An Investigation into the Dynamic Mechanical Behaviors of Special-Shaped Arch Bridges

By building a finite element model of a special-shaped arch bridge, this paper discusses the effects of the changes of the geometric shape, and the skewed angle of the girder and arch on the dynamic characteristics. During the free vibration characteristics analysis, changes in the rise-span ratio had a relatively significant impact on the special-shaped arch bridge’s free vibration frequency since the basic frequency would increase as the rise-span ratio decreased. Changes to the rise-span ratio had a relatively minimal effect on the in-plane vibration status, while it had a significant effect on the out-plane vibration status. This difference is because at the in-plane, the curved structure receives a significant amount of axial force, while at the out-plane, the transverse load response is stronger.