Estimation of Extreme Cable Forces of Cable-Stayed Bridges Based on Monitoring Data and Random Vehicle Models

Abstract

For long-span cable-stayed bridges, cables serve as one of the most important components to guarantee structural integrity. Forces of stay cables indicate not only the performance of cables themselves but also the overall condition of bridges. In order to help stakeholders to make maintenance decisions, an extreme cable force estimation method was proposed based on cable force measurements and traffic data from the weighing system. First, raw monitoring data were preprocessed based on a median filtering to obtain usable cable force signals. The multiresolution wavelet method was used to extract traffic-induced force component from mixed signals. Then, a Monte Carlo-based random vehicle model was developed using traffic data from the weighing system. Based on field temperature measurements and simulation of traffic-induced effects, extreme cable forces with respect to vehicle loads and temperature effects were predicted by extreme value theory. The Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) was adopted to establish the probability distribution models of the daily maximum cable force. Then, the extreme value within a return period of 100 years was determined and compared with the design loading demand. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method was validated through a cable-stayed bridge in China. As a result, the low-frequency varying component of cable force response had positive correlation with environmental temperatures, and the extreme value of the predicted cable force under prospective traffic volumes was within limit interval value according to the design code. The conclusions can be utilized by bridge owners to make maintenance decisions.