Investigation of the Progressive Collapse in a Suspension Bridge Under the Explosive Load

What is it about?

Progressive collapse is a continuous spread of initial local failure from one member to another one, finally causing the collapse of the structure entirely or a disproportionately large part of it. This disproportionate collapse is due to the small initial local failure induced by unpredicted attacks, exhibiting that the structural system cannot resist the development of damage due to the insufficient load carrying capacity. In this study, a typical suspension bridge was modeled and analyzed under explosion load. For this purpose, different scenarios were investigated. Forces and moments of the superstructure, responses and the stability of the structure under the applied loads were studied. Explosion applied on the structure depends on the amount of the load and local effects. Also, by removing one or several elements of structures, the force is distributed in the whole structure. For loading rate on different positions of the structure, it was observed that the critical position would be under the explosion and towers adjacent. Towers adjacent and the middle of the deck were prone to the maximum influences where should be put more attention on and be reinforced to preserve the structure from the total and local failure.

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Photo by Max Ostwalt on Unsplash

Photo by Max Ostwalt on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The effects of explosion considering different scenarios have been investigated in suspension bridge. The possibility of progressive collapse also has been investigated.

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