Nonlinear dynamic responses of suspension bridge to sudden breakage of hangers

It is found that the hangers in many suspension bridges in China faced serious corrosion. The resistance capacities of the hangers decrease for corrosion, and the corroded hangers may break suddenly under tension forces. The sudden breakage of a hanger can induce violent vibrations and large changes of internal forces of the whole bridge. The safety of suspension bridges is endangered by corrosion of hangers. Using nonlinear dynamic analysis method and adopting 3D finite element model, the nonlinear dynamic responses of an actual suspension bridge to sudden breakage of a hanger are studied in this paper. The influences of sudden breakage of hanger on the bridge are analyzed in detail. Based on the analysis results, some useful suggestions about design and maintain of hangers are proposed.