Vibration characteristics of 3D curved cellular bridges via panel element method

The object of research is the development of a novel approach for the free vibration analysis of 3D curved cellular bridges using the Panel Element Method (PEM). The free vibration analysis of 3D curved cellular bridges was performed by the proposed Panel Element Method (PEM). The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between natural frequencies, mode shapes, and computational efficiency and the geometric configuration of curved bridge decks. Method. The PEM simulates curved cellular decks as assemblies of planar and non-planar panel modules based on a wide column analogy where two rigid arms joined by a flexible member mimic coupling between bending and torsion. Intrinsic dynamic properties are determined analytically using strain energy minimum principles, implemented in MATLAB for parametric analysis. Comparison with the Finite Element Method (FEM) assesses mode of vibration discrepancies and computational cost. Validation is done externally by solving the equations of equilibrium for bridge geometries with different curvature radius, support types, and cell shapes. Results. The PEM is verified against FEM by a variety of case studies for various bridge profiles and supports. It is found that the natural frequencies and mode shapes could be predicted accurately by the PEM with variation of less than 7% in fundamental modes compared to FEM. A high degree of computational efficiency by PEM is proved with over 90% savings in computational efforts without any accuracy loss. The paper concludes that the PEM is a good method for free vibration analysis that can achieve a compromise between accuracy and computational efficiency and is a possible substitute for the analysis of the dynamic behavior of curved bridge decks with various configurations.