Seismic Reliability Analysis of Long-Span Cable-stayed Bridges

Abstract

Earthquake motion is a random process, and thus, analyzing the seismic responses and dynamic reliability of cable-stayed bridges based on the random vibration theory is important. In this paper, dynamic reliability is investigated under earthquake loads by applying the stochastic vibration theory to the Sutong Yangtze River Highway Bridge. The response statistics are obtained from random vibration analyses, and the dynamic reliability of the normal stress of several key cross sections in the bridge is analyzed using the first-order second-moment method and the first-passage failure theory. The dynamic reliability analysis shows that the reliability index changes with girder section location and meets the design requirements. The analysis shows that the Sutong Bridge has adequate earthquake resistance ability. The structure’s earthquake resistance is appraised to provide an important theoretical reference for improving the seismic resistance design methods.