Damper Optimization for Long-Span Suspension Bridges: Formulations and Applications

Long-span suspension bridges are becoming prevalent globally with the rapid progress in design methodologies and construction technologies. Although with apparent progress, the balance between excessive displacement and inner forces, under dynamic loads, is still a main concern because of increased flexibility and low structural damping. Therefore, effective controllers should be employed to control the seismic responses to ensure their normal operation. In this chapter, the combination of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and first-order optimization method are formulated to optimize seismic response control effect of the Runyang suspension bridge (RSB) under earthquakes, considering traveling wave effect. The compositive optimal parameters of dampers are achieved on the basis of 3-dimensional nonlinear seismic response analyses for the RSB and parameters sensitivity analyses. Results show that the dampers with rational parameters can reduce the seismic responses of the bridge significantly, and the application of the AHP and first-order optimization method can lead to accurate optimization effects. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2029-2.ch005