Dynamic Analysis of a Composite Cable-Stayed Bridge: Escaleritas Viaduct

Abstract

This work describes some of the most important results of the experimental and numerical analyses of Escaleritas Viaduct, Spain. Before the inauguration of this composite cable-stayed bridge in 2006, the bridge authority required a dynamic load test identifying, for instance, the natural vibration modes, the dynamic magnification factor, and the maximum vertical acceleration. The dynamic test was accompanied by numerical simulation performed in two different three-dimensional finite-element models, one of them composed of 145,000 shell elements. The correlation of test and analysis data is good and allows several interesting general conclusions to be drawn. It is shown that Escaleritas Viaduct complies with the requirements on the dynamic structural behavior defined in the standards.