3D Finite Element Simulation and Mechanical Behavior Analysis for External Prestressed Bridges

The finite element analysis method for external prestressed concrete bridge was introduced.The finite element analysis module for external prestressed bridge was redeveloped based on ANSYS software.It is able to bring material and geometric nonlinear effects into the analysis,and for analyzing ultimate bearing capacity and local stress characteristics of external prestressed structure.Combined this module with Solid65/Solid45 simulated concrete and Link8 simulated prestressed tendon,the external prestressed bridge finite element model was built.Then,the model equipped with different allocation arrangements of internal and external tendons to analyze the mechanical behavior of external prestressed concrete bridge.Thus,the effect of allocation arrangement of tendons on ultimate bearing capacity was analysed.The analysis result shows that proper configuration of bounded prestress is great effective to improve the ultimate bearing capacity of external prestressed bridge and to extend plastic deflection range.Therefore,better mechanical behavior could be obtained by choosing suitable mixed proportion of external and internal tendon arrangement.