Development of automatic system for evaluating the stress redistribution in structural members of a steel cable-stayed bridge due to cable stress relaxation

In this study, a graphical automatic system is developed in order to investigate the stress redistribution of structural members in a steel cable-stayed bridge. The generalized Maxwell model is selected for stress relaxation estimation, and it is carefully verified and applied to all the cable members of a steel cable-stayed bridge to investigate its stress relaxation. A set of stress relaxation parameters in all cables is determined using the fmincon optimization function. The stress redistribution of the steel cable-stayed bridge is then analyzed using ABAQUS. To shorten the investigation time, all the aforementioned phases are built up to be an automatic system. The automatic system is then employed to investigate the effect of cable cross-section areas and girder spans on stress redistribution. The findings from these studies show that the initial tension in the cables of a steel cable-stayed bridge should be kept to less than 55% of the cable's ultimate strength to reduce the effect of cable stress relaxation. The cable space in a steel cable-stayed bridge should be limited to 15,000 mm to minimize the effect of cable stress relaxation. In comparison to other structural members of a steel cable-stayed bridge, the girders experience a significant stress redistribution.