Optimal Design of Bridges for High-Speed Trains : Single and double-span bridges

Abstract: To deal with an increasing demand in transportation, trains are made longer and faster. Higher speeds imply higher impacts on bridges. Therefore, structures have to be designed to resist these new constraints. The Eurocode (2002) introduced additional checks for the design of high-speed railway bridges. Among them, the maximum vertical deck acceleration criterion often determines alone the design of the structure. Tests on shake table brought to the conclusion that vertical bridge deck acceleration should never exceed 3.5 m/s2 for ballasted tracks. This master thesis investigates the optimization of cross section parameters of single-track simply supported and double-span bridges based on the limit of the maximum vertical deck acceleration criterion. The first natural frequency is considered as a proof of the feasibility of the structure. The optimization is carried out through MATLAB for both types of bridges. The deck acceleration of simply supported bridges is analytically calculated using the Train Signature (ERRI D214 1999) in MATLAB. The dynamic calculations of double-span bridges are implemented through the finite element software ABAQUS. The implemented programs have been verified by comparison to values of simple cases found in the literature. Structures are tested under the influence of the ten HSLM-A trains of the Eurocode running at speeds between 150 km/h and 350 km/h. Optimization algorithms are presented and compared in this study but their applicability in such context is questioned. Indeed, as the problem contains several suitable minima, the algorithms, which end in one solution, are not adapted. To overtake this difficulty, a scanning of the interesting zone is advised. However, the latter is very time consuming, even more if the finite element analysis is used. Suggestions to decrease analysis time are presented in this report. Single span composite bridges with a span longer than 20 m appeared to be impossible to optimize within the objectives defined in this work (i.e. considering limits of deck acceleration and first natural frequency), which draws doubts about their suitability for high-speed railways. Nevertheless, simply supported bridges made of concrete seem more adapted for high-speed railways and their optimized parameters are presented in this work. Optimized parameters for double-span concrete bridges are also presented.