Temperature behavior of cable-stayed bridges. Part I — Global 3D temperature distribution by integrating heat-transfer analysis and field monitoring data

Abstract

Varying temperatures significantly affect long-span cable-stayed bridges. However, quantitative studies on their temperature behaviors are limited. Existing studies focus on 2D or 3D models of bridge segments only, exclude cables from heat-transfer analysis, and utilize inaccurate environmental conditions. For the first time, this study comprehensively and accurately investigates the global 3D temperature distribution of long-span cable-stayed bridges by integrating the heat-transfer analysis and field monitoring data. A navigation channel bridge of the Hong Kong‒Zhuhai‒Macao Bridge is used as the testbed. A global 3D refined finite element model of the entire bridge is established. The external thermal boundary conditions of the outer surfaces of the structure are carefully determined based on the real-time ambient temperature, wind, and solar radiation, which are tailored for each surface to reflect the influence of the geometric configuration. The internal thermal boundary conditions of the inner surfaces of the box girder and tower are dependent on the measured ambient temperature, considering the vertical temperature difference of the girder and the uniform temperature inside the tower. Then, the numerical heat-transfer analysis and field monitoring data are integrated to calculate the detailed temperature distribution of the entire bridge in different seasons. Results show that ambient temperature, wind, and solar radiation significantly affect the temperature distribution. For the girder, the vertical temperature difference is significant throughout the year, and the transverse temperature difference is nonnegligible in winter and summer, while the longitudinal temperature difference is trivial. The internal temperature of the tower remains stable owing to the insulation of the concrete. The temperatures of the cables vary from each other, which may cause stress redistribution within the structure. The calculated temperatures are in good agreement with their measured counterparts. The temperature results will be used to calculate the thermal-induced responses in the companion paper in a unified manner.

Performance evaluation of cable-stayed bridge expansion joints based on Lasso dimensionality reduction and temperature-displacement-correlation model

“…They advocated for exploring global 3D temperature effect numerical simulations and optimizing the placement of temperature sensors based on the boundary conditions required by the numerical simulations. Shan et al (2023aShan et al ( , 2023b established a global three-dimensional finite element model of the Qingzhou Bridge. They used transient heat conduction analysis to calculate the detailed temperature distribution throughout the entire bridge for all four seasons which found that the horizontal displacement of the bridge towers and the longitudinal displacement of the bridge ends are primarily affected by the average temperature.…”

Experimental and numerical study of the three-dimensional temperature field in the arch ribs of the reinforced concrete ribbed arch bridge during construction

“…Investigating the Qingma suspension bridge spanning 2132 meters, Xia et al (2013) combined numerical analysis with field monitoring to study temperature distribution and response. Shan et al (2023aShan et al ( , 2023b analyzed the global temperature field of a long-span cable-stayed bridge across different seasons, integrating heat transfer analysis and field monitoring data. They proposed a method for uniformly calculating temperature responses, highlighting the significant impact of temperature changes in tension cables, where the temperature stress ratio to the constant load stress of the main girder reached 96%.…”