Journal of Highway and Transponation Research and Development VoL 9,No.

1(2015)024

Nonlinear Behavior of the Main Beams of Butterfly-shaped

Arch Bridges and Its Influencing Factors*

HUO Xue-jin ( ;&llf); , SUN Yuan-bo( f,tj1;1lt) 2,

* *

HAN Li-zhong( %17 iL 9=t) 3

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

( 1. Ch1na Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance & Design Institute C o . , Ltd. , Wuhan Hubei 430050, China;

2. Xuzhou City Water C o nservancy Bureau, Xuzhou Jiangsu 221000, Chma;

3. Research Institute of Highway, Ministry of Transport, Be1jing 100088, China)

Abstract: Given the unique pattern of butterfly-shaped arch bridges, the nonlinear behavior rules of the main girders are diffi

cult to determined compared with those of ordinary arch bridges. The traditional design method that does not fully consider non

linear influences is unsuitable for such investigation. The nonlinear behavior of the main girders was analyzed by considering va

rious nonlinear factors using a self-compiled program. The influences and rules of different design parameters such as depression

angle, rise/ span ratio, steel ratio, and so on, were studied. The following results were obtained. (1) The beam-column effect

of arch rib elements has unfavorable influences on the main beam moment, but the beam-column effect of the main beam ele

ments can effectively prevent such unfavorable effects. (2) The nonlinear behavior rules of the main beam moment are more

complicated than the rules of deformation. (3) The distance of the eccentric load has a significant effect on the influence coeffi

cients of the boundary beams at the unloading side. (4) The influence coefficients of the mid-span deformation and moment in

crease as the depression angle increases. (5) The influence of the steel ratio and the angle between the cable plane and the arch

plane on the nonlinear behavior of the main beams can be neglected.

Key words: bridge engineering; nonlinear behavior; increment iteration method; butterfly-shaped arch bridge; depression an

gle; rise/span ratio

butterfly-shaped arch bridge is different from that of other

1 Introduction
The butterfly-shaped arch bridge is a unique and
new type of bridge. The arch ribs of this type of bridge
lean outward without a cross connection system and
through space polyhedral cables to support the main gird
er. This design forms the composite arch structure, in
which the arch and the beam share loads. Compared with
the X-style arch bridge with camber inward ribs and the
ordinary arch bridge with parallel arch ribs, the overall
stiffness of the butterfly-shaped arch bridge is less and its
deformation is larger under loads. In particular, when
lateral deformation of the arch rib occurs, the nonlinear
behavior of the structure becomes more evident and the
nonlinear behavior rule of the main girder becomes more
distinguishable and difficult to grasp compared with those
of other arch bridges. Thus, the design method for the
bridges. Considerable studies have been conducted on
the nonlinear behavior of long-span bridges such as ca
ble-stayed bridges (J s] , suspension bridge(6 71 , and or
121
dinary arch bridges ( 8
Given that the butterfly-shaped
arch bridge is a new type of bridge, its design and re
search are still in their developing stage. Research on the
nonlinear behavior of this bridge type has been unsystem
atic. The traditional design method that does not fully
consider nonlinear effects is no longer applicable. Thus,
accurately determining the nonlinear behavior of the but
terfly-shaped arch bridge can provide important engineer
ing information with practical value.
The geometric nonlinearity of a long-span bridge
structure generally considers three factors, namely, the
cable sag, beam-column, and large displacement effects.
Considering that the influence degrees of these factors on

Manuscript received June 12, 2014

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51138007) ; the National Science and Technology Support Pro

gram Funding (No. 2011BAJ09B02)

E-mail address: huoxuejin@ 126. com

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34

 HUO Xue-jin ,et al: Nonlinear flehavior or the Main flearns or fluuerny-shaped Arch Bridges and Tts Tnnuenc:ing factors 25

different bridges vary, the cable sag effects of the three main bridge are shown in figures 1 and 2, respectively.

cables used in butterfly-shaped arch bridges differ from

one another. The arch ribs and main girder of a butterfly

shaped arch bridge are eccentric: compression members.

The beam-column effect can he divided into two parts,

namely, the effect of the arch rib sections and that of the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

main girder. The influence degree and the rules of the

Fig. 1 General arrangement of the Taiyuan south
two patts may be different. The existing finite element
central bridge
software cannot petform a meticulous analysis on the diff

erent types of cable sags as well as on the influences of

the main girder and the arch rib beam on nonlinear be

havior. To address this problem, Fortran programming

language is used to compile nonlineaT finite element pro

grams. Different design parameters of a butterfly-shaped Steel-concrete composite segment

arch bridge such as camber angle, rise/ span ratio, and Fig. 2 General illustration of the Taiyuan south

so on, influence deformation. The stress distribution of central bridge ( unit : m)

the main girder and the influence law vary. The influ
3 Nonlinear finite element program
ences ( along with their laws ) of the main design parame

ters of the Taiyuan south central bridge on the nonlinear When applying programming to obtain the geometric
r 3 4.
behavior of its girder is analyzed using the self-compiled nonlinear effect of a structure, the Ernst formula 1 -1 ts

program to fully comprehend the mechanical behavior of used to consider the cable sag effect by changing the e

the girder of a buttetfly-shaped arch bridge. The result lastic modulus of the cables. The stable function coeffi

can provide a reference to optimize the design of this new cient method of Fleming 14-15J is used to consider the

type of bridge. beam-column effect. The drag updated CR-UL method is

used to consider the large displacement effect. In addi

2 Engineering background
tion, the incremental iteration method r 141 is selected to

The Taiyuan south central bridge, which consists of solve nonlinear equations. The programs employed in this

four arch ribs and six cables, is an example of a butter study are validated by comparing the calculation results

fly-shaped arch bridge. The bridge is made of steel and of classic: nonlinear analysis systems, such as MIDAS and

ANSYS software, with those of other scholars 1 The

mixed composite beam-arch, and has a combined span of

( 60 + 180 + 60) m. Two arch ribs lean outward on both calculation results of the proposed program are reliable.

sides of the bridge. The inner rib is the main arch rib In addition, the butterfly-shaped arch bridge model es

and the outer one is the suppmting arch rib. The main tablished by MIDAS is used. A comprehensive compara

arch rib is made of a steel pipe concrete member, whereas tive validation is performed between the self-compiled

the supporting arch rib is made of an empty round steel program and the MIDAS model. The results of both mod

tube. The main and supporting arch ribs are connected els are in good agreement.

by circular beams, without a transverse connection, and In the self-compiled program, three identifiers are

by a connecting rod between the cable and the main sup set up, namely, NCA, NCN, and NBD. When a value

porting arch ribs to keep the space system stable. The six of 1 IS assigned, these identifiers represent the cable

suspended cables include the main cables in the plane of sag, beam-column, and large displacement effects, re

the main arch rib, the secondaty cables that connect the spectively. A value of 0 indicates disregaTding the influ

al1Tl.'i carrying the sidewalk and the secondary arch ribs, and ences of relevant nonlinear factors. Unlike traditional

the stayed cables that connect the main arch rib to the nonlinear analysis software, the self-compiled program

bridge center. The structure and longitudinal layout of the sets up three secondary identifiers under the pnmary

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34

 26 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development
identifiers, namely, main cables, stayed cables, and
deputy sling. Identifiers such as NCAZ, NCAX, and
NCAF are set up under the cable sag identifier. Arch rib
and girder unit identifiers, such as NCNG and NCNL,
are set up under the beam-column effect identifier. The
secondary identifiers work when the primary identifier is
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
assigned the value of 1. Thus, this set up enables the
calculation of a single nonlinear factor effect as well as of
combined effects. By disregarding all nonlinear factor in
fluences, linear analysis results can be obtained. The re
sults of nonlinear and linear analyses are compared to ex
amine the influence degrees of various factors. To com
pare the results of nonlinear and linear analyses, this
study adopts the influence coefficient, that is, "nonlin
ear-linear/linear" .
Based on the characteristics of a butterl1y-shaped
arch bridge structure, space finite element is separately
adopted to simulate a beam element when modeling, and
each component is simulated by using a rod unit. A con
crete box beam and steel and mixed composite beams are
separated in three case structures. These structures are
connected to form a single structure by a diaphragm plate
and simulated using the grillage method. The cross sec
tion of the concrete box girder is shown in figure 3. The
main and supporting arch ribs are simulated using a
space beam element. The main arch rib appears flat after
concrete is poured. The transformed-section method is a
dopted to calculate section stiffness. Different compo
nents, such as main, stayed, and tie bar cables, are
simulated using a rod unit.
47 068
wr [OJ
Fig.3 Section of the concrete box girders ( unit: m)
4 Nonlinear analysis of the main girder
Three nonlinear factors, namely, the large displace
ment, beam-column, and cable sag effects, as well as
their combinations, are considered. The cable sag effects
of the three kinds of cables and the beam-column effects
of the arch rib and main girder sections are also consid
ered. Based on the deformation characteristics and stress
distribution of a butterfly-shaped arch bridge, the deflec-
J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34
tion and bending moment of each main beam point are
analyzed in this study and compared with the linear re
sults. Thus, the influences and regulations of nonlinear
factors can be analyzed. In this study, the phase ii pave
ment load under finished bridge state of a butterl1y
shaped arch bridge is considered as a dead load condi
tion. The initial internal force of a beam element under
finished bridge state can be obtained through the incre
mental analysis of the construction stage. The cable force
of the completed bridge is the optimal cable force value
of the design.
4. 1 Nonlinear analysis of main beam deflection
Given the arch rib extraversion of a butterl1y-shaped
arch bridge, the arch rib will exhibit large transverse dis
placement under the load effect. This phenomenon is one
of the characteristics of a butterl1y-shaped arch bridge
with an arch rib extraversion. The deformation of the
arch rib causes the change in the angle between the cable
plane and the deck, which changes the vertical compo
nent of the cables. Therefore, the nonlinear behavior of
the main girder is evident. Side-span deflection is small.
Table 1 presents the nonlinear deflection values and in
fluence coefficients of the beams under constant load con
ditions. The unit of displacement is em.
The deflection of each point declines from mid-span
to both sides, and the influence coefficients exhibit small
undulate changes and are generally relatively stable un
der various factors ( table I ). Among the three kinds of
nonlinear factors, the influence of the beam-column
effect is the largest. The influence directions of the large
displacement and beam-column effects are similar, which
are in contrast to that of the cable sag effect. Compared
with that of other points, the steel and mixed composite
segment of the quarter point suffers the largest from non
linear factor influence.
The influence of the sag effect on the deflection of
the middle girder under constant load conditions is shown
in figure 4. "Main cable sag" , "stayed cable sag" ,
and "deputy sling sag" represent the cable sag effect on
a certain kind of cable. The equivalent elastic modulus of
the other two kinds of cables will be similar in the itera
tive calculation.
As shown in figure 4, the main cable exhibits the
largest sag effect among the three kinds of cables, fol-
 HUO Xue-jin,et al: Nonlinear Behavior of the Main Beams of Butterfly-shaped Arch Bridges and Its Influencing Factors 27

Tab. 1 Nonlinear influence coefficients of the deflections of the the beam-column effect of the arch rib element on the de
middle girder under a dead load flection of the middle girder decreases from the mid-span
Position 1/8 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8 3/4 7/8 to both sides, whereas the beam-column effect of the
Linear(D (em) -1.OS-3.11-5.32-6.21-5.32-3.11-1.04
main beam element increases from the mid-span to both
Large displacement (g)
-1.OS-3.13-5.35-6.24-5.36-3.14-1. OS
(em) sides. In the 1/8 point range of both sides, the beam
( (g)-(D)IQ)(%) 0.23 0.79 0.60 0.51 0.60 0.85 0.64 column effect of the arch rib element is relatively large,
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Beam-column effect outside the 1/8 point range, the beam-column effect of
-1.07-3.17-5.42-6.32-5.42-3.17-1.06
(em)
the main beam element is relatively large. The difference
(@ -(D)/Q)(%) 1.71 1.98 1.88 1.84 1.89 1.99 1.74
-1.04-3.09-5.28-6.16-5.29-3.09-1. 03
Cable sag@(em) becomes significant toward the bracket position because
(@ -Ql)/Q)(%) -0.52-0.54-0.69-0.73-0.69-0.54-0.52 of the tension of the tie bar cable and the horizontal
All nonlinear behavi thrust of the arch foot. A large axial force exists in the
-1.06-3.18-5.42-6.31-5.41-3.17-1.06
(em)
main girder element. The main girder element is an ec
(@ -(D)IQ)(%) 1.55 2.29 1.80 1.58 1.67 2.08 1.55
centric compression member. Its beam-column effect is
Note: CD represents linear; (g) represents large displacement; @ represents
beam-column effect; @ represents cable sag; @ represents all nonlinear behav significant especially for itself. The maximum beam-col
iors. The following (D,(g),@,@, and @ in tables 2,3, and 4 are the same. umn effect on all beam elements can reach the quarter
Position of point point, namely, the steel and mixed composite segment
1/8 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8 3/4 7/8
0.0 --
---- between the steel and concrete box girders.
,

" -0.1 4. 2 Nonlinear analysis of main girder bending moment
-0.2 A butterfly-shaped arch bridge is made of a beam
] -0.3
-+-Main cable sag
....Stayed
. cable sag
s

arch compound structure, in which the arch and the
-0.4
beam function as a single structure to share loads. Con
z -0.5
sidering that the cable arch system is relatively soft, the
Fig.4 Influence of the sag effect on the deflection of the
deformation and stress of the components of the bridge
middle girder
exhibit obvious nonlinear characteristics. Table 2 pres
lowed by the stayed cable, and the last is the depu
ents the nonlinear value and influence coefficient of each
ty sling. The influence coefficient declines from the mid
point of the center sill under constant load conditions.
span to both sides, but its value is generally small. In
The unit of bending moment is kN m.

the proposed program, the "main girder element beam

Tab.2 Nonlinear influence coefficients of the bending
column effect" only corrects the stability coefficient func moment of the middle girder under a dead load
tion of the main girder element. Meanwhile, the "arch Position 1/8 1/4 3/8 Mid-span 5/8 3/4 7/8
rib element beam-column effect" only corrects the stabil linear(D
-18 132 -3 899 5 507 6 652 5 520 -3 837-18 065
ity coefficient function of the arch rib element. The re (kN- m)

spective beam-column effects of these elements on the Large displace-

-18 162 -3 801 5 529 6648 5 540 -3 747-18 022
ment (kN m)

deflection of the middle girder and the comparison of
((g)-Q))/(D (%) 0.17 -250 Q41 -0.06 0.36 -234 -0.24
their analysis results are shown in figure 5.
Beam-column
-18 roJ -3 903 5606 6 784 5 621 -3 833-18 531
nb element beam-column effect
:
if: + Arch effect@(kN- m)
--Main girder element beam-column effect

:
(@-Q))I(D(%) 2.58 0.12 1.81 1.99 1.83 -0.10 2.58
"'
.... 1.2 Cable sag@
-18 026-3 784 5 448 6 573 5 462 -3 722
-17 961
s
0.9
(kN- m)
0.6
(@-(D)IQ)(%) -0.58 -2.94 -1.06 -1.19 -1.06 -2.99 -0.58
; : 1/8
. 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8
. 3/4
. 7/8 All nonlinear
Position ofpoint behaviors@ -18 521-3 691 5 581 6 706 5 567 -3 650
-18 359
Fig.5 Influence of the beam-column effect on the (kN- m)
deflection of the middle girder (@-(D)/(D(%) 2.15 -5.32 1.35 0.82 0.84 -4.85 1.62

As shown in figure 5, the influence coefficient of Table 2 shows that under constant load conditions,

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34

 28 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development
the main girder bending moment transits smoothly from a
span-center bending moment to a negative bending mo
ment of the support. The influence coefficients under the
three factors exhibit an inflection point in quartile. At
this point, the value of the nonlinear effect coefficient is
negative and is the minimum. This point is located in the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
steel and mixed composite section of the main girder.
Compared with that of the concrete and steel box girders
on both sides, the stiffness is significantly larger. This
phenomenon proves that an increase in component stiff
ness is beneficial to reduce nonlinear influence. Among
the three factors, the beam-column effect generally has
the most influence, the direction of which is contrary to
that of cable sag.
The bending moment influence coefficients of the
symmetric point along the span vary. For example, in
the symmetrical arch 1/8 and 7/8 points, the influence
coefficients are 2. 15% and 1. 62%, respectively, after
considering all nonlinear factors. The difference is con
siderable, which shows that asymmetric longitudinal sup
port conditions make the nonlinear effect of the internal
force of the main girder symmetric points vary significant
ly. Thus, this difference should not be ignored.
When comparing tables 1 and 2, the nonlinear law
of deflection is generally more complicated than that of
the bending moment. The influence coefficients of each
factor present undulate changes, whereas the deflection
coefficient is relatively uniform.
The influence coefficient of the cable sag effect on
the center sill bending moment under constant load con
ditions is shown in figure 6.
- Position of point
2- l/8 l/4 3/8 1/2 518 3/4 7!8
0.0 '; ' ' :c' ?, '
i
'
-0.5
-1.0
::/.==
I I
:
\
.. -1.5
_..
\\
1
/
/-+-l'v[ain cable s
--staved cable - g
I
v'
z _2.0 -&- Dq)uty slin g s ,
Fig.6 Influence of the sag effect on the bending
moment of the middle girder
As shown in figure 6, the main cable sag exerts the
most influence on the bending moment of the center sill
under constant load conditions, followed by the inclined
pull rod, and then, the deputy derrick. The effect coeffi
cients of the three kinds of cable sag have inflection
J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34
points in quartile. In particular, the main cable fluctu
ates significantly because the cable bottom near the point
is directly anchored to the steel and mixed composite seg
ment with considerable stiffness. Thus, the cable sag
effect on both sides is relatively obvious.
The influence of the beam-column effect of the arch
rib and main girder elements on the bending moment of
the center sill under a dead load is shown in figure 7.
-+- Arch rib element beam-colUiml effect
- Main girder element beam-column effect
A
! '\._,,----_._/"
_./ \
Position of point
Fig.7 Influence of the beam-cohunn effect on the
bending moment of the middle girder
As shown in figure 7, the influence of the beam-col
umn effect of the arch rib and main girder elements on
the bending moment of the center sill exhibits undulate
changes. Moreover, a large fluctuation appears in the
arch 1/4 and 3/4 points, namely, the steel and mixed
composite segment. The influence direction of the beam
column effect of the arch rib is generally opposite to that
of the main girder element. The beam-column effect of
the arch rib unit has an unfavorable influence on the
main girder bending moment. After considering the
beam-column effect of the girder, the bending moment
exhibits a decreasing trend, which effectively offsets the
negative influence the beam-column effect of the arch rib
unit. After considering all beam-column effects, the in
fluence coefficient is found to be positive. Thus, the de
sign can only consider the beam-column effect of the arch
rib element because the results are safe.
5 Analysis of the nonlinear influence factors of the
main girder
Given its special structure, the nonlinear behavior
of a butterl1y-shaped arch bridge has its own characteris
tics, which are influenced by various structural design
parameters, and the laws of influence are different. In
this section, comprehensive analyses are conducted on
the influences and laws of main cable spacing, partial
load distance, main cable arrangement, camber angle,
rise/span ratio, steel ratio, and arch plane angle on the
 HUO Xue-jin, et al; Nonlinear Behavior of the Main Beams of Butterfly-shaped Arch Bridges and Its Influencing Factors 29

nonlinear behavior of the main girder. These laws can be Tab.3 Influence of main cable spacing on the

a valuable reference in designing butterfly-shaped arch deflection of the girder

bridges. Original dense cable form Sparse cable form

Considering the wide box girder section, the huge Center girder Side girder Center girder Side girder
distance between the side box and the middle box, the Linear(!)(em) -6.21 -5.51 -8.21 -7.48

main cable anchorages in the side box, and the large ca Large displacement@
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

-6.24 -5.52 -8.25 -7.51

(em)
ble force, the deformations of the middle box and the
(@ -Q))/Q)(%) 0.52 0.52 0. 45 0.43
edge box vary. In this section, considering the center
Beam-column effect@
-6. 32 -5.57 -8.43 -7.62
and edge beams, the influences of various parameters on (em)
the nonlinear behavior of the main girder is analyzed. (@ -Q))/Q)(%) 1.84 1.30 2.56 1.85

The load condition used is the same dead load condition Cable sag@(em) -6.16 -5.48 -8.15 -7.45
(@-Q))IQ)(%) -0.73 -0.33 -0.80 -0.45
of the second stage pavement.
All nonlinear behaviors@
5. 1 Influence of the main cable span on the nonlin -6.31 -5.57 -8.4 -7.61
(em)
ear behavior of the main girder (@ -Q))IQ)(%) 1.58 1.36 2.21 1.73

Sparse and tight cable arrangements have their re Tab.4 Influence of main cable spacing on the bending
spective advantages and disadvantages. The disadvanta moment of the girder
ges of a tight cable arrangement include making the bridge
Original dense cable form Sparse cable form
deck curve reasonably during construction and operation.
Center girder Side girder Center girder Side girder
The advantages of a tight cable arrangement include Linear(!) (kN m) 6 652 9 543 8 453 12 237
simple and economical construction, a relatively small Large displacement@
6 648 9 531 8 430 12 188
cable force, a relatively simple anchorage installation and (kN m)

cable replacement, and improved structure integrity. (@ -Q))IQ) (%) -0.06 -0.12 -0.27 -0.40

Beam-column effect@
Meanwhile, the advantages of a sparse cable arrangement 6 784 9 593 8 638 12 257
(em)
include savings in material, a relatively simple structure,
(@-Q))IQ) (%) 1.99 0.52 2.20 0.17
a reduced number of static indeterminates, and the Cable sag@ ( kN m) 6 573 9 512 8 348 12 180

absence of structure stress. Cable arrangement influences (@-Q))IQ) (%) -1.19 -0.32 -1.24 -0.47

the nonlinear characteristics of a structure. Based on the All nonlinear behaviors@

6 706 9 531 8 519 12 125
(kN m)
original design, a sparse cable arrangement is used, m
(@-Q))IQ) (%) 0.82 -0.12 0.79 -0.92
which cable spacing is increased from 6 m to 12 m, to
compare the nonlinear influence of main cable spacing on ble arrangement, and 1. 54 m under a sparse cable ar

the main girder. The deflection and bending moment of rangement. Eccentricity increases because the reducing

the center sill and the edge beam mid-span are consid of the number of cables decreases the continuous support

ered as research objects. The influences of nonlinear
factors under the conditions of an original tight cable de
sign and a sparse cable form are compared. The results
are shown in tables 3 and 4. Uniformly distributed load
conditions are used.
Table 3 shows that the influences of the beam-col
umn effect on the mid-span deflection of the main girder
are larger under a sparse cable arrangement than under a
tight cable arrangement. When the bridge is under a uni
form load, the girder is an eccentric compression member
with either a tight or sparse layout. The eccentric dis
tance of the mid-span section is 1. 20 m under a tight ca-
of the girder and increases the bending moment of the
girder section. However, given that the component force
of each cable along the bridge direction is small and the
axial force of the main girder changes insignificantly,
section eccentricity increases and the coupling effect of
the axial force and the bending moment also increases. A
sparse cable arrangement decreases the axial force of
main arch rib arch section, increases bending moment,
increases eccentric distance from 0. 56 m ( under a tight
cable arrangement) to 0. 75 m ( under a sparse cable ar
rangement ), and makes the beam-column effect of the
arch rib apparent. Under a sparse cable arrangement,

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34

 30 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development
the large displacement effect slightly decreases, whereas
the cable sag effect increases. However, the change val
ue is generally small. Thus, the influences of these two
factors can be ignored during calculations. The effects of
various factors on the mid-span deflection of the center
sill are greater than that of the side beams under either
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
sparse or tight cable arrangement.
Table 4 shows that the effects of various factors on
the mid-span bending moment of the edge beam are
small, and thus, the influences of nonlinear factors can
be ignored during calculations. For the center sill, the
influence coefficients increase when under a tight cable
arrangement. In the two systems, the influence coeffi
cient changes, whereas the direction remains the same.
5. 2 Influence of partial load range on the nonlinear
behavior of the girder
The deck of the Taiyuan south central bridge is
wide. Eight traffic lanes and two non-motor vehicle lanes
are laterally set up. When load is arranged at the sides,
the main girder chambers balanced on both sides differ
under the influence of nonlinear factors. A change in the
partial load distance can also change the nonlinear effect
coefficient. A 20 kN/m uniformly distributed load is ap
plied to the four lanes on the same side of 92 m steel and
mixed composite beam of main girder mid-span. All non
linear factors are considered, and the nonlinear effects of
the deflection and bending moment of the center sill and
the two side beams under a partial load are studied. The
distances of the driveways and the bridge center line are
3. 85, 6. 45, 9. 05, and 11. 65 m. The changing curve
of the nonlinear effect coefficient of deflection and ben
ding moment, along with the change in the partial load
range, is shown in figures 8 and 9.
1.0
' I : Based on internal force distribution and overall stiff
;a 0.5
1l
0.0 1 11.65 14.25
:. -0.5
Distance(m)
0:
-1.0 -+- Load side girder
] -1.5 ....... Center girder
z -2.0 ....... Other side girder
Fig.8 Influence of the distance of the eccentric load on
mid-span deflection
As shown in figures 8 and 9, the influence coeffi
cients of loading side beam and the center sill insignifi-
J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34
6.45 9.05 11.65 14.25
Defl c Distance (m)
-+- Load side girder
-e- Center girder
....... Other side girder
Fig.9 Influence of the distance of the eccentric load on
mid-span moment
cantly change with the increase in the partial load dis
tance, whereas that of unloading side beam is considera
bly influenced by the partial load distance. In particular,
the mid-span bending moment and its influence coeffi
cient are - 1. 31% and - 11. 06%, respectively, under
partial load distances of 3. 85 m and 11. 65 m. The sig
nificant difference shows that considering the effects of
the partial load range is necessary when analyzing the
nonlinear behavior of beam bending moment. When the
partial load distance is 0, the influence coefficients of
symmetrical edge beam deflection and bending moment
are the same. However, as the partial load distance in
creases, their difference becomes increasingly signifi
cant. When the partial load distance is 11. 65 m, the
difference of the influence coefficients of the two sides
mid-span bending moment is 12. 19%. Symmetrical edge
beam influence coefficients are generally in the opposite
directions. Compared with those of the unloading edge,
the deflection and bending moment of the loading side
beam are larger and the influence coefficient is positive.
After considering the influence of nonlinear factors, the
difference in deflection and bending moment of the sym
metry point on both sides increases.
5. 3 Main girder nonlinear behavior of the inclined
cable structure
ness, the inclined cable system is similar to a truss struc
ture. An oblique line does not only bear tension for the
node load but also participates in load bearing, which re
duces the bending moment of the arch rib and the girder.
Thus, the system has several advantages in terms of
structure. From the original straight cable design, the
main cable arrangement is changed to an oblique line
form that shown in figure 10.
After changing the main cable design into an m-
 HCO Xue-jin, et al: onlinear llehavior of the Main lleams of Butterfly-shaped Arch Bridges and Its Influencing Factors 31

the difference is generally small ( figure 11 ) . As shown

in figure 12, the difference in the influence coefficients

of the mid-span bending moment of the center sill is

small under the inclined and straight cable systems.

Fig.lO Stayed cable system Therefore, a change in cable arrangement insignificantly

dined cable form, the overall stiffness changes, and the influences nonlinear behavior, and such influence can be
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

nonlinear propet1ies of the main girder is bound to change ignored in designing cable planes.

as well. Considering that the inclined c;ahle layout dmn 5. 4 Effects of design parameters on the nonlinear
ges the unit internal force, the cable sag and beam-col behavior of the main girder
umn effects are no longer comparable with the original The nonlinear mechanical behavior of a butterfly

straight line system. For an effective analysis, this sec shaped arch bridge is closely related to the different de

tion only discusses the nonlinear influence of the large sign parameters of the structure, such as camber angle of

displacement effect on the main girder. The influences of the aTch rib, rise/ span ratio, steel ratio of the concrete

the coefficients of the deflection and bending moment of filled steel tube arch rib, cable arch plane angle, and so

the center sill under two systems are respectively shown on. Given that related design data and study results are

in figures 11 and 12. few, discussing the eflects of various parameters on the

nonlinear behavior ( and their related laws ) of butterfly

1.0 -+- Stayed cable system
shaped arch bridges has high practical value in engineer

s 0.8
ing. The designed camber angle of the main arch rib of

s
0.6 the Taiyuan central south bridge is 16 and the rise/ span
1:] 0.4 ratio is 114. 326. Based on these values, the influences
'
0.2 ------
of various parameters on the nonlinear behavior of the
l/8 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8 3/4 7/8
main girder are analyzed. Considering that a change in
Position of point
design parameters may change element internal force, the
Ig. 1 1 Influence o f cable layout o n the mid-span
influences of the cable sag and beam-column effects have
deflection of the middle girder
become incomparable. Thus, only the large displacement

effect is analyzed in the next section.

5. 4. 1 Influence of camber angle on the nonlinear

behavior of the main girder
Arch rib extraversion is one of the characteristics of

a butterfly-shaped arch bridge. A change in camber an

gle modifies the stiffness distribution of the structure,

which, in turn, affects the nonlinear behavior of the

Fig. 12 Influence of cable layout on the mid-span
main girder section. As shown in figure 13, the changing
moment of the middle girder
curve of the influence coefficients of mid-span deflection

Based on the linear analysis, after the mam cable and bending moment follows the change in the main arch

arrangement is changed into an inclined cable system, rib camber angle. For conveniem:e, the values are nor

the mid-span deflection and bending moment of the gird malized. As shown in figure 14, the changing curve of

ers become smaller than those of the original design. Al the influence coefficients of the mid-span deflection and

though the number of cables decreases, the Nielsen sys bending moment of the main girder follows the change in

tem increases the overall stiffness of the arch system and the main arch rib camber angle.

decreases the stress on the girder section. However, after The linear analysis presented in figure 13 shows that

adopting the inclined cable system, the influence coeffi the mid-span deflection ( either the center sill or the edge

cient of center sill deileclion slightly increases, although beam ) of the main beam exhibits an increasing trend

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34

 32 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development

change on the beam deflection and bending moment of

+- Center girder mid-span deflection

Zl
1.2 ..- ---Side girder mid-span deflection
Center girder mid-span bending mome
the side arch rib is important in design.
i'l -+- Side girder mid -span bending mom

1.1 5. 4. 2 Influence of the rise/span ratio on the non

"
linear behavior of the girder
8
"
u
When the rise/span ratio decreases, the horizontal

0.9
.s thrust of the arch increases in the combined bridge, the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

0.8 '-----------
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 girders withstand the horizontal thrust, the tensile capaci
Camber angle (")
ty of the girders is small, and a tie bar is frequently re
Fig. 13 Deflections and moments of the girder under quired in or out of the main girder to resist tension. A
different depression angles change in the rise/span ratio causes the relative relation
ship among the main arch rib, the deputy arch rib, and

8 the tie bar to change, as well the nonlinear behavior of

l;l 6 the girder. The rigidity of the main arch rib, which is the
"
.:::
4 main arch structure, is high. As shown in figure 15, the
"
.::: influence coefficients of the deflection and bending mo
2
"
ment of the main girder change with the change in the
iz 0 rise/span ratio curve of the main arch rib. The abscissa
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
is of multiples and is relative to the rise/span ratio.
Camber angle ( )

Fig. 14 Nonlinear influence of the depression angles of the 6

main arch ribs on the girders ;a
.::: 5
"

with the increase in camber angle. This phenomenon 1s

.::: 4
"

""
attributed to the following condition: when the camber
.s 3
"

angle is large, the vertical components of the cables are 0

0
small. Thus, the vertical upward force that supports the z2
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
girder is reduced, and deflection becomes slightly larger (Rise/span ratio) I (relative designed rise/span ratio)

than that with a small angle. The bending moment of the
arch rib decreases with the increase in camber angle,
whereas the mid-span bending moment of the main girder
increases with the increase in camber angle. Therefore,
an increase in camber angle reduces the overall stiffness
of the arch rib. Under similar load conditions, the force
that supports the arch rib is reduced, whereas the force
that bores the main girder section is increased. However,
the large displacement effect on the mid-span deflection
and bending moment of the beam presents a plummeting
trend with the increase in camber angle ( figure 14).
Compared with that of the center girder, the downward
trend of the influence coefficient of the edge beam is
more apparent. This result is attributed to the bottom of
the main cable, which functions as the main force com
ponent anchored to the side beam. Hence, a change in
the camber angle of the main arch rib directly affects the
side beams. Consequently, the influence of camber angle
Fig. 15 Nonlinear influence of the rise/span ratio of the
main arch ribs on the girders
As shown in figure 15, the influence of the rise/
span ratio of the main arch rib on the mid-span deflection
of the center sill is small. The curve is level. The influ
ence coefficient of the mid-span deflection of the edge
beam exhibits a downward trend with the increase in the
rise/span ratio. This result is attributed to the gradual
increase of the lateral displacement effect of the main and
supporting arch rib vaults with the increase in the rise/
span ratio. Under an invariable span condition, an in
crease in the rise/span ratio also increases the rise of the
arch rib, which reduces the overall stiffness of the arch
rib section and softens the space system. The main cable
is the main force component, and its top is anchored to
the arch rib, whereas its bottom is anchored to the side
beam. By transferring the main cable, the nonlinear be
havior of the side beams becomes more obvious than that

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34

 HUO Xue-jin, et al; Nonlinear Behavior of the Main Beams of Butterfly-shaped Arch Bridges and Its Influencing Factors 33

of the center sgirder. Moreover, under the influence of overall effect is small; therefore, when designing a but
the large displacement effect, the mid-span bending mo terfly-shaped arch bridge, the effects of the steel ratio
ment of the center girder exhibits an increasing trend with can be studied within the linear scope.
the increase in overall rise/span ratio. In addition, the 5. 4. 4 Effects of the cable arch plane angle on the

effect changes insignificantly when the rise/span ratio in nonlinear behavior of the main girder

creases to a certain value. To summarize, when the rise/ Considering that the main arch rib has an extraver
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

span ratio of the main arch rib is small, the horizontal
component of the arch rib becomes large and the number
of tie bars for the cable girder must be increased. Moreo
ver, the nonlinear effect coefficient of girder deflection is
relatively large. Thus, the rise/span ratio of the arch rib
should not be too small. Both linear and nonlinear me
chanical behaviors of the structure should be considered
to determine the value of the rise/span ratio during de
sign, and thus, obtain the optimal stress of structure.
5. 4. 3 Influence of the steel ratio on the nonlinear
behavior of girders
With an increase in the steel ratio a, the stiffness of
[161
the composite elastic modulus and the component sec
tion of concrete-filled steel tube member increase. There
fore, the nonlinear behavior of the structure is directly
related to the steel ratio value of the arch rib section.
Within the vicinity of the main arch foot at a range
sion of 16, the out-plane horizontal component of the
main arch rib is balanced by the stayed cable. Reducing
the force of the stayed cable during design will slightly
offset the main cable foot inside, which will cause it to
share some out-plane horizontal components of the main
arch rib. Angle is one of the main design parameters of
butterfly-shaped arch bridges. The longest sling of the
Taiyuan south central bridge vault and the arch rib plane
angle is 1. 093. However, the setting of the arch rib
construction pre-camber and the displacement of the arch
rib and the main girder during construction can change
the angle between the main cable plane and the main
arch rib. Thus, the nonlinear behavior of the structure
changes. The calculation results of the nonlinear effect
coefficients of deflection and bending moment under dif
ferent angles are presented in table 6.
Tab. 6 Nonlinear influence of the angle between the

of 45 m, the thickness of the flat steel tube wall is 30 cable plane and the arch plane on the girders

mm, the web is 35 mm, and the steel ratio is 0. 153. Included angle ( )
0 0 1.093 2.186 3.279 4.372 5.465

The concrete-filled area of the arch rib section remains Mid-span Center girder (%) 3.26 3.37 3.48 3.58 3.67 3.75

the same. The influence of the changes in the steel ratio deflection Side girder (%) 5.26 5.21 5.15 5.05 4.95 4.83

of the arch foot section on the main girder near the non Mid-span Center sill (%) 2. 18 2. 30 2.42 2.54 2.65 2.74

linear effect is calculated. The results are presented in bending

moment Side girder (%) 2.97 2.97 2.96 2.95 2.93 2.90
table 5.
Table 6 shows that as the angle between the mam
Tab.5 Nonlinear influence of the steel ratios on the girders
cable plane and the main arch rib increases, the influ
Steel ratio 0. 138 0. 153 0.182 0.217 0.244 0.265
ence coefficients of the deflection and bending moment of
Mid-span Center girder (%) 3. 35 3.37 3.42 3.47 3.49 3.52
the center girder increase slightly, whereas the influence
deflection Side girder (%) 5.17 5. 21 5.29 5.38 5.43 5.47
coefficients of those of the side beams decrease. There
Mid-span Center girder (%) 2.27 2. 30 2.34 2.39 2.42 2.44 fore, the influence on the nonlinear behavior of the main
bending
moment Side girder (%) 2.93 2.95 3.00 3.07 3. 10 3. 12 girder section can be ignored.

Through linear analysis and given the increase in the
steel ratio, girder deflection at all points decreases with
the increase in arch rib stiffness. Table 5 shows that the
influence coefficients of mid-span deflection and bending
moment all increase with the increase in the steel ratio for
both the center girder and the edge beam. However, the
6 Conclusions
( 1) The law on nonlinear behavior of the main gird
er is more complex than that of the bending deflection of
the main girder, except for the influence coefficient of
deflection, which is relatively uniform. The influence co
efficients of the other factors exhibit undulate changes.

J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34

 34 Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development
( 2) The beam-column effect of the arch rib has an
unfavorable influence on the bending moment of the main
girder. After considering the beam-column effect of the
girder unit, the bending moment of the girder exhibits a
decreasing trend. The negative influence of the beam
column effect of the arch rib unit is effectively offset.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by AMAL JYOTHI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING on 03/11/16. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
( 3) The influence coefficients of the mid-span de
flection and bending moment of the loading side beam
and the center girder insignificantly change with the in
crease in partial load range. However, the influence co
efficient of the unloading side beam is strongly influenced
by partial load distance.
( 4 ) The influences of cable arrangement on the
nonlinear behavior of the main girder are insignificant.
The nonlinear behavior of the main girder can be ignored
in designing cable planes.
( 5) The influence coefficients of the mid-span de
flection and bending moment of each beam increase with
the increase in the camber angle of the main arch rib.
( 6) The influences of the steel ratio and the cable
arch plane angle of the main arch rib on the nonlinear
behavior of the main girder section can be generally ig
nored.
References
[1] LIANG Peng. Geometric Non-linear and Random Simula
tive Analysis for over Long Span Cable-stayed Bridge
[D]. Shanghai: Tongji University, 2004. (in Chinese)
[2] WANG Feng. Geometrically Nonlinear Analysis of Long
Span Composite Girder Cable-stayed Bridge with Three
Towers [ D]. Wuhan: Wuhan University of Technology,
2010. (in Chinese)
[3] FANG Zhi, GUO Qi-wu, LIU Guang-dong. Nonlinear Be
havior of Concrete Cable-stayed Bridge during Its Construc
tion and Service Stages [ J ]. Engineering Mechanics,
2005, 22 (1): 200-205. (in Chinese)
[4] WANG Wei, QU Wei-lian. Effect of Geometrical Non-lin
earity on Long Span Highway and Railway Cable-stayed
Bridges [ J]. Journal of Huaqiao University: Natural Sci
ence Editon, 2009, 30 (2) : 215-220. (in Chinese)
( Chinese version's doi: 10. 3969/j. issn. 1002-0268. 2014. 05. 010, vol. 31, pp. 57-65, 2014)
J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. (English Ed.), 2015, 9(1): 24-34
[5] LIU Mu-yu, WANG Feng. Geometrically Nonlinear Analy
sis of Long Span Composite Girder Cable-stayed Bridge
with Three Towers under Live Load [ J]. Applied Mechan
ics and Materials, 2010, 34-35, 371-375.
[6] TANG Mao-lin. 3D Geometric Nonlinear Analysis of Long
span Suspension Bridge and Its Software Development
[D]. Chengdu: Southwest Jiaotong University, 2003. (in
Chinese)
[7J LIANG Peng, WU Xiang-nan, LI Wan-heng, et al. Geo
metrical Nonlinearity under Live Load for Three-tower Sus
pension Bridges [ J]. Journal of Chang'an University:
Natural Science Edition, 2011, 31 ( 4 ) : 45 - 49. (in
Chinese)
[8] ZHAO Can-hui, LI Qiao, BU Yi-zhi. Analysis on the
Nonlinear and In-plane Ultimate Load Carrying Capacity of
Steel Truss Arch Bridge [ J]. China Railway Science,
2007, 28 (5) : 52-58. (in Chinese)
[9] ZHANG Yang, SHAO Xu-dong, CAl Song-bai, et al.
Spatial Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis for Long-span
Trussed CFST Arch Bridge [ J]. China Journal of High
way and Transport, 2006, 19 (4) : 65-70. (in Chinese)
[10] CHEN Shi-min, ZHANG Fei, BAI Yun. Nonlinear Stress
Analysis of CFST Arch Bridge in Construction and Service
[JJ. Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and
Development, 2009, 26 (1) : 93-98. (in Chinese)
[11J LI Song, QIANG Shi-zhong, TANG Ying. Parametric In-
vestigation of Ultimate Bearing Capacity of Reinforced Con
crete Arch Bridges [ J]. Journal of Southwest Jiaotong U
niversity, 2007, 42 (3) : 293-298. (in Chinese)
[12] ZHOU Shui-xing, ZHANG Min, WANG Xiao-song. Non
linear Analysis of Steel Tube Initial Stress Effect in Steel
Tube on Bearing Capacity for CFST Arch Bridges [ J ].
Chinese Journal of Computational Mechanics, 2010, 27
(2): 291 -297. (in Chinese)
[13] XIANG Hai-fan. Advanced Bridge Structure Theory [ M].
Beijing: China Communication Press, 2001: 237 - 261.
(in Chinese)
[14] LI Chuan-xi, XIA Gui-yun. Calculation Theory of Long
span Bridge Structure [ M]. Beijing: China Communica
tion Press, 2002: 88-113. (in Chinese)
[15] FLEMING J F. Nonlinear Static Analysis of Cable-stayed
Bridge Structures [ J]. Computers & Structures, 1979, 10
(4) : 621-635.