Structural Mechanics III

Finite&Element&Modelling&&Footbridge&Project&
Group
Plastic2b
Collapse of a Portal Frame
&
mi, Czarina Wong
& Jeffman
Law
Structural
Mechanics
III

&
Group 2b
Group&2B&Czarina Wong & Jeffman Law
Omar El-Chehimi,
&

March 2015

Omar&Chehimi,&Ching&Wong,&Ka&Li,&Yue&Law&

March 2015

Group 2b
&
Omar El-Chehimi, Czarina Wong & Jeffman
& Law
!

Checking&Group:&5A&
&
&
&

March 2015
!

&

&

Ken&Khor&

Tony&
Bowerman&

&
!
!
!

!
!
!

Aaron&Dunton&
!
!

&

Aldi&Llazi&

Introduction*
The!aim!of!this!work!is!to!produce!a!working!and!validated!finite!element!model!(FEM)!
using!the!structural!analysis!software!GSA.!In!this!report,!a!global!model!for!a!72m!long!
cable!stayed!pedestrian!footbridge!will!be!presented.!This!model!includes!deformations!
and!load!distributions!in!critical!sections!of!the!bridge!for!the!relevant!load!cases.!The!
output!of!the!computational!model!will!be!compared!with!hand!calculations!for!
verification.!Only!static!loading!will!be!considered!although!minor!provisions!will!be!
included!for!dynamic!effects.!Behavior!is!assumed!to!be!elasticIplastic.!Where!plastic!
analysis!applies,!the!GSA!model!has!been!modified!to!be!consistent!with!plastic!analysis!
handIcalculations.!
!
The!deck!is!connected!to!steel!cables,!which!are!anchored!at!the!top!of!circular!steel!
piers.!In!addition!to!the!piers!required!for!the!cableIstayed!design,!columns!will!be!
placed!at!each!end!of!the!deck.!This!was!included!since!there!is!an!additional!6m!
extension!of!deck!either!side!of!the!main!span.!Although!the!bridge!was!designed!to!
sustain!selfIweight!and!applied!loads,!these!endIcolumns!will!provide!a!translational!
restraint,!which!otherwise!would!have!been!introduced!through!the!anchorage!of!cables!
directly!into!the!ground.!The!latter!option!is!not!structurally!feasible!in!this!case.!
!
The!longitudinal!beams!are!of!hollow!square!crossIsection!whereas!IIsections!are!used!
for!the!crossbeams!and!diagonal!beams.!The!longitudinal!beams!will!be!connected!to!the!
columns!at!their!longitudinally!facing!sections.!The!cables!are!connected!to!the!top!face!
of!the!longitudinal!beams.!Sufficient!bracing!has!been!included!between!the!longitudinal!
beams!and!between!the!left!hand!side!and!right!hand!side!columns!and!piers.!The!
positioning!of!these!bracing!elements!was!carefully!determined!in!order!to!reduce!
moments!at!critical!points.!Other!provisions!were!implemented!in!the!modeling!process!
for!similar!reasons.!The!details!of!these!considerations!will!be!discussed!in!this!report.!
!
Through!the!understanding!of!the!structural!behavior!of!the!bridge,!a!structural!model!
was!produced!using!sketches!and!drawings!of!various!arrangements,!elements!and!
connections.!This!work!is!part!of!the!RIBA!stage!D!design!of!the!footbridge.!

Methodology*
!
Assumptions:+
o Linear!and!static!analysis!neglecting!P.!!effects!for!all!elements!but!longitudinal!
beams.!ElasticIplastic!analysis!for!longitudinal!beams!where!plastic!moment!of!
section!has!been!reached!at!critical!points.!
o Mesh!size!=!1!to!maintain!a!balance!between!refinement!and!element!aspect!ratios!
!!to!ensure!that!the!GSA!model!is!representative!of!the!superstructure.!
o Only!the!superstructure!is!modelled:!Analysis!is!predominantly!static!so!the!number!
of!elements!can!be!reduced!to!just!represent!the!superstructure.!For!dynamic!
effects,!number!of!elements!would!need!to!be!increased!globally!or!locally!
depending!on!how!dynamic!effects!are!exhibited.!
o Ignored!nonIlinear!characteristics:!sag!effect!of!inclined!stay!cables,!combined!axial!
load!and!bending!moment!interaction!of!girders!and!piers,!large!displacement!
effects!and!nonIlinear!stressIstrain!behaviour!of!materials.!
o Timber!beams!are!not!included!in!the!model.!Their!dead!load!is!included.!
!
!

1!

Design+&+Modelling+Decisions:+
+
o Section!properties!are!not!the!most!important!input!parameters.!Relative!stiffness!is!
important.!This!is!achieved!through!comparison!of!connecting!parts!at!nodes.!The!
bolt!or!weld!at!any!connection!must!have!enough!strength!to!withstand!the!transfer!
of!forces!between!the!elements!and!must!be!strong!in!shear.!This!will!not!be!checked!
for!the!purpose!of!the!global!model.!Anchor!details!will!not!be!optimized!for!rainI
wind!vibrations.!In!a!more!detailed!analysis,!FEM!model!would!be!calibrated!such!
that!predicted!frequencies!of!vibration!match!frequencies!observed!experimentally!
for!structural!dynamic!effects.!
o Bridge!deck!must!be!strong!enough!to!resist!horizontal!compression!loads.!The!
anchorages!of!the!cables!in!the!piers!do!not!have!to!be!as!strong!as!in!suspension!
bridges!as!the!load!will!be!significantly!less.!The!longitudinal!beam!section!was!
therefore!improved!from!initial!design!(from!IIbeams!to!square!hollow!section)!and!
the!thickness!of!the!timber!deck!reduced.!Box!girders!will!be!used!longitudinally!so!
that!the!beam!does!not!buckle!very!easily.!With!an!IIsection,!it!would!buckle!along!
the!weak!transverse!axis!before!buckling!along!xIaxis.!The!same!circular!section!will!
be!used!along!the!towers!as!variations!in!the!bridge!increase!the!uncertainty!in!the!
geometry!and!material.!
o Longitudinal!beams!are!essentially!cantilevered!out!from!the!piers.!Cables!act!as!
supports!to!the!deck.!To!avoid!torsional!moment!in!the!pier!columns,!cables!from!
the!main!span!and!end!span!will!be!anchored!in!the!same!plane.!
o Tension!in!cables!should!be!no!more!than!20I30%!of!tension!capacity!to!avoid!
excessive!vibration!(dynamic!effects).!
o Cables!are!attached!to!beams!at!points!of!maximum!bending!moment!(midIspan).!
!
TradeIoff!between!moments!in!the!pier!and!deck;!must!achieve!balance!between:!
1. Connection!between!main!girder!and!cross!or!diagonal!beams!should!be!close!to!
points!of!contraflexture!where!bending!moment!is!lowest!
2. Cable!angles!should!converge!to!a!point!in!the!piers!in!order!to!eliminate!a!potential!
moment!there!which!would!necessitate!a!greater!pier!crossIsection!!

Chosen*Design**
Geometry*&*Load*Distribution*in*Structural*System*
!

Figure'1:'Load'paths'for'global'model'in'elevation'view'
!

2!

Calculation!of!dead!and!live!uniformly!distributed!loads!can!be!found!in!Appendix!A.!
Dead!load!includes!the!selfIweight,!timber!deck!and!railings.!These!loads!can!be!
summated!and!used!to!validate!the!GSA!model.!The!calculation!of!UDLs!on!different!
elements!due!to!wind!action!in!different!directions!is!presented!in!Appendix!A!(sheet!6).!

Material*&*Section*Properties*
!
Refer!to!calculation!sheets!1I4!in!Appendix!A!for!calculation!of!section!properties.!
Material!properties!have!not!been!modified!from!original!design.!

Supports*&*Connection*Idealization*
!
o
o
o
o

NoIslip!bolted!connections!between!diagonal!bracing!beams!and!longitudinal!beams!
Connection!for!cable!at!girder!is!welded!at!the!top!face!(preIassembly).!The!cables!
are!fastened!to!connections!at!assembly!because!bolting!is!difficult!for!box!sections.!
Pier!is!divided!into!3!legs!(upper,!middle!&!lower)!and!tower!lower!strut!is!
connected!with!edge!girders!with!2!fixed!bearings!
Edge!(longitudinal)!girders!are!continuous!(expansion!bearing!at!each!end,!2!fixed!
bearings!at!each!tower!&!2!tieIdown!linkages!at!each!pier)!!

!
Elements:!
o Columns!and!struts!of!towers!are!modeled!as!3ID!elastic!beam!elements!with!6!DOF!
o Foundations!are!encastre!and!are!modeled!as!solid!elements!!
o Edge!girders,!crossbeams!and!piers!are!3ID!elastic!beam!elements!(continuous)!to!
provide!tension!compression,!bending!and!torsional!stiffness!
o Stiffness!of!crossbeams!and!diagonal!beams!is!increased!by!increasing!the!elastic!
modulus!
o TieIdown!linkages!connecting!longitudinal!beams!and!piers!are!not!modeled!as!3ID!
elastic!beam!elements.!See!boundary!conditions.!
!
Boundary+conditions:+
!
o Towers!and!piers!are!fixed!at!bases!(encastre)!
o Ends!of!deck!(longitudinal!beams)!are!connected!to!the!piers!via!rigid!links!i.e.!end!
of!deck!can!rotate!freely!about!the!vertical!and!transverse!axes!but!not!about!the!
longitudinal!axis.!This!is!necessary!to!allow!the!transfer!of!bending!moments!where!
the!column!is!modeled!as!an!elastic!beam!element!and!the!deck!(longitudinal!beams!
+!crossbeams!together)!is!effectively!a!solid!element.!
o Connection!between!longitudinal!beam!and!endIcolumn/tower!is!welded.!The!
bearing!is!simulated!using!rigid!links!to!restrain!relative!movements!between!the!
deck!and!the!tower!!!only!1!rotational!DOF!about!the!transverse!axis.!
o Connection!between!longitudinal!beams!may!be!bolted!or!welded.!The!longitudinal!
beams!will!me!modeled!as!continuous!as!the!connection!is!bolted.!
o The!connections!between!the!3!legs!of!the!piers!consist!of!plates!welded!to!the!legs,!
which!are!bolted!together.!This!column!splice!connection!allows!for!the!transfer!of!
moments.!It!can!be!modeled!as!rigid/continuous!but!there!are!no!translational!or!
rotational!degrees!of!freedom.!
o Longitudinal!beams!of!square!hollow!section!will!be!bolted!to!the!crossbeams!and!
diagonal!IIbeams!as!to!provide!some!lateral!restraint.!The!thickness!of!the!timber!
beams!will!be!reduced!and!therefore!the!deck!may!not!provide!sufficient!restraint!
alone.!This!connection!will!be!modeled!as!fixed!with!no!translations!but!will!allow!
some!rotation!about!the!transverse!axis.!Having!the!connections!welded!would!
impose!complete!rotational!restraint!and!the!connection!would!be!considered!
rigid/continuous!for!analysis.!

3!

Timber!beams!are!bolted!to!the!longitudinal!beams!using!plates!that!are!already!
welded!onto!the!longitudinal!beams.!This!allows!no!translation!or!rotation.!
Alternatively,!if!the!connection!between!the!longitudinal!beam!and!diagonal!IIbeams!
is!bolted,!then!the!timber!beams!should!be!bolted!to!the!diagonal!and!crossbeams!to!
provide!some!additional!restraint.!In!GSA,!there!is!no!relative!translational!
movement!between!the!longitudinal!beams!and!crossbeams!and!diagonal!beams!and!
the!connections!are!continuous.!
Cables!are!connected!to!anchorages!in!the!column!tops.!The!cables!connected!to!any!
one!column!all!connect!at!one!point!through!a!fan!design.!The!cables!are!essentially!
held!between!a!steel!plate!in!the!column!and!the!connection!is!a!pin.!

!
Refer!to!Appendix!B!for!sketches!of!key!connections.!

Sketches*of*Model*
!

!Figure'2:'Sketches'showing'plan'&'side'views'of'footbridge'

4!

Figure'3:'Isometric'view'of'footbridge'with'elements,'types'of'nodes'&'labels'
!

5!

Figure'4:'Section'views'of'footbridge'

Structural*Modeling*
Hand*Calculations*
See!calculation!sheets!5I9!for!calculation!of!loads!imposed!on!the!structure!and!checks!
for!the!longitudinal!beams,!columns!and!cables.!Bending!moments!and!deflections!were!
calculated!for!the!RHS!longitudinal!beams!and!a!buckling!check!carried!out!for!the!
columns.!A!simple!plastic!analysis!was!carried!out!for!the!RHS!beam!with!the!normal!
load!case!applied!(dead!load!+!live!load).!!
!

Figure'5''Section'of'bridge'for'which'deflections'are'presented'(in'Appendix'D)'

6!

Validation*with*Finite*Element*Model*(GSA)*
!
The!geometry!of!the!GSA!model!produced!is!shown!in!Appendix!C.!
!
The!hand!calculations!show!that!the!main!structural!elements!are!strong!enough!to!
resist!the!loads!they!are!subject!to.!The!handIcalculations!were!carried!out!for!the!
simple!case!of!the!beam!connected!to!the!column!(beam!1!in!Figure!5),!since!not!all!
results!can!be!verified!in!this!report.!The!maximum!beam!deflection!under!elastic!
behavior!was!calculated!to!be!3.063mm!for!this!beam.!The!corresponding!value!found!
using!GSA!was!29mm.!This!is!above!the!allowable!deflection!limit.!!The!discrepancy!is!
because!in!the!handIcalculations!we!assumed!that!the!cable!could!provide!a!force!that!
can!support!the!beam!as!a!pinned!support.!This!was!not!assumed!in!the!GSA!model!
because!in!reality!the!cable!cannot!hold!the!beam!perfectly!straight!unless!very!stiff,!
since!the!column!is!only!fixed!on!the!columnIfacing!end.!At!the!other!end,!it!is!supported!
by!the!moment!from!the!other!beam.!Although!hand!calculations!were!not!calculated!for!
midIspan,!the!maximum!beam!deflection!was!found!to!be!209mm!in!GSA.!This!can!be!
reduced!through!preIstressing!and!stiffening!the!cables,!however!this!is!not!the!aim!of!
this!model.!Full!deflection!results!for!the!elements!shown!in!Figure!5!can!be!found!in!
Appendix!D.!
!
The!maximum!longitudinal!beam!deflection!in!the!plastic!case!was!calculated!to!be!
70.52mm.!This!would!require!a!UDL!of!112.9kN/m,!which!is!4!times!larger!than!the!
anticipated!loading.!The!deflection!calculated!using!GSA!was!117.6mm.!This!is!60%!
larger!than!70.52mm.!In!reality,!by!the!time!the!ends!of!the!beam!have!yielded,!the!
deflection!is!around!15mm!and!some!of!this!will!be!permanent.!Thus,!upon!the!
application!of!additional!UDL,!secondIorder!effects!will!appear!in!the!flexural!behavior!
of!the!beam.!The!discrepancy!is!also!due!to!modeling!assumptions!as!discussed!above.!
!
The!same!checks!were!not!repeated!for!the!crossbeams!and!diagonal!beams!since!the!
deflection!for!these!elements!is!not!as!important!for!checking!consistency!between!the!
hand!calculations!and!the!GSA!model.!The!diagonal!beams!only!resist!lateral!loads.!
There!is!no!deflection!in!these!elements!due!to!the!assumptions!made!in!the!modeling.!
This!has!been!assumed!in!the!hand!calculations!also.!!
!
The!maximum!tension!in!the!cables!was!found!to!be!164kN.!This!is!equivalent!to!a!stress!
of!30.64MPa.!The!cable!tension!capacity!is!500MPa;!the!internal!force!is!therefore!less!
than!7%!of!the!cable!capacity.!In!the!back!tie,!the!maximum!stress!was!calculated!to!be!
62.48MPa.!This!is!12.5%!of!the!cable!capacity.!Since!the!stress!is!significantly!less!than!
20%!of!the!capacity,!dynamic!effects!will!be!ignored!for!this!exercise.!The!following!
table!summarizes!the!forces!in!the!cables!calculated!using!GSA:!
!

7!

Figure'6:'GSA'results'showing'tension'forces'in'the'cables'
!
The!forces!are!significantly!larger!in!the!GSA!model.!This!is!because!the!cables!are!
modeled!as!bars.!In!reality,!the!bridge!would!deflect!at!the!point!where!the!cables!are!
connected!to!the!columns!and!so!these!forces!would!be!much!smaller.!
!
N.B.'The'diameters'of'the'cables'shown'on'calculation'sheet'3'are'the'minimum'diameters'
that'can'be'used.'The'diameter'used'in'the'GSA'model'for'cables'1P5'is'82.5mm'(same'as'
hand'calculations).'The'diameter'of'the'back'tie'cable'is'165mm.'
!
The!following!results!from!GSA!show!the!compression!forces!and!moments!for!the!
columns.!These!are!presented!below.!The!total!load!on!each!column!is!136.7kN.!The!
handIcalculations!showed!the!compression!in!the!column!to!be!127kN.!The!difference!is!
due!to!bending!and!deflection!in!reality.!There!are!also!compressions!in!the!transverse!
directions,!which!have!not!been!taken!into!account!with!the!handIcalculations!but!can!
be!seen!in!the!GSA!results.!
!

Figure'7:'GSA'results'showing'axial'forces'in'columns'along'footbridge'

Load*Cases*

Only!the!load!case!with!dead!load!and!live!load!combined!was!used!to!calculate!
maximum!deflection!of!the!longitudinal!RHS!beam!connected!to!the!column!(beam!1!in!
Figure!5).!Although!different!load!cases!could!be!considered,!with!loading!condition!
alternating!between!full!load!and!only!dead!load!between!spans!in!the!longitudinal!
direction,!this!would!not!contribute!to!validating!and!verifying!the!model.!The!
deflections!calculated!using!the!GSA!model!for!different!loading!conditions!were!not!
larger!than!in!the!case!where!full!dead!and!live!loads!are!applied.!Alternative!load!cases!
are!important!where!local!plastic!failure!may!occur,!causing!an!increase!in!moment!and!
deflection!at!another!span!in!the!bridge.!We!have!not!calculated!where!plasticity!is!most!
likely!to!occur!first.!!

Conclusions*
A!global!model!was!produced!in!order!to!develop!a!qualitative!understanding!of!the!
structural!behaviour!of!the!chosen!design.!The!basic!principles!of!a!formal!structural!
modelling!process!have!been!applied.!Although!the!deflections!of!longitudinal!beams!

8!

and!the!internal!forces!of!main!structural!elements!were!found!to!be!higher!in!the!GSA!
model,!a!significant!proportion!of!this!discrepancy!can!be!ascribed!to!simplifications!in!
the!modelling!assumptions.!The!computational!model!is!a!global!model!and!takes!into!
account!all!the!specified!constraints!which!relevant!to!the!calculation!of!an!internal!
force!or!displacement.!The!hand!calculations!on!the!other!hand!are!simplistic!and!only!
consider!a!part!of!the!superstructure!in!isolation.!Therefore,!only!the!axial!forces!
calculated!in!the!columns!should!be!similar!if!not!identical!between!the!two!methods.!
The!deflections!were!also!excessively!large!because!the!cables!were!not!sufficiently!stiff!
and!iterations!were!not!carried!out!to!determine!the!suitable!section!properties.!
Ultimately,!the!most!important!finding!from!this!exercise!is!that!the!quality!and!integrity!
of!results!provided!by!a!computational!model!greatly!depends!on!the!level!of!
understanding!a!user!engages!and!the!proficiency!in!the!respective!modelling!software.!

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Appendices*
Appendix*A*
!

10!

11!

12!

13!

14!

15!

16!

17!

18!

Appendix*B**
!
Sketches+of+key+connections:+

19!

20!

21!

Appendix*C*
'
!

Figure'8:'Isometric'view'of'GSA'model'
!

Figure'9:'Plan'view'of'GSA'model'
!

!
Figure'10:'Section'view'of'GSA'model'
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22!

Appendix*D*

Figure'11:'Longitudinal'beam'deflections'for'elements'shown'in'Figure'5'(beam'1'elastic)'

Figure'12:'Longitudinal'beam'deflections'for'elements'shown'in'Figure'5'(beam'1'plastic)'

23!