Instability Analysis of High Pier of Continuous Rigid Frame Bridges

Abstract

The linear and nonlinear stability of continuous rigid frame bridge with thin-wall piers is analyzed by using the current FEM software. Linear stability analysis indicates that coefficient of stability in cantilever stage is poorest. Two aspects are included in nonlinear stability analysis. The first one, only geometric nonlinearity is considered and the other one, geometric nonlinearity and material nonlinearity are considered simultaneously. The results show that material nonlinearity is a factor to stability coefficient that can not be overlooked. Considered the dual non-linearity, the stability coefficient descends consumedly.