NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF VESSEL COLLISION WITH CABLE-STAYED BRIDGE CONSIDERING DIFFERENT TOWER SHAPES

Abstract

Vessel collisions with bridges occur frequently worldwide and have the potential to cause enormous casualties, substantial property loss. The equations for consideration these forces is the “AASHTO Guide Specifications Design Method” that gives a simple manual calculation method to estimate an “equivalent impact force. A parametric study was conducted to compare for several bracing systems and different shapes for the bridge’s pier. Results from such study indicate that, dynamic analysis technique are preferable, and the best system has excellent energy absorbing capabilities.