A Method of Reinforcement and Vibration Reduction of Girder Bridges Using Shape Memory Alloy Cables

Bending and torsional vibrations caused by moving vehicle loads are likely to affect the traffic safety and comfort for girder bridges with limited torsional rigidity. This paper studies the use of cables made of shape memory alloy (SMA) as the devices of reinforcement and vibration reduction for girder bridges. The SMA cables are featured by their small volume, expedient installation. To investigate their effect on the vibration of girder bridges, theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experimental study were conducted in this paper. For bending vibration, the governing equations of the girder with and without SMA cables subjected to moving vehicle loads were derived, while for torsional vibration, the finite element (FE) simulations were used instead. The results of bending and torsional vibrations obtained by the analytical approach and FE simulations, respectively, were compared with the experimental ones from model testing. It was confirmed that the SMA cables can restrain the vibration of the girder bridge effectively.