Abstract
The serious consequence of barge-bridge collisions necessitates the study of barge impact loadings on bridges. This article introduces an elastoplastic spring-mass model for the analysis of multi-barge flotillas colliding with bridge piers at zero angle of attack. The model accounts for the essential factors pertaining to barge/flotilla impacts, such as pier geometry and stiffness, and dynamic interaction between barges. A method to identify the elastoplastic behavior of barge crushing is also presented. The proposed method generates impact force time-histories for a multitude of flotilla configurations in a matter of minutes, which is especially valuable in probabilistic analysis requiring many collision simulations. The results from this study are compatible with the respective impact time-histories produced by exhaustive finite element simulations. A bridge pier impacted by a three-barge and a 15-barge flotilla is studied.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 437-447 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2008 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Civil and Structural Engineering
- Computer Science Applications
- Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
- Computational Theory and Mathematics