New Beam Element for Incremental Launching of Bridges

Abstract

A new beam element has been developed for the static and dynamic analysis of incrementally launched bridges. The element can describe the deformation subjected to a transverse constraint at an arbitrary point on the beam, thus enabling direct simulation of the superstructure with a continuously position-varying support during the incremental launching of bridges. This element significantly simplifies the finite-element modeling of launched bridges and greatly reduces the computational cost. Some numerical examples are given to show the superiority of the proposed element.