supported cable. If the applied axial load Na becomes zero, there is no tension
8 force in the cable, but the reaction forces at the immovable ends still exist. The value of the
9 reaction force is the same as that of the stretching force Nconserv. The stretching force Nconserv acts
10 as the force sustaining force on the cable, and induces the reaction forces at the immovable ends.
11 The stretching force Nconserv can be considered a conservative force for the change of the applied
12 axial load Na. If the applied axial load Na becomes greater than zero, the cable is tensioned and
13 the total reaction force becomes Na + Nconserv . If an axial loaded beam is placed on immovable
14 ends, the total tension force Ntotal of the sagged cable consists of an applied axial load Na and
15 stretching force Nconserv :

Ntotal N a  Nconserv (20)

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 12

1 Table 1 shows the new estimation procedure for the cable tension using the first mode
2 nonlinear natural frequency. To estimate cable tension, only four constants ( , EI, EA, L) are
3 needed. In calculating the nonlinear natural frequency of the cable, the assumption about the
4 initial condition of the excitation using Equation (17) is needed. Also, to calculate the stretching
5 force Nconserv , the iterative calculation is needed. If the iterative calculation is cumbersome, the
6 approximate method proposed by Zaslavsky (17) or in Equation (19) can also be used.
7

8 TABLE 1 Estimation procedure for the cable tension using the first mode nonlinear natural frequency

Parameters to
Step Procedure for each step
calculate

1 Check the material characteristics of the cable U , EI , EA, L

Calculate the initial midpoint deflection parameter

2 4qL4 w1
w1

S 3 L2 N a  EI S 2 
Calculate the coefficients of nonlinear oscillations
§ EI · § S ·
4
§ N L2 3 Awi 2 ·
g n1 ¨ ¸¨ ¸ ¨¨ 1  2a  ¸¸
© U A ¹© L ¹ © S EI 4I ¹
3 4
§ EI · § S · § 3 Awi ·
g n1 , g n 2 , gn3
gn2 ¨ ¸¨ ¸ ¨ ¸
© U A ¹ © L ¹ © 4I ¹
4
§ EI · § S · § A ·
g n3 ¨ ¸¨ ¸ ¨ ¸
© U A ¹ © L ¹ © 4I ¹

Calculate the linear natural frequency

4 Z10
Z10 g11

5 Assign the initial conditions (recommend: a10 w1 , E10 0 ) a10 , E10

Calculate the nonlinear natural frequency

6
Z1 g11 «1 

ª a 2H 2 9 g g  10 g 2
13 11 12  º»  O(H 3
)
Z1
« 24 g112 »
¬« ¼»

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 13

7 Calculate the axial load from the measured first natural frequency Na

Calculate the stretching force due to self-weight

1/ 3 Nconserv
8 EI S 2 § 22 EA L2 q 2 ·
N conserv  ¨ ¸¸
L2 ¨ S4
© ¹

Calculate the total tension force

9 Ntotal
Ntotal N a  Nconserv

3 VERIFICATION EXAMPLE

4 The Alamillo Bridge, Spain

5
6 FIGURE 2 Layout of cables from the inclined pylon to the deck (by Casas (19)).
7

8 To verify the new formula, the tension force of the Alamillo Bridge cables was re-estimated
9 using the reported data. As shown in Figure 2, the Alamillo Bridge is the cable-stayed bridge
10 with just one inclined pylon. The parallel cable system consists of 26 cables. Each parallel cable
11 line has two cables that connect on each side of the pedestrian passage. Figure 2 also shows the
12 layout of the 13 parallel cables from the inclined pylon to the deck. For the anchorage of the

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 14

1 cable, DYWIDAG DB-E61 is used. For the C1~C12 cables, the cable consists of 60 epoxy
2 coated strands. The C13 cable consists of 45 epoxy coated strands. The diameter of the epoxy
3 coated strands that satisfies ASTM A416 Grade 270 is 15.24 mm.
4

5 For the Alamillo Bridge, Casas (18) tested the natural frequencies of the cables and
6 reported the estimated cable tensions. The estimated results by Casas (18) show a clear
7 contradiction between the calculation results using the existing formulas and the direct
8 measurement by jack pressure and strain gauges. In this paper, for the length and the natural
9 frequency of the cables, the work of Casas (18) is referenced, and for the material properties of
10 the strands, the data from DYWIDAG is used.
11

12 Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4 show the measured first mode natural frequencies and the
13 estimated tension forces for 26 cables using the formulas of Zui et al. (5), Mehrabi and
14 Tabatabai (8), and the new proposed formula. The values used in tables are as follows: for
15 C1~C12 cables, density of 8,811 kg/m
, axial rigidity  of 1.64718u109 N, and flexural
16 rigidity  of 1.14326u106 N˜m , and for C13 cables, density of 8,853 kg/m
, axial rigidity
17  of 1.23585u109 N, and flexural rigidity  of 646,744 N˜m . The letters L and R attached to
18 the cable numbers in Tables refer to the left and right cables, respectively, in the parallel cable
19 position. In the Alamillo Bridge, two parallel cables are installed on the same transverse line and
20 act as a one-cable element in the global structural system because they are very near to each
21 other. However, the measured frequencies for the two parallel cables were different.
22

23 The average tension forces Nz_avg estimated by Zui et al.’s formula (5) show the greatest
24 values. The average tension forces Nmt_avg estimated by Mehrabi and Tabatabai’s formula (8)
25 show the second greatest values. Finally, Na_avg estimated by the new formula shows the
26 minimum values. The estimated tension forces showed considerable differences compared with
27 the average design values Td.. As mentioned before, this difference can be complemented by
28 adding the stretching force Nconserv due to initial curvature shortening to the estimated tension
29 forces. The total tension forces Ntotal_avg which include the stretching force Nconserv estimated by
30 Equation (19), agree well with the average design values Td given in Table 4.  are the

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 15

1 calculated values in the design analysis of the Alamillo Bridge. This values are checked by the
2 jack pressure. In design, the parallel cables are assumed to be equally tensioned (non-eccentric
3 tensioning) and have the same tension force in the analysis.
4

5 TABLE 2 Tension force estimates for the Alamillo Bridge (Zui et al. (5))

Meas. Estimated tension by Stretching Total Tension Design

Cable Length first Zui et al.'s formula force force value
No. [m] freq. [ kN ] [ kN ] [ kN ] [ kN ] (18)
[Hz] (18) Nz Nz_avg Nconserv Nz_avg + Nconserv Td
8L 169.2 0.69 4133
4133 1036 5169 5121
8R 169.2 0.69 4133
9L 186.0 0.63 4169
4236 1104 5340 5013
9R 186.0 0.64 4303
10L 202.6 0.56 3911
3841 1169 5010 4640
10R 202.6 0.55 3772
11L 219.5 0.52 3962
3962 1233 5195 4562
11R 219.5 0.52 3962
12L 236.1 0.46 3588
3667 1295 4962 4199
12R 236.1 0.47 3746
13L 253.0 0.50 3700
3700 1024 4723 4365
13R 253.0 0.50 3700
6

7 TABLE 3 Tension force estimates for the Alamillo Bridge (Mehrabi and Tabatabai (8))

Meas. Estimated tension by Stretching Total Tension Design

Cable Length first Mehrabi and Tabatabai's force force value
No. [m] freq. formula [ kN ] [ kN ] [ kN ] [ kN ] (18)
[Hz] (18) Nmt Nmt_avg Nconserv Nmt_avg + Nconserv Td
8L 169.2 0.69 4009
4009 1036 5045 5121
8R 169.2 0.69 4009
9L 186.0 0.63 4018
4090 1104 5194 5013
9R 186.0 0.64 4163
10L 202.6 0.56 3695
3615 1169 4784 4640
10R 202.6 0.55 3535
11L 219.5 0.52 3709 3709 1233 4942 4562

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 16

11R 219.5 0.52 3709

12L 236.1 0.46 3182
3287 1295 4581 4199
12R 236.1 0.47 3391
13L 253.0 0.50 3541
3541 1024 4565 4365
13R 253.0 0.50 3541
1

2 TABLE 4 Tension force estimates for the Alamillo Bridge (New estimation procedure)

Esitmated Tension Stretching Total Tension Design

Meas. by New procedure force force value
Cable Length first [ kN ] [ kN ] [ kN ] [ kN ] (18)
No. [m] freq.
Ntotal_avg
[Hz] (18) Na Na_avg Nconserv Td
(= Na_avg+ Nconserv)
8L 169.2 0.69 3930
3930 1036 4967 5121
8R 169.2 0.69 3930
9L 186.0 0.63 3906
3985 1104 5089 5013
9R 186.0 0.64 4064
10L 202.6 0.56 3502
3408 1169 4577 4640
10R 202.6 0.55 3314
11L 219.5 0.52 3467
3467 1233 4700 4562
11R 219.5 0.52 3467
12L 236.1 0.46 2695
2846 1295 4140 4199
12R 236.1 0.47 2996
13L 253.0 0.50 3397
3397 1024 4421 4365
13R 253.0 0.50 3397
3

4 Figure 3 compares the total tension forces in the cables, in which the stretching forces
5 Nconserv due to initial curvature shortening given in Table 2 and Table 3 were added to the
6 estimated average axial loads Nz_avg , Nmt_avg.. The new procedure was more accurate, and the
7 stretching force Nconserv should be included for tension force estimation of the cable-stayed
8 bridge cables. Therefore, the application of other formulas to the cable-stayed bridges should be
9 considered carefully.
10

TRB 2013 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.

 Choi, Park, and Nassif 17

2 FIGURE 3 Estimated results for the total tension forces of the Alamillo Bridge cables.

4 CONCULUSION

5 In this study, a new estimation procedure for the total tension force of bridge cables is proposed.
6 The existing methods based on the taut string theory consider additionally the flexural rigidity of
7 the cables. However, they do not consider the initial deflection, the natural frequency changing,
8 and the initial curvature shortening of the cables. To incorporate these correlated nonlinear
9 influences in the tension force estimations, the new estimation procedure considers the total
10 tension force consisting of the applied axial load and the stretching force due to the initial
11 curvature shortening for the cable. A new approximation method for this stretching force was
12 also derived from the nonlinear natural frequency formula for the cable. Each step of the new
13 estimation procedure was clearly proposed in this paper. The reliability of the new method was
14 verified by re-estimating the tension forces of the Alamillo Bridge cables.

TRB 2013 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.

 Choi, Park, and Nassif 18

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

3 This work is a part of a research project supported by Korea Ministry of Land, Transportation
4 Maritime Affairs (MLTM) through Core Research Project 1 of Super Long Span Bridge R&D
5 Center. The authors wish to express their gratitude for the financial support. This research was
6 supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of
7 Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2012R1A1A
8 2007054).

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 Choi, Park, and Nassif 20

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TRB 2013 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.