Probability model and reliability analysis of cable stress for cable-stayed bridge

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the time-varying effect of stay cable of long-span cable-stayed bridges subject to vehicle load. The analysis has been carried out on the Su-Tong cable-stayed bridge in Jiangsu, China that has the second-longest span among the completed composite-deck cable-stayed bridges in the world currently. Probability models of vehicle load in each lane (fast lane, middle lane and slow lane) and cable stress under random vehicle load were developed based on the stochastic process theory. The results show the gross vehicle weight follows lognormal distribution or multi-peak distribution, and the time-interval of the vehicle follows a lognormal distribution. Then, the probability function of maximum cable stress was determined using up-crossing theory. Finally, the reliability of stay cable under random vehicle load was analysed. The reliability index ranges from 9.59 to 10.82 that satisfies the target reliability index of highway bridge structure of finished dead state.