The Stability of a Movable High-Strength Inverted-Triangular Steel Bridge

Abstract

The overall stability of a movable high-strength inverted-triangular steel bridge is worth studying because of its new truss structure. In this study, an approach was proposed based on the stiffness equivalence principle in which the inverted-triangle truss structure was modeled as a thin-walled triangular beam. On this basis, the calculation of the critical load of elastic stability of a movable high-strength inverted-triangular steel bridge with variable rigidity at both ends and locally uniformly distributed load was carried out based on the energy theory, which was in good agreement with existing theories. A material performance test at BS700 was carried out to establish the material properties, and then a finite element model of the bridge was established, the results of which were compared with those of the experimental load test, in order to verify the accuracy of the finite element model. Considering material nonlinearity and geometric nonlinearity, nonlinear buckling analysis of the bridge was conducted and the factors influencing the bridge’s ultimate bearing capacity were analyzed.