Time-domain coupled analysis of curved floating bridge under wind and wave excitations

Abstract

A floating bridge is an innovative solution for deep-water and long-distance crossing. This paper presents a curved floating bridge's dynamic behaviors under the wind, wave, and current loads. Since the present curved bridge need not have mooring lines, its deep-water application can be more straightforward than conventional straight floating bridges with mooring lines. We solve the coupled interaction among the bridge girders, pontoons, and columns in the time-domain and to consider various load combinations to evaluate each force's contribution to overall dynamic responses. Discrete pontoons are uniformly spaced, and the pontoon’s hydrodynamic coefficients and excitation forces are computed in the frequency domain by using the potential-theory-based 3D diffraction/radiation program. In the successive time-domain simulation, the Cummins equation is used for solving the pontoon's dynamics, and the bridge girders and columns are modeled by the beam theory and finite element formulation. Then, all the components are fully coupled to solve the fully-coupled equation of motion. Subsequently, the wet natural frequencies for various bending modes are identified. Then, the time histories and spectra of the girder's dynamic responses are presented and systematically analyzed. The second-order difference-frequency wave force and slowly-varying wind force may significantly affect the girder's lateral responses through resonance if the bridge’s lateral bending stiffness is not sufficient. On the other hand, the first-order wave-frequency forces play a crucial role in the vertical responses.