Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles

Luca Gonella

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Imperial College London

Abstract

Due to the dynamic environment in which cable-stayed bridges work, sudden failure of stay
cables are likely to happen for diverse reasons. The more rapid is the failure the more severe
will be the effect on the bridge, risking not just the breakage of one or more elements due to a
zipper-type collapse, but of the whole system. The impact of a vehicle is the event that most
likely is able to produce such a consequence and the regulations only consider a possible loss
of just one element. For this reason in the following study the impact of a heavy vehicle is
considered in order to see how a single cable would respond or how a system of cables would
respond, if more than one is affected. a combination of an energy-based approach and a step by
step solution is used to define the deformation and dynamic response and a sliding and no-
sliding models are used for the interaction between vehicle and cable.
Keywords: stay cable, impact, vehicle, energy, deformation

1. Introduction

Cable-stayed bridges became popular due to the fact that they are perfectly suitable in situations
that are in between the common suspension bridges, where the span to cover would not be long
enough to be economically advantageous and cantilever bridges, where the span would be too
long and the self-weight unsustainable. In this disposition there is a direct connection between
the deck and the pylons with the stay cables, positioned in different possible configurations.
The most common materials used for these types of bridges are mostly two combined together,
steel or concrete for pylons, post-tensioned concrete deck and steel cables, composed by several
strands with high performance characteristics put together in helical shapes.

The origin of cable-stayed bridges goes back to 1595, where the Italian inventor Fausto
Veranzio in his book Machinae Novae presented the first design attempt, in which stay cables
were constructed by linked rods because there was not an industrial production yet of heavy
structural cables. After this the first notable projects started in the 19th century, just to cite some
of them the Albert Bridge (1872), Brooklyn Bridge (1883) and Bluff Dale bridge (Texas, 1890).
The problem with these early bridges was that the static and dynamic concept was not well
understood yet, and the impossibility to pre-tension the cables gave a lack in stiffness to the
system, with consequent inadequate resistance to wind and vehicle induced vibrations.
The design improved in the 20th century where just after World War II, the Architect Elizabeth
Mock presented a book where historical and aesthetic analysis were coupled together and all

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

the best-known bridges up to 1949 were described. The same year saw another publication that
marked the future design of cable-stayed bridges with the Engineer Frank Dischinger,
presenting a pioneering theory on how the cable theory could be used for design of cables. With
his new theory new bridges started to improve both structurally and aesthetically, reaching
spans of almost a 1000 m using new materials with high strength and new construction
technologies, like the Skarnsund Bridge (Norway, 530m), the Pont de Normandie (France,
856m) and in the most recent days the Edong Yangtze River Bridge (China, 926m).

Due to their dimensions, complexity and importance from the safety point of view, each
component is studied in terms of vulnerability and resistance to abrupt events like fire, blast,
corrosion and especially impact from vehicles and the consequent dynamic response. One
delicate issue is the case where one element is loss or absent momentarily due to these extreme
events or maintenance and some regulations tried to manage these scenarios with some
guidelines, considering for example a Dynamic Amplification Factor (DAF) to be applied to
the intact components that should not have any repercussions deriving from the single failure.
Some studies highlighted that the DAF of 2.0 generally taken by the regulations in some cases
could not be enough to cover every possible scenario (Ruiz-Teran and Aparicio, 2006; Mozos
& Aparicio, 2010). The main reason is that the DAF is strongly dependant on the position and
type of the abrupt event, so it is not easy to generalise a single value to be always in a safe
condition (Hoang, Kiyomiya & An, 2018).

This paper should be seen as an integration and improvement of the present studies on the abrupt
loss of a stay cable due to a sudden impact of a vehicle, trying to have a better understanding
of the response of a single or multiple cables to the impulsive force and the repercussions on
the structure.

2. Objectives of the analysis

The main objectives of the following research are:

• To analyse the current studies and regulations to see what type of requirements exist;
• To analyse the response of a generic cable to the impact of a mass representing a vehicle,
with variation of its geometrical and mechanical parameters;
• To analyse the influence of elastic and plastic response of the cable during the breakage
event;
• To analyse how several cables could be affected;
• To define if one or more cables have to be considered as lost after the impact.

3. Research gap analysis

The five different regulations presenting guidelines for an impacting force on a bridge structure
and its response (PTI, FIB, SETRA, EC1, EC3) consider just the effect of the loss of one cable
or its temporary absence. So far there are no documented studies in which the reliability analysis
of long-span cable-stayed bridges, subjected to sudden cables failure, has been conducted
considering the dynamic excitations from wind and traffic and further an impact (Zhou & Chen,
2016).

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

4. Literature review

4.1. Regulations and guidelines for cable(s) loss

A cable(s) loss in cable-supported structures, mostly in cable-stayed bridges, is the results of
extreme events like blast, fire or the impact of a vehicle. Different entities during the years have
incorporated guidelines like the American Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI), Eurocode 1 and
Eurocode 3, the French regulations Service d’Etudes Techniques des Routes et Autoroutes
(SETRA) and the Fédération Internationale du Béton (FIB).

4.1.1. Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI) guidelines

The PTI D-45.1-12 2012 states that “The impact dynamic force resulting from the sudden
rupture of a cable shall be 2.0 times the static force in the cable, or the force as determined by
non-linear dynamic analysis of a sudden cable rupture, but in no case less than 1.5 times the
static force in the cable. This force shall be applied at both the top and bottom anchorage
locations.”.
The guideline also considers a nominal yield strength equal to 90% of the ultimate strength.
The impact dynamic force stated above is calculated with the factor of 2 generally called Impact
force factor (Kiviluoma et al,2015), it can be seen in Figure 1.It is defined as:

∆𝑁 |𝑁0 − 𝑁𝑚𝑖𝑛 |
𝐼𝐹 = = (1)
𝑁0 𝑁0

Where N0 is the initial force in the cable, as soon as the cable breaks it reaches a minimum and
begin to vibrate and at the end the tension goes to zero.
Note: If a non-linear dynamic analysis is used, the dynamic model should be initialised with
full permanent load and live load condition for the bridge.

Figure 1- change in force after the breakage

4.1.2. Fédération Internationale du Béton (FIB) guidelines

The failure of one single stay cable should not lead to immediate failure of the entire cable-
stayed structure. The Designer should take into account in his design accidental breakage of
any one stay cable in the structure including the dynamic effects caused by the failure.
Generally, redundant stay cable systems, i.e. systems consisting of multiple parallel tensile
elements, are preferred to cables consisting of a single tensile element.

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

4.1.3. Service d’Etudes Techniques des Routes et Autoroutes (SETRA) guidelines

The SETRA entity gives its recommendations through the publication “Haubans -
Recommandations de la commission interministérielle de la précontrainte”.
Particular attention should be taken for the accidental action of the breakage of any stay cable,
considering only one cable at the time. This rupture is represented by a force opposite to the
tension of the shroud, exercised at its two anchors, and weighted by a dynamic amplification
factor defined between 1.5 and 2.0. The dynamic amplification coefficient depends on the nature
of the rupture (vehicle impact, corrosion of reinforcements, etc.) as well as the dynamic
response of the structure. A coefficient value of 2.0 is a particularly severe enveloping value,
corresponding to the unlikely case of a sudden break in the entire cable. For stay-cables with
independent parallel frames, the simultaneous breaking of all the reinforcements being
unlikely, the amplification factor can be reduced to 1.5. Local and global checks for the
breakage of the shroud are carried out at the SLU, in combination of the effect of the
breakdown, the working values are taken with their multiplicative coefficients.

4.1.4. Eurocode 1 - Actions on structures - Part 1-7: General actions - Accidental actions
This section defines accidental actions due to the following events:
• impact from road vehicles (excluding collisions on lightweight structures);
• impact from forklift trucks;
• impact from trains (excluding collisions on lightweight structures);
• impact from ships;
• the hard landing of helicopters on roofs.
For bridges, the actions due to impact and the mitigating measures provided should take into
account, amongst other things, the type of traffic on and under the bridge and the consequences
of the impact.
Actions due to impact should be determined by a dynamic analysis or represented by an
equivalent static force.
NOTE 1: The forces at the interface of the impacting object and the structure depend on their
interaction.
NOTE 2: The basic variables for impact analysis are the impact velocity of the impacting object
and the mass distribution, deformation behaviour and damping characteristics of both the
impacting object and the structure. Other factors such as the angle of impact, the construction
of the impacting object and movement of the impacting object after collision may also be
relevant.
For structural design the actions due to impact may be represented by an equivalent static force
giving the equivalent action effects in the structure. This simplified model may be used for the
verification of static equilibrium, for strength verifications and for the determination of
deformations of the impacted structure.
For structures which are designed to absorb impact energy by elastic-plastic deformations of
members (Le. soft impact), the equivalent static loads may be determined by taking into account
both plastic strength and the deformation capacity of such members.
Impact is an interaction phenomenon between a moving object and a structure, in which the
kinetic energy of the object is suddenly transformed into energy of deformation. To find the
dynamic interaction forces, the mechanical properties of both the object and the structure
should be determined. Static equivalent forces are commonly used in design.
Advanced design of structures to sustain actions due to impact may include explicitly one or
several of the following aspects:
• dynamic effects;
• non-linear material behaviour.

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

Within the structure these forces may give rise to dynamic effects. An upper bound for these
effects can be determined if the structure is assumed to respond elastically and the load is
realised as a step function (i.e. a function that rises immediately to its final value and then stays
constant at that value). In that case the dynamic amplification factor (i.e. the ratio between
dynamic and static response) φdyn is 2.0. If the pulse nature of the load (i.e. its limited time of
application) needs to be taken into account, calculations will lead to amplification factors φdyn
ranging from below 1,0 up to 1,8 depending on the dynamic characteristics of the structure and
the object. In general, it is recommended to use a direct dynamic analysis to determine φdyn.
In particular cases, when specific information is available, different design values may be
chosen, depending on the target safety, the traffic intensity and the accident frequency.
In the absence of a dynamic analysis, the dynamic amplification factor for the elastic response
may be assumed to be equal to 1,4.

4.1.5. Eurocode 3 - Design of steel structures - Part 1-11: Design of structures with tension
components
The replacement of at least one tension component should be taken into account in the design
as a transient design situation.
NOTE: The National Annex may define the transient loading conditions and partial factors for
replacement.
Where required, a sudden loss of anyone tension component should be taken into account in
the design as an accidental design situation.
NOTE 1: The National Annex may define where such an accidental design situation should
apply and also give the protection requirements and loading conditions, e.g. for hangers of
bridges.
NOTE 2: In the absence of a rigorous analysis the dynamic effect of a sudden removal may
conservatively be allowed for by using the additional action effect Ed:

𝐸𝑑 = 𝑘 ∙ (𝐸𝑑2 − 𝐸𝑑1 ) (2)

Where:
− k is 1,5
− Ed1 represents the design effects with all cables intact;
− Ed2 represents the design effects with the relevant cable removed.

4.1.6. Eurocode 3 - Design of steel structures - Part 2: Steel Bridges

The design of the bridge should ensure that when the damage of a component due to accidental
actions occurs, the remaining structure can sustain at least the accidental load combination
with reasonable means.
NOTE: The National Annex may define components that are subjected to accidental design
situations and also details for assessments. Examples of such components are hangers, cables,
bearings.
The effects of corrosion or fatigue of components and material should be taken into account by
appropriate detailing, see also EN 1993-1 -9 and EN 1993-1 -10.
NOTE 1: EN 1993-1-9, section 3 provides assessment methods using the principles of damage
tolerance or safe life.
NOTE 2: The National Annex may be a choice of the design method to be used for fatigue
assessment.

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

5. Breakage events

When talking about cables loss or failure in general of a cable-stayed bridge, different
mechanisms are possible and normally they have in common the fact the there is a disproportion
in size between the consequence and a triggering event. In case of impact, the progressive event
is characterised by the fact that the collapse starts from one or few elements, then the
repercussion of the loss is transmitted to the other parts that, if are not able to withstand to the
redistributed forces or excessive deformations, collapse as well. Four classes and six different
typologies of failure are possible (Starossek, 2007), but in case of a collision event the main
one is the “zipper-type collapse”. This type is mainly seen when a failure of one or several cable
elements cause an impulsive overloading on the adjacent cables, that are not able to withstand
the increased force and break.
When analysing the single cable, the failure can be classified in three different types: pure
tensile, shearing and bending breakage (Hoang, kyiomiya & Tonxiang, 2015), in case of a
collision the last one best describes the event, where there is a big force in a short period of
time, but it is not intensive enough to suddenly break the cable without deforming it. The cable
undergoes to a significant deformation, this increases the tension in the element that breaks if
the ultimate strength is reached.

6. Cables

The cable is the main element of a cable-stayed bridge, ensuring its stability and resistance. The
composition and characteristics are similar to the ones used for the prestressed concrete, this
means high resistance and higher content of carbon respect to normal steel, that increases the
strength but on the other side has the effect of reducing the ductility. The size of a single cable
can reach a maximum of 0.034 m2 normally (Gimsing & Georgakis, 2012), where the number
of strands depends on the type of strand used (standard, super or compact).
The mechanical resistance of a cable derives from the properties of its basic components that
are the wires. The wire is made by electro galvanized steel and it follows an elastic-plastic law
with hardening, given in Figure 2.The value of the elastic modulus is normally a bit smaller
than the normal structural steel, due to the increased quantity of Carbon as said before, and it
can oscillate between values of 190-200 GPa (Gimsing & Georgakis, 2012), in this study it has
been taken a mean value of 195 GPa, given by the regulations as well.
σ

fptk
fp0.1k Ep
Esp

εyk εuk ε
Figure 2-constitutive law of the steel
Where:
− 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 = 1860 𝑀𝑃𝑎
− 𝑓𝑝0.1𝑘 = 1640 𝑀𝑃𝑎
− 𝐸𝑠𝑝 = 195 𝐺𝑃𝑎

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

− 𝐸𝑝 = 8260 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝑓𝑝0,1𝑘
− 𝜀𝑦𝑘 = = 8.41‰
𝐸𝑠𝑝
− 𝜀𝑢𝑘 = 35‰
In this study it has been used the standard strand, with the area of 139 mm2 and a diameter of
0.62′′ (equivalent to 15.7 mm) and for the weight is has been considered the normal density of
the steel 𝜌 = 8000 Kg/m3 .

7. Spatial model

In consideration of a generic cable in the space, the two possible collisions are shown in Figure
3:

T0 T0
ms ms

γ γ

ls ls

m v v m
M M
x x
lx lx
mx mx
y y
T0 T0

Figure 3-first type of impact on the left, second type of impact on the right

Where some of the parameters are defined as follow:

𝑇0 = 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 (3)

𝜎0 = 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 (4)

𝜎0
𝜀0 = (5)
𝐸𝑠𝑝

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

𝑙𝑥 + 𝑙𝑠 = 𝐿 (6)

𝐿
𝐿0 = (7)
(1 + 𝜀0 )

𝑇0 ∙ 𝐿0
∆𝐿0 = (8)
𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴

∆𝐿0 ∙ 𝑙𝑥
∆𝐿0𝑥 = (9)
𝐿

∆𝐿0 ∙ 𝑙𝑠
∆𝐿0𝑠 = (10)
𝐿

𝑙𝑥
𝑙0𝑥 = (11)
(1 + 𝜀0 )

𝑙𝑠
𝑙0𝑠 = (12)
(1 + 𝜀0 )

𝜌 ∙ 𝐿0 ∙ 𝐴
𝑚= (13)
2

𝜌 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 ∙ 𝐴
𝑚𝑥 = (14)
2

𝜌 ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 ∙ 𝐴
𝑚𝑠 = (15)
2

When the collision starts, in the impacted point the mass is now m plus the mass of the vehicle
M, as shown in Figure 4. The two masses keep moving in the horizontal direction until the cable
breaks or, being able to withstand the impact, reaches the maximum displacement and it goes
back.

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

ms ms

m m
m+M m+M

mx mx
Figure 4-representation of the total mass during the impact,
first type of impact on the left, second type of impact on the right

In any moment of the displacement the geometry of the deformed cable can be defined by
analysing the triangles shown in Figure 5. In specific, this will be done in relation to certain
deformations of the cable, as it will be presented later in this paper.

θs
θs

ls
l’s ls l's

ωs h
γ π-γ u
u ωs
ωx ωx
π-γ lx γ
h
lx
l'x
θx θx l'x

x x

y y
Figure 5-geometrical parameters of a cable during the displacement

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

8. Energetic approach

8.1. Vertical cable, middle point impact

The resistance of a cable is studied with an energetic approach, where before the impact there
is a certain kinetic energy, given by the vehicle with a specific velocity, that is totally transferred
to the cable in the form of elastic-plastic energy, if the cable is able to withstand the deformation
required, or partly transferred if the elongation required is greater than the ultimate value and
the cable breaks.
The study starts with a simple example of a vertical cable with the impact in the middle point,
it is not realistic, but it will help to understand the phenomenon giving results for further
implementation. In Figure 6 it is presented how the cable absorbs the energy in relation to which
part of the constitutive law it is working in. Basically, the area under the graph is the elastic or
elastic-plastic energy gained by the cable and the representation corresponds just to when the
cable does not break, otherwise in case of breakage the whole area till εuk⸱L0 should be filled.
Considering now a generic area and length of the cable, the elongation required to absorb the
energy is calculated assuming that the cable stays in its elastic range:

1 1
𝑇0 ∙ ∆𝜀 ∙ 𝐿0 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝜀 2 ∙ 𝐿0 = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2 (16)
2 2

The strain ∆𝜀 is calculated solving (16):

1
𝑎 = ∙ 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ 𝐿0 (17)
2 𝑠𝑝

𝑏 = 𝑇0 ∙ 𝐿0 (18)

1
𝑐 = − ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2 (19)
2

−𝑏 + √𝑏 2 − 4 ∙ 𝑎 ∙ 𝑐
∆𝜀 = (20)
2∙𝑎

If ∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 is bigger than 𝜀𝑦𝑘 then it goes into the plastic range and the equation is modified as
follow:

1 2
𝑇0 ∙ ∆𝜀 ∙ 𝐿0 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝐿0 + (𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 − 𝑇0) ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0
2 (21)
1 2 1
− 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝐿0 + ∙ 𝐸𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝐿0 = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2
2 2

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

As before the strain ∆𝜀 is calculated solving equation (21):

1
𝑎 = ∙ 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ 𝐿0 (22)
2 𝑝

𝑏 = 𝑇0 ∙ 𝐿0 + (𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 − 𝑇0) ∙ 𝐿0 + 𝐸𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝐿0 (23)

1 2
𝑐 = ∙ (𝐸𝑠𝑝 + 𝐸𝑝 ) ∙ 𝐴 ∙ 𝐿0 ∙ (𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) + (𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 − 𝑇0 ) ∙ (𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝐿0
2 (24)
1
− ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2
2

substituting equations (22)-(24) in equation (20).

T T

fp0.1k⸱A fptk⸱A
Tmax
Tmax
fp0.1k⸱A

T0 T0

ε0⸱L0 ε⸱L0 εyk⸱L0 ΔL ε0⸱L0 εyk⸱L0 ε⸱L0 εuk⸱L0 ΔL

Δε⸱L0 Δε⸱L0
Figure 6-representation of the energy absorbed by the cable,
just elastic range on the left, elastic-plastic range on the right

As it can be seen in equations (16), (21) and in Figure 7 there are two parameters that mainly
affect the scale of the graph, the area A and the length L0. If the area A is fixed, all the values
on the vertical axis are fixed as well, so the only way to increment the area under the graph is
to increase the length. in the same way if the length L0 is fixed, the only way to increment the
area is by increasing the area of the cable.

T T L0>
fptk⸱A
A>
fp0.1k⸱A

T0
ε0⸱L0 εyk⸱L0 εuk⸱L0 ΔL ε0⸱L0 ΔL
Figure 7-representation of the influence on the response of the
area on the left and the length on the right

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

The same aspect can be presented more in specific by the analysis of equation (21) (as well as
equation (16) in case of elastic range), obtaining a single equation in function of length and
area. Starting with the substitution of equation (3) in equation (21) (or equation (16)), obtaining
equation (25) (or (26)), then grouped in equation (27) (or (28)) with some simple manipulations,
to have the single term “A⸱L0”:

1 1
𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝜀 ∙ 𝐿0 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝜀 2 ∙ 𝐿0 = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2 (25)
2 2

1 2
𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝜀 ∙ 𝐿0 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝐿0 + (𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 − 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ 𝐴)
2
1 2
∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝐿0 + ∙ 𝐸𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝐿0 (26)
2
1
= ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2
2

1 1
(𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ ∆𝜀 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ ∆𝜀 2 ) ∙ 𝐴 ∙ 𝐿0 = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2 (27)
2 2

1 2 1
(𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) + 𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) + ∙ 𝐸𝑝
2 2 (28)
2 1
∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ) ∙ 𝐴 ∙ 𝐿0 = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2
2

The whole term in the parenthesis is now defined as deformative constant k(p) in equations (29)
and (30) and it is function of the increment in strain Δε and the initial strain ε0 as well as the
percentage of initial tension p, but if a specific maximum elongation is set then k(p) is only
influenced by the initial tension. Now equation (31) is obtained by the substitution of (29) (or
(30)) in (27) (or (28)) and it can be seen how length and area are tied together by an hyperbolic
function once the right hand side of the equation is defined:

1
𝑘(𝑝) = 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ ∆𝜀 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ ∆𝜀 2 (29)
2

1 2
𝑘(𝑝) = (𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) + 𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 )
2 (30)
1 2
+ ∙ 𝐸𝑝 ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) )
2

𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2 (31)
𝐴 ∙ 𝐿0 =
2 ∙ 𝑘(𝑝)

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With equation (31) it is possible to define whether an existing cable breaks or not and set the
minimum size to resist to the impact or to stay in a specific range in the constitutive law. In the
following sections the values of k(p) are defined.

8.1.1. Breakage condition

If the cable breaks it means it has reached the maximum strain εuk and it is obviously in the
plastic range. With this consideration, by substituting equation (32) in equation (30), equation
(33) is derived where k(p) depends just on the initial strain now:

∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 = 𝜀𝑢𝑘 (32)

1 2 1
𝑘(𝑝) = (𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) + 𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ (𝜀𝑢𝑘 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) +
2 2 (33)
2
∙ 𝐸𝑝 ∙ (𝜀𝑢𝑘 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) )

The values of k(p), for a normal range of initial tension going from 30% to 60% of the ultimate
strength, are presented in Table 1:

Table 1-values of the parameter k(p)

for the breakage condition

p(%) k(MPa)
30 52.63
40 52.00
50 51.21
60 50.23

It can be seen that even a variation in the initial tension has a small influence on the value of
k(p), for this reason a conservative choice can be made selecting a unique value coming from
p equal to 60% that will give a unique requirement for the breakage when substituted in equation
(31).

8.1.2. Zero-tension condition

This is the condition where the cable has reached a certain plastic deformation without breaking,
but when it goes back in place it has lost the whole initial tension T0, keeping a residual
deformation as shown in Figure 8.

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

σ*

σ0

ε0 ε* ε
Δε
Figure 8-representation of the zero-tension condition

In order to get Δε the system (34) is solved:

𝜎 ∗ = 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ ∆𝜀
{ (34)
𝜎 ∗ = 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝜀𝑦𝑘 + 𝐸𝑝 ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 )

Getting equation (35):

𝐸𝑝 𝐸𝑝 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
∆𝜀 = 𝜀𝑦𝑘 + ∙ 𝜀0 = 𝜀𝑦𝑘 + ∙ (35)
𝐸𝑠𝑝 − 𝐸𝑝 𝐸𝑠𝑝 − 𝐸𝑝 𝐸𝑠𝑝

Where:

𝜀 ∗ = ∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 (36)

Again the cable is moving over the plastic range, so by using directly equation (35) in equation
(30) new values for k(p) can be calculated, given in Table 2:
Table 2-values of the parameter k(p)
for the zero-tension condition

p(%) k(MPa)
30 11.04
40 12.08
50 12.95
60 13.65

8.1.3. Elastic condition

If the cable stays in this condition it never exits from the elastic range, so now the equation to
consider is the (29), with the use of equation (37):

∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 = 𝜀𝑦𝑘 (37)

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

1
𝑘(𝑝) = 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 )2 (38)
2

And Table 3 is given as a result of equation (38):

Table 3- values of the parameter k(p)
for the elastic condition

p(%) k(MPa)
30 6.10
40 5.48
50 4.68
60 3.70

8.2. Relation between displacement and size of the cable

Given the geometry of the cable, it can be seen how a combination of area and length influences
the displacement by calculating first the elongation required to have a specific strain, then the
displacement with the simple use of the Pythagoras’s theorem with a focus on just one side due
to the symmetry of this model (Figure 9).

𝐿0 𝐿0
∆𝐿𝑥 = ∆𝜀 ∙ = (𝜀 − 𝜀0 ) ∙ (39)
2 2

Using now equations (4), (5) and (7) in equation (39) a direct relation between the elongation
and the length can be defined in equation (40), depending on the initial tension and the strain:

𝜀 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
( − )
2 2 ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝
∆𝐿𝑥 = ∙𝐿 (40)
𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
(1 + )
𝐸𝑠𝑝

and the displacement is calculated with equation (42) as shown in Figure 9:

𝑢 = √(𝑙𝑥 + ∆𝐿𝑥)2 − 𝑙𝑥 2 (41)

2 2
𝜀 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 𝜀 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
( − ) ( − )
𝐿 2 2 ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 𝐿 2 1 2 2 ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 1 2
𝑢=√ + ∙𝐿 −( ) =𝐿∗√ + −( ) (42)
2 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 2 2 𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘 2
(1 + ) (1 + )
( 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ) ( 𝐸𝑠𝑝 )

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l0x+ΔLx lx

Figure 9-geometry of the displacement for a vertical cable

The relation between the maximum displacement and the length of the cable is linear once the
initial tension and a strain are defined. In specific if the three different conditions presented
previously are analysed the following procedure can be followed in order to get the
displacement:
1. The range in which the cable will work is chosen: breakage, zero-tension or just elastic;
2. Given a specific initial tension, the tables give the value of k(p);
3. Given a specific length the cable has to cover, the area required to stay in the range chosen
above is defined:

𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2
𝐴= (43)
2 ∙ 𝐿 ∙ 𝑘(𝑝)

4. With equations (40), (42) the increment in elongation and the displacement are calculated.

9. Inclined cable, generic point impact

In consideration now of a cable with an inclination and a shifted point of impact, as presented
in Figure 3 and Figure 5, there is no symmetry anymore so the type of the impact has an
influence on the response. One important aspect now is the interaction between the cable and
the vehicle, these two can slide or stick in respect to each other during the impact, the real
behaviour will not be either of them but something in between. For this reason, both approaches
are going to be analysed in the following sections.

9.1. Sliding model

With this model the vehicle freely slides over the cable, this means that there are no differences
between the inferior and superior part and the whole length L is responding in the same way.
By comparing this situation with the vertical cable presented before, it can be seen then that
there are no differences in terms of the way in which the cable transforms the kinetic energy in
elastic-plastic energy and this means that the whole process performed before, from equation
(16) to equation (38), is still valid giving at the end exactly the same results. The only aspect
changing is the geometry, as a result the procedure to calculate the displacement will be
different.

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9.1.1. Relation between displacement and size of the cable

Given the non-symmetry the Carnot’s theorem must be used to define the geometry. Equations
(39) and (40) are still valid but in relation to the whole cable as shown in equations (44) and
(45):

∆𝐿 = ∆𝜀 ∙ 𝐿0 = (𝜀 − 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝐿0 (44)

𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
(𝜀 − )
𝐸𝑠𝑝
∆𝐿 = ∙𝐿 (45)
𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
(1 + )
𝐸𝑠𝑝

Due to the fact that an explicit formula for the displacement cannot be easily defined, the latter
is calculated with an iterative procedure until the elongation that the displacement produces is
exactly the one coming from equation (45):
1. The initial displacement is zero, utry=0;
2. The initial elongation increment is zero as well because the displacement is zero, ΔLtry=0;
3. Using the Carnot’s theorem the length of the two parts of the deformed cable is defined.
a. In case of the first type of impact, presented on the left in Figure 5:

𝑙 ′ 𝑥 = √𝑙𝑥 2 + 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑥 ∙ 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜋 − 𝛾) (46)

𝑙 ′ 𝑠 = √𝑙𝑠 2 + 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑠 ∙ 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) (47)

b. In case of the second type of impact, presented on the right in Figure 5:

𝑙 ′ 𝑥 = √𝑙𝑥 2 + 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑥 ∙ 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) (48)

𝑙 ′ 𝑠 = √𝑙𝑠 2 + 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑠 ∙ 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜋 − 𝛾) (49)

4. Given the deformed length the corresponding elongation is derived:

∆𝐿𝑡𝑟𝑦 = 𝑙 ′ 𝑥 + 𝑙 ′ 𝑠 − 𝐿 (50)

5. If ∆𝐿𝑡𝑟𝑦 − ∆𝐿 ≥ 0 It means that the point where the elongation is the same as the one
coming from the energy equation has been reached, the process can be stopped. The
displacement corresponds to the last utry calculated;

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6. If ∆𝐿𝑡𝑟𝑦 − ∆𝐿 < 0 the displacement is increased (utry = utry + 0.001) and the procedure
goes back to point 3.
The area is calculated in the same way with equation (43).
Now given the value of ε the tension and the stress can be defined:
1. If 𝜀 ≤ 𝜀𝑦𝑘 :

𝜎 = 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝜀 (51)

2. If 𝜀 > 𝜀𝑦𝑘 :

𝜎 = 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝜀𝑦𝑘 + 𝐸𝑝 ∙ (𝜀 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) (52)

3. Tension:

𝑇 =𝜎∙𝐴 (53)

9.2. No-sliding model

With this model now it is assumed that the friction forces between cable and vehicle are that
high that there is no sliding. For this reason, the point of contact never changes during the
impact, therefore the superior and inferior part of the cable now respond differently. The generic
form of the energy equation is given by equation (54):

1
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙0𝑠 ) + 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙0𝑥 ) = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2 (54)
2

With consideration of both types of impact, it cannot be said a priori which is the part reaching
the breakage first or in which part of the constitutive law the two sides are working, then it is
not possible to get an explicit equation in function of the size of the cable. For some range of
displacement, depending on the type of impact, one side or the other undergoes a shortening
and if this happens it means that it is losing the initial tension. The cable does not have resistance
in compression so once the tension is lost it becomes just zero till the point it goes in traction
again, if that happens. During this shortening range that side of the cable is not absorbing any
energy because there is not any increment in elongation neither it is going in compression, as
shown in Figure 10:
T T

T0

0 ε0⸱L0 ΔL
Figure 10-representation of the shortening in the energy graph

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In general, an iterative procedure is required, but depending on the type of impact analysed
some simplifications can be made as presented in the following sections. These simplifications
derive from the fact that the part lx is always shorter than ls, because it depends on the height of
the centre of mass of the vehicle that is generally small in relation to the length of the cable.
Some numerical parameters will be presented later in the study.

9.2.1. First type of impact

This type allows to simplify the equation, because the part ls always undergoes a shortening and
this means the term Energy(ls) is always zero, as shown in Figure 10. Theoretically, if the lx
part had enough resistance to allow ls to reach the elongation range again, the latter would
contribute to absorb the kinetic energy as well, but as said previously the two sides have a
difference in length that makes lx breaking before.

Δls
Δls<0
ls

l0s+Δls ls

Δlx lx
Δlx>0 l0x+Δl Δls>0 Δls=0 Δls<0
Figure 11- representation
x of the Figure 12- representation of the range of
deformation of the two parts of the cable deformation of the part of the cable above impact

For the reason described above, it is possible to rewrite equations (16) and (21) with the use of
the length l0x:

1 1
𝑇0 ∙ ∆𝜀 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝜀 2 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2 (55)
2 2

1 2
𝑇0 ∙ ∆𝜀 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 + (𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 − 𝑇0) ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0
2 (56)
1 2 1
− 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 + ∙ 𝐸𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (∆𝜀 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2
2 2

By following the same process, the k(p) values are the same for the three conditions presented
previously. If now the centre of mass of the vehicle has a height of c, the length l0x depends on
the inclination of the cable as shown in equation (57):

𝑐
𝑙0𝑥 = (57)
(1 + 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾)

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Equations (56)and (57) together define the final form:

𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2 (58)
𝐴= ∙ (1 + 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾)
2 ∙ 𝑐 ∙ 𝑘(𝑝)

Because of the centre of mass of the vehicle is fixed and the inclination of the cable can be fixed
as well, the only missing parameter is the area, that now is a constant. There is no relation
anymore with the length of the cable because the resisting part is the side below impact, that
depends just on c and γ. If γ is not fixed, it can be seen how the area required grows with gamma,
because l0x decreases.

9.2.2. Relation between displacement and size of the cable

In terms of elongation, equation (40) is still valid, but instead of having half of the cable now
the length is fixed to lx:

𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
(𝜀 − )
𝐸𝑠𝑝
∆𝐿𝑥 = ∙ 𝑙𝑥 (59)
𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
(1 + )
𝐸𝑠𝑝

Now in consideration of Figure 5 (on the left) the maximum displacement can be calculated
with equations (60)-(62):

𝑙𝑥
𝜔𝑥 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 (( ) ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜋 − 𝛾)) (60)
𝑙𝑥 + ∆𝐿𝑥

𝜃𝑥 = 𝜋 − 𝜔𝑥 − (𝜋 − 𝛾) (61)

𝑢 = √𝑙𝑥 2 + (𝑙𝑥 + ∆𝐿𝑥 )2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑥 ∙ (𝑙𝑥 + ∆𝐿𝑥 ) ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑥 ) (62)

The steps to follow are the same as presented before from 1. to 4., but equation (40), (42) and
(43) are substituted with equations (59), (62) and (58).

9.2.3. Second type of impact

With this type of impact, no simplifications can be made a priori. Now the part that undergoes
a shortening is lx, but the difference from the previous situation is that the range in which it has
negative or zero deformation is smaller, as shown in Figure 13 and Figure 14. As a result, in
some situations the part breaking could be ls, in others lx and more it could be that if it is ls to
break, lx could have reached the elongation range again having contributed to the absorption of
the kinetic energy.

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Δlx<0 Δlx=0 Δlx>0

l0s+Δls Δls
Δls<0

ls
lx

Δlx
lx Δlx><0
l0x+Δl
x
Figure 13- representation of the deformation of Figure 14-representation of the range of
the two parts of the cable deformation of the part of the cable below impact

Because of the reasons just described it is not possible to get an explicit form like equations
(31) and (58), the length and the inclination of the cable change the behaviour. As said before,
now the iterative procedure is required:
1. Initial displacement utry=0;
2. The elongation of the two sides is defined:

∆𝐿𝑥 = √𝑙𝑥 2 + 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 2 − 2 ∗ 𝑙𝑥 ∙ 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) − 𝑙𝑥 (63)

∆𝐿𝑠 = √𝑙𝑠 2 + 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑠 ∙ 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜋 − 𝛾) − 𝑙𝑠 (64)

∆𝐿𝑥
∆𝜀𝑥 = (65)
𝑙0𝑥

∆𝐿𝑠
∆𝜀𝑠 = (66)
𝑙0𝑠

3. Check of the maximum capacity:

a. If ∆𝜀𝑥 > 𝜀𝑢𝑘 ;
b. If ∆𝜀𝑠 +𝜀0 > 𝜀𝑢𝑘 ;
Then there has been the failure and the process is stopped. The parameters calculated are
the ones at the breakage. If there is no breakage, the procedure proceeds to point 4.
4. The behaviour of ls is defined.
a. If ∆𝜀𝑠 +𝜀0 ≤ 𝜀𝑦𝑘 it is in the elastic range:

1
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑠 ) = 𝑇0 ∙ ∆𝜀𝑠 ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 + ∙ 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝜀𝑠 2 ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 (67)
2 𝑠𝑝

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

b. If ∆𝜀𝑠 +𝜀0 > 𝜀𝑦𝑘 it is in the plastic range:

1 2
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑠 ) = 𝑇0 ∙ ∆𝜀𝑠 ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 + ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (𝜀𝑦𝑘 − 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 + (𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 − 𝑇0 )
2 (68)
1 2
∙ (∆𝜀𝑠 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 + ∙ 𝐸𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (∆𝜀𝑠 + 𝜀0 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑠
2
5. If ∆𝐿𝑥 < −𝜀0 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 → ∆𝐿𝑥 = −𝜀0 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 .
6. The behaviour of lx is defined.
a. If ∆𝐿𝑥 ≤ 0 → 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑥 ) = 0;
b. If ∆𝐿𝑥 > 0:
i. If ∆𝜀𝑥 ≤ 𝜀𝑦𝑘 it is in the elastic range:

1 (69)
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑥 ) = ∙ 𝐸 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ ∆𝜀𝑥 2 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥
2 𝑠𝑝

ii. If ∆𝜀𝑥 > 𝜀𝑦𝑘 it is in the plastic range:

1 1
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑥 ) = ∙ 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ 𝜀𝑦𝑘 2 ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 + 𝑓𝑝01𝑘 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (∆𝜀𝑥 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑥 + ∙ 𝐸𝑝 ∙ 𝐴
2 2 (70)
2
∙ (∆𝜀𝑥 − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 ) ∙ 𝑙0𝑥

7. If:

1
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑠 ) + 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑥 ) = ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2 (71)
2

The equilibrium configuration has been found and the procedure stops;
8. If:

1
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑠 ) + 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦(𝑙𝑥 ) < ∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2 (72)
2

The displacement is updated and the process goes back to point 2:

𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 = 𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑦 + 0.001 (73)

When calculating the deformation of the part lx the values related to the initial tension are not
added because it has been considered that surely it loses the tension at the beginning, to go then
again in elongation but now starting from zero. This aspect is not true in the case of a vertical
cable, where the whole initial tension is kept or in case of a high inclination, where it is just

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

partly lost and the initial tension terms have to be added again. In reality these inclinations are
not reached, so it is correct to assume this simplification.
The process just described is valid for every combination of γ and L, but under some
circumstances the model can be simplified in the same way it has been done for the first type
of impact. For every inclination there is a limit length for which when the cable reaches the
breakage it is because the part ls has reached the ultimate strain, but at the same time the part lx
has not reached the elongation range. This is the specular situation of the first type of impact
and the final equation is going to be similar. The procedure that allows to define this limit length
is presented below.
1. The limit displacement u* for which the part lx does not go in elongation again is defined,
as shown in Figure 15. When the displacement is u* then the length is the initial length l0x
again. The result is calculated starting from the equation (74) given by the Carnot’s theorem:

𝑙0𝑥 = √𝑙𝑥 2 + 𝑢∗ 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑥 ∙ 𝑢∗ ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) (74)

𝑢∗ 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑥 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) ∙ 𝑢∗ + 𝑙𝑥 2 − 𝑙0𝑥 2 = 0 (75)

The equation (75) can be simplified by neglecting the term 𝑙𝑥 2 − 𝑙0𝑥 2 because it is almost
zero, as demonstrated in equation (76):

2 2 2 𝑙𝑥 2
𝑙𝑥 − 𝑙0𝑥 = 𝑙𝑥 − 2
~𝑙𝑥 2 − 𝑙𝑥 2 = 0 (76)
(1 + 𝜀0 )

u*
u' u'

lx l0x l0x

Figure 15-definition of the limit displacement

The remaining part is a second degree equation that gives the positive result in equation
(77):

2∙𝑐
𝑢∗ = (77)
𝑡𝑔(𝛾)

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

2. The maximum length l’s is the value that the second part does not have to exceed, depending
on a set strain. This strain could be the ultimate resistance or one of the other conditions:

(1 + 𝜀)
𝑙′𝑠 = (1 + 𝜀) ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 = ∙𝑙 (78)
(1 + 𝜀0 ) 𝑠

3. With the use of the Carnot’s theorem again the length ls is defined using equation (80):

𝑙′𝑠 = 𝑙𝑠 2 + 𝑢∗ 2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑠 ∙ 𝑢∗ ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜋 − 𝛾) = 𝑙𝑠 2 + 𝑢∗ 2 + 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑠 ∙ 𝑢∗ ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) (79)

(1 + 𝜀) 2 4∙𝑐 2∙𝑐 2
(1 − ( ) ) ∙ 𝑙𝑠 2 + ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) ∙ 𝑙𝑠 + ( ) =0 (80)
(1 + 𝜀0 ) 𝑡𝑔(𝛾) 𝑡𝑔(𝛾)

(1 + 𝜀) 2
𝑎 = (1 − ( ) ) (81)
(1 + 𝜀0 )

4∙𝑐
𝑏= ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) (82)
𝑡𝑔(𝛾)

2∙𝑐 2
𝑐=( ) (83)
𝑡𝑔(𝛾)

−𝑏 − √𝑏 2 − 4 ∙ 𝑎 ∙ 𝑐
𝑙𝑠 = (84)
2∙𝑎

4. from ls the total length L can be calculated:

𝑐
𝐿 = 𝑙𝑠 + (85)
𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾)

Given the result above, the whole iterative procedure from 1. to 8. can be substituted with the
usual equation:

𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2
𝐴 ∙ 𝑙0𝑠 = (86)
2 ∙ 𝑘(𝑝)

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

9.2.4. Relation between displacement and size of the cable

In a generic cable the displacement derives from the iterative procedure presented before, in the
case where the simplification given in equation (86) can be followed the calculation is direct
like it was for the first type of impact. In consideration of Figure 5 on the right:

𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
(𝜀 − )
𝐸𝑠𝑝
∆𝐿𝑠 = ∙ 𝑙𝑠 (87)
𝑝 ∙ 𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘
(1 + )
𝐸𝑠𝑝

𝑙𝑠
𝜔𝑠 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 (( ) ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜋 − 𝛾)) (88)
𝑙𝑠 + ∆𝐿𝑠

𝜃𝑠 = 𝜋 − 𝜔𝑠 − (𝜋 − 𝛾) (89)

𝑢 = √𝑙𝑠 2 + (𝑙𝑠 + ∆𝐿𝑠 )2 − 2 ∙ 𝑙𝑠 ∙ (𝑙𝑠 + ∆𝐿𝑠 ) ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃𝑠 ) (90)

The steps to follow are the same as presented before from 1. to 4., but equation (40), (42) and
(43) are substituted with equation (87), (90) and (86).

10. Step by step approach

The energy approach allows to define all the limit conditions for a single cable whether it breaks
or not or under which range it is working during the impact. Linked with this aspect, there is
the displacement that is important to understand if during the collision just one cable will be
affected, or if it is bigger than the spacing, several of these. In case where more than one cable
is touched the kinetic energy is absorbed by all of them, but when the second or further cables
are hit the speed of the vehicle has decreased. This section is going to analyse this issue, to
understand how at the end several cables respond. The procedure is the following one:
1. The system vehicle + cable has an initial velocity right at the starting moment of the impact,
considering an inelastic collision:

𝑀
𝑣0 = ∙𝑣 (91)
(𝑀 + 𝑚)

2. The time step for the analysis has to be defined. Starting from the displacement u derived
from the energy approach, imagining just for hypothesis a uniformly decelerated motion
where the velocity at the end is zero in any case, the time is:

25
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

2∙𝑢
∆𝑡 = (92)
𝑣0

Given the fictitious total time, equation (92) is divided for 104 that gives the time step in
equation (93):

∆𝑡
𝑡𝑠 = (93)
104

3. The initial condition of every point is defined.

a. lumped mass:

𝜌 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (𝑙0,𝑖 + 𝑙0,𝑖+1 )
𝑚𝑙 𝑖 = (94)
2

The point hit by the vehicle also has its mass:

𝜌 ∙ 𝐴 ∙ (𝑙0,𝑖 + 𝑙0,𝑖+1 )
𝑚𝑙 𝑤 = +𝑀 (95)
2
b. velocity, the cable is considered still apart for the hit point that has the initial velocity
v0;
c. initial shape, it can be simplified with a straight line. It has been performed a check
with the catenary shape (Irvine, 1981; Russell & Lardner, 1981), that would be more
precise, but due to the initial tension the difference between the two results does not
lead to consistent errors:

𝑥𝑖 (0) = 𝑠 ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾) (96)

𝑦𝑖 (0) = 𝑠 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) (97)

d. initial tension T0, simplified as constant through the whole cable;

4. Additional displacement:

∆𝑥𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝑣𝑥,𝑖 (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑠) ∙ 𝑡𝑠 (98)

∆𝑦𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝑣𝑦,𝑖 (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑠) ∙ 𝑡𝑠 (99)

26
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

5. Nodes new position:

𝑥𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝑥𝑖 (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑠) + ∆𝑥𝑖 (𝑡) (100)

𝑦𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝑦𝑖 (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑠) + ∆𝑦𝑖 (𝑡) (101)

6. The node hit by the impact keeps moving horizontally with the vehicle:

𝑥𝑤 (𝑡) = 𝑥𝑤 (0) (102)

7. If 𝑦𝑤 (𝑡) ≤ 𝑦𝑤 (0) the impacted point reached the initial position without breaking and the
process is stopped;
8. Strained length of every element in that moment in time:

2 2
𝑙𝑖 (𝑡) = √(𝑦𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝑦𝑖−1 (𝑡)) + (𝑥𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝑥𝑖−1 (𝑡)) (103)

9. The strain is calculated.

a. In case of the sliding model it is the total strain:

∆𝑙𝑖 (𝑡) = ∑ 𝑙𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝐿0 (104)

∆𝑙𝑖 (𝑡)
𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) = (105)
𝐿0

b. In case of the no-sliding model it is the strain of every element:

∆𝑙𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝑙𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝑙0,𝑖 (106)

∆𝑙𝑖 (𝑡)
𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) = (107)
𝑙0,𝑖

10. The tension depends on which range of the constitutive law the element is working in, as
shown in Figure 16.

27
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

εmax

a c

εres ε
Figure 16-range identification for the element

a. The element is in the elastic range:

𝜎𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) (108)

𝜀𝑟𝑒𝑠,𝑖 = 0 (109)

b. The element is in the plastic range:

𝜎𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ 𝜀𝑦𝑘 (𝑡) + 𝐸𝑝 ∙ (𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝜀𝑦𝑘 (𝑡)) (110)

𝜀𝑚𝑎𝑥,𝑖 = 𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) (111)

𝜎𝑖 (𝑡)
𝜀𝑟𝑒𝑠,𝑖 = 𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) − (112)
𝐸𝑠𝑝

c. The element is in the elastic range again, but with a residual deformation that has
been calculated at point b:

𝜎𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝐸𝑠𝑝 ∙ (𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝜀𝑟𝑒𝑠,𝑖 ) (113)

And the tension at the end:

𝑇𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝜎𝑖 (𝑡) ∙ 𝐴 (114)

11. If 𝜀𝑖 (𝑡) > 𝜀𝑢𝑘 the element broke and the procedure stops;
12. The tensions give the resultant of the forces in x and y direction at every node, knowing the
positions:

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

𝑦𝑖−1 (𝑡) − 𝑦𝑖 (𝑡) 𝑦𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝑦𝑖+1 (𝑡)

𝐹𝑦,𝑖 (𝑡) = ∙ 𝑇𝑖 (𝑡) + ∙ 𝑇𝑖+1 (𝑡) (115)
𝑙𝑖 (𝑡) 𝑙𝑖+1 (𝑡)

𝑥𝑖−1 (𝑡) − 𝑥𝑖 (𝑡) 𝑥𝑖 (𝑡) − 𝑥𝑖+1 (𝑡)

𝐹𝑥,𝑖 (𝑡) = ∙ 𝑇𝑖 (𝑡) + ∙ 𝑇𝑖+1 (𝑡) − 9.81 ∙ 𝑚𝑙𝑖 (116)
𝑙𝑖 (𝑡) 𝑙𝑖+1 (𝑡)

13. The acceleration is considered constant in the time step:

𝐹𝑥,𝑖 (𝑡)
𝑎𝑥,𝑖 (𝑡) = (117)
𝑚𝑙𝑖

𝐹𝑦,𝑖 (𝑡)
𝑎𝑦,𝑖 (𝑡) = (118)
𝑚𝑙𝑖

14. The velocity is considered constant in the time step:

𝑣𝑥,𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝑣𝑥,𝑖 (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑠) + 𝑎𝑥,𝑖 (𝑡) ∙ 𝑡𝑠 (119)

𝑣𝑦,𝑖 (𝑡) = 𝑣𝑦,𝑖 (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑠) + 𝑎𝑦,𝑖 (𝑡) ∙ 𝑡𝑠 (120)

15. The time is incremented by one time step and the procedure restarts from point 4.
At the end of the loop there are all the parameters to get the maximum tension and displacement,
whether the cable breaks or not:

𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥(𝑇𝑖 (𝑡)) (121)

𝑢 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥(𝑦𝑤 (𝑡) − 𝑦𝑤 (0)) (122)

The velocity of interest will be the value at the timestep in which the displacement is equal to
the one defined at the beginning of the process, depending on the breakage of the cable or the
reaching of the next element.

11. Unique solution

The procedures described so far allows to define requirements and results for a cable but with
a separated analysis of the sliding and no-sliding models. These two implementations present
the two extreme behaviours that the cable and the vehicle have while in contact, but the true
interaction will not be either of them, but a combination and the result will be in between. The
idea is that if the inclination is low the real behaviour will be closer to the sliding model, if the

29
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

inclination is high the real behaviour will be closer to the no-sliding model. Following this
reasoning the following statements are considered:
• If the cable is vertical the real response is the no-sliding model;
• If the cable is horizontal the real response is the sliding model;
• In between the real response is a weighted mean.
The weighted mean is calculated in relation of the angle γ, as presented in the following
procedure. Consider the subscript “ns” for a value representing the no-sliding model and “s”
for the sliding model:
1. A parameter is selected in both models, that could be the displacement as well as a minimum
number of strands required or even other elements;
2. With equation (123) unique result is calculated:

2∙𝛾 𝜋−2∙𝛾
𝑧 = 𝑧𝑛𝑠 ∙ + 𝑧𝑠 ∙ (123)
𝜋 𝜋

12. Relation between the two approaches

A combination of the energy and the step by step approaches allows to define if during an
impact one or more cables will be affected and how they will be affected. In consideration now
of the simplification made before for specific situations, taking as an example the breakage
condition the equations (31), (58) and (86) give the minimum requirements and two things can
happen:
1. The cable breaks and the maximum displacement is smaller than the spacing. When this
happens, right at the moment of the breakage the vehicle will have a new velocity with
which the new kinetic energy is calculated and the same process described so far is repeated
for a new cable;
2. The cable breaks or not but with a displacement that should be greater than the spacing.
When this happens, it means that before reaching the maximum displacement one or more
cables are affected as well and they contribute to the absorption of the kinetic energy. As in
the previous point, every time that the following cable is reached a new kinetic energy is
calculated depending on the velocity of the vehicle.
The second point is the one needing further implementation, so in relation to this the following
process is followed in consideration of both the models:
1. Given a spacing b, the velocity that the impacted point has when yw(t)-yw(0)=b is calculated
with the step by step approach. It is likely that for the no-sliding model the maximum
displacement is smaller than the spacing, in this case it is considered the velocity at the
breakage, assuming it does not decrease before the next cable;
2. At yw(t)-yw(0)=b the energy approach gives the tension. If the maximum displacement is
smaller than the spacing, it is the ultimate resistance tension. The tension just calculated is
going to be the new initial tension;
3. The starting hypothesis is that two cables are going to be affected by the impact, without
reaching further ones. The energy absorbed at the maximum displacement of the first cable
is calculated considering Figure 5. The energy absorbed now by the two cables has to be
calculated with the following steps:

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

a. no-sliding model:
i. assuming as said before that the maximum displacement is smaller than
the spacing, the calculations are performed twice like two separated
cables, where the only difference is the velocity that has decreased for
the second element;
b. Sliding model:
i. The new initial conditions of the first cable are:

𝜀0 = 𝜀(𝑢 = 𝑏) (124)

𝜎(𝑢 = 𝑏)
𝑝= (125)
𝑓𝑝𝑡𝑘

ii. when the first cable reaches the second, they work together and they
could stop the vehicle without breaking the first one. The energy
absorbed at the maximum displacement by both elements is calculated
and it is checked if it is greater or smaller than the kinetic energy, using
equation (123);
iii. if it is greater it means that the displacement is too high, consequently
the first cable will not break. The calculations are repeated to find the
right displacement. if it is smaller it means the first cable breaks and the
second cable keeps deforming;
iv. if the first cable is to break, the second cable has now new initial
conditions and it is analysed like an isolated cable.
4. if two cables cannot resist to the impact or further cables are reached, the calculations are
performed for as many elements as necessary.

13. Numerical results

After having presented the procedure to define the generic requirements, in order to have the
numerical limits some parameters have to be fixed. In general, for specific bridges there could
be some limits in terms of maximum weight of the vehicles or maximum speed, consequently
these cases can be studied with the use of these limits. The following study is presented as a
generic situation where no limits are considered, hence the maximum size in terms of mass is
taken as 40 tons, with the relative maximum velocity of 80 Km/h. A vehicle with this mass is a
big truck, with a height of about 3m and a centre of mass that could be considered in the middle
at 1.5m. The inclination of the cable is low, 20°. The following graphs present the results with
the parameters stated above.

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

13.1. Sliding model, first type of impact

breakage condition
150
140
130
120
110
100
90
strands n°

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
30

190
10
20

40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180

200
L(m)

Figure 17-breakage condition for sliding model, first type of impact

zero-tension condition
700
650
600
550
500
450
strands n°

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
30

190
10
20

40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180

200

L(m)

60% 50% 40% 30%

Figure 18-zero-tension condition for sliding model, first type of impact

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

elastic condition
2100
1950
1800
1650
1500
1350
strands n°

1200
1050
900
750
600
450
300
150
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
L(m)

60% 50% 40% 30%

Figure 19-elastic condition for sliding model, first type of impact

Considering now 40% of initial tension as an example:

breakage condition
3.21
137 8.21
127 13.21
117
18.21
107
97 23.21
28.21
strands n°

87
33.21
u(m)
77
67 38.21
57 43.21
47 48.21
37 53.21
27 58.21
17 63.21
7 68.21
110

140
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100

120
130

150
160
170
180
190
200

L(m)

AL u
Figure 20-displacement in breakage condition for sliding model, first type of impact, initial tension at 40%

33
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

zero-tension condition, 40%

580 1.87
530 3.87
5.87
480 7.87
430 9.87
380 11.87
strands n°

330 13.87

u(m)
280 15.87
230 17.87
19.87
180
21.87
130 23.87
80 25.87
30
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

110

140
100

120
130

150
160
170
180
190
200
L(m)

AL u
Figure 21-displacement in zero-tension condition for sliding model, first type of impact, initial tension at 40%

elastic condition, 40%

1265 1.39
2.39
1165 3.39
1065 4.39
965 5.39
865 6.39
7.39
strands n°

765 8.39
665 9.39 u(m)
565 10.39
11.39
465 12.39
365 13.39
265 14.39
165 15.39
16.39
65
140

160
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130

150

170
180
190
200

L(m)

AL u
Figure 22-displacement in elastic condition for sliding model, first type of impact, initial tension at 40%

The plots can be merged in order to compare the different conditions and displacements, as
shown in Figure 23 and Figure 24:

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

40%
1400
1300
1200
1100
1000
900 4
strands n°

800
700
600
500
400 3
300
200 2
100
0 1
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
L(m)

εyk εT0 εuk

Figure 23-representations of the conditions for sliding model, first type of impact, initial tension at 40%

40%
1.39
1207 6.39
1107 11.39
1007 16.39
907 21.39
807 26.39
strands n°

707 31.39
607 36.39 u(m)
507 41.39
407 46.39
307 51.39
207 56.39
107 61.39
66.39
7
140

160
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130

150

170
180
190
200

L(m)

εuk εT0 εyk u(εuk) u(εT0) u(εyk)

Figure 24-representation of the displacements for sliding model, first type of impact, initial tension at 40%

Analysing Figure 23, it can be seen how the curves divide the space into four different parts:
1. In this part the combination of area and length of the cable gives a value that is too small
and the cable is not able to withstand the impact, therefore it breaks;
2. In this part the combination of area and length is big enough to not break, but when it goes
back in place it keeps a residual deformation and the tension is totally lost;

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

3. In this part the combination of area and length is big enough to absorb all the energy, to
not break and at the end when it goes back in place it still has some elastic tension and a
small residual deformation;
4. In this part the combination of area and length of the cable is that big that allows the cable
to stay in its elastic range.

13.2. No-sliding model, first type of impact

For this case the values are constant because all the parameters are fixed, the results are reported
in Table 4:

Table 4-limits for no-sliding model, first type of impact

p 30% 40% 50% 60%

strand strands strand strands
condition u(m) u(m) u(m) u(m)
s n° n° s n° n°
breakage 325 0.149 325 0.145 325 0.14 325 0.136
zero-
1471 0.0397 1346 0.0399 1257 0.04 1194 0.0402
tension
elastic 2663 0.0258 2967 0.0214 3477 0.0169 4402 0.0125

These results are for an inclination of 20°, in Figure 25 and

Table 5 it can be seen how the numbers vary depending on γ for an initial tension at 40%:

strands n° required, 40%

9000
8000
7000
6000
strands n°

5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
γ(°)

εuk εT0 εyk

Figure 25-variation of the requirement depending on the inclination, for no-sliding model, first type of impact

36
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

Table 5-variation of the requirements depending on the inclination, for no-sliding model, first type of impact

breakage zero-tension elastic

γ(°) Strands n° Strands n° Strands n°
20 325 1346 2967
25 401 1666 3666
30 474 1971 4337
35 544 2262 4975
40 610 2534 5576
45 671 2788 6134
50 727 3020 6645
55 777 3230 7106
60 822 3415 7513
65 860 3574 7862
70 891 3706 8152

13.3. Sliding model, second type of impact

The graphs given in Figure 17, Figure 18 and Figure 19 are still valid, the only thing changing
is the displacement due to the different geometry.

brekage condition
2.77
137 3.07
127 3.37
117 3.67
107 3.97
97 4.27
87 4.57
strands n°

4.87
u(m)
77
67 5.17
57 5.47
47 5.77
6.07
37
6.37
27 6.67
17 6.97
7
150
100
110
120
130
140

160
170
180
190
200
60
10
20
30
40
50

70
80
90

L(m)

u AL
Figure 26-displacement in breakage condition for sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

37
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

zero-tension condition, 40%

580 1.72
1.92
530 2.12
480 2.32
430 2.52
2.72
380 2.92
strands n°

330 3.12

u(m)
280 3.32
3.52
230 3.72
180 3.92
130 4.12
4.32
80 4.52
30 4.72

170
100
110
120
130
140
150
160

180
190
200
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

L(m)

AL u
Figure 27-displacement in zero-tension condition for sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

elastic condition, 40%

1265 1.31
1.51
1165
1.71
1065 1.91
965 2.11
865 2.31
strands n°

765 2.51
665 2.71 u(m)
565 2.91
465 3.11
365 3.31
3.51
265
3.71
165
3.91
65
50
10
20
30
40

60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200

L(m)

AL u
Figure 28-displacement in elastic condition for sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

The plots can be merged in order to compare the different conditions and displacements, as
shown in Figure 29:

38
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

40%
1.30
1207 1.70
1107 2.10
1007 2.50
2.90
907
3.30
807 3.70
strands n°

707

u(m)
4.10
607 4.50
507 4.90
407 5.30
307 5.70
6.10
207
6.50
107 6.90
7
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
50
10
20
30
40

60
70
80
90

L(m)

εuk εT0 εyk u(εuk) u(εT0) u(εyk)

Figure 29-representation of the displacements for sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

13.4. No-sliding model, second type of impact

As said previously in the paper, under specific circumstances some simplifications can be made
and equation (86) can be used. The limit length given in equation (85) will allow to decide if
the simplified equation is valid or not. Considering as an example an initial tension at 40%:

limit length
1650
1500
1350
1200
1050
L(m)

900
750
600
450
300
150
0
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
γ(°)

breakage zero-tension elastic

Figure 30-limit length for the three different conditions for no-sliding model, second type of impact

39
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

If the length is smaller than the length defined in Figure 30 then equation (86) is valid, otherwise
the iterative procedure given in equations (63)-(73) has to be used. Given the inclination of 20°
the simplified procedure can be followed for the lengths studied here.

breakage condition
260
240
220
200
180
160
strands n°

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
30

190
10
20

40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180

200
L(m)

Figure 31-breakage condition for no-sliding model, second type of impact

zero tension condition

1100
1000
900
800
700
strands n°

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200

L(m)

60% 50% 40% 30%

Figure 32-zero-tension condition for no-sliding model, second type of impact

40
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

elastic condition

3250
3000
2750
2500
2250
strands n°

2000
1750
1500
1250
1000
750
500
250
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
L(m)

60% 50% 40% 30%

Figure 33-elastic condition for no-sliding model, second type of impact

Considering now 40% of initial tension as an example:

breakage condition
248 0.17
0.57
228 0.97
208 1.37
188 1.77
168 2.17
strands n°

148 2.57
u(m)
2.97
128 3.37
108 3.77
88 4.17
68 4.57
48 4.97
28 5.37
5.77
8
20
10

30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200

L(m)

AL u
Figure 34-displacement in breakage condition for no-sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

41
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

zero-tension condition, 40%

1031 0.05
931 0.20
0.35
831
0.50
731 0.65
strands n°

631 0.80

u(m)
531 0.95
431 1.10
331 1.25
231 1.40
1.55
131
1.70
31
80
10
20
30
40
50
60
70

90

110
100

120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
L(m)

AL u
Figure 35-displacement in zero-tension condition for no-sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

elastic condition, 40%

2267 0.03
0.10
2067
0.17
1867 0.24
1667 0.31
1467 0.38
strands n°

1267 0.45
0.52 u(m)
1067
0.59
867
0.66
667 0.73
467 0.80
267 0.87
67 0.94
80

110
10
20
30
40
50
60
70

90
100

120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200

L(m)

AL u
Figure 36-displacement in elastic condition for no-sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

42
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

And again, the merged graphs in Figure 37 and Figure 38:

40%
2200
2000
1800
1600
1400
strands n°

4
1200
1000
800
600
400 3
200 2
0 1
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
L(m)

εT0 εuk εyk

Figure 37-representations of the conditions for no-sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

40%
0.03
2208
0.53
2008 1.03
1808 1.53
1608 2.03
1408
strands n°

2.53
u(m)
1208 3.03
1008 3.53
808 4.03
608 4.53
408 5.03
208 5.53
8 6.03
80

110
10
20
30
40
50
60
70

90
100

120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200

L(m)

εT0 εuk εyk u(εuk) u(εT0) u(εyk)

Figure 38-representation of the displacements for no-sliding model, second type of impact, initial tension at 40%

43
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

13.5. First type of impact, unique solution

Number of strands defined with the weighted mean:

40%
1700
1550
1400
1250
1100
strands n°

950
800
650
500
350
200
50
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200
L(m)

breakage zero-tension elastic

Figure 39-strands n° required for a specific length, first type of impact

13.6. First type of impact, unique solution

Number of strands defined with the weighted mean:

40%
1500
1350
1200
1050
900
strands n°

750
600
450
300
150
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
200

L(m)

breakage zero-tension elastic

Figure 40- strands n° required for a specific length, second type of impact

44
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

14. Cables performance, example

Given the previous results, it is possible now to define what happens when the vehicle collides
against a specific setup of cables. Consider the configuration given in Figure 41 and the first
type of impact:

Cable 3 Cable 2 Cable 1

γ
10m
Figure 41-configuration of the set of cables

• Cable 1: 100m long, 50 strands;

• Cable 2: 89.36m long, 50 strands;
• Cable 3: 78.72m long, 50 strands.
The reported lengths are to be considered as strained lengths, the initial tension is at 40%.

1860
𝜀0 = 0.4 ∙ = 3.82 ∙ 10−3 (126)
195000

Starting from cable 1, in considerations of both models, the total response is going to be defined.
The minimum requirements for the length of 100m, starting from the breakage condition, are
defined with the use of Figure 17 and Table 4 (result given by Figure 39):
• Sliding model, minimum number of strands 14;
• No-sliding model, minimum number of strands 325.
With the use of equation (123) the minimum value to not have breakage is:

20 90 − 20
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑛° = 325 ∙ + 14 ∙ ~84 (127)
90 90

The result just found says that the cable alone will break, even if with the sliding model it would
not. For this reason, the maximum displacement of the no-sliding model is the one at the
breakage, while for the sliding model it is calculated depending on the strain required, using
equation (20), then (44) and at the end the iterative procedure given by equations (46)-(50):
• Sliding model, maximum displacement 16.51 m;
• No-sliding model, maximum displacement 0.15 m.

45
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

20 90 − 20
𝑢 = 0.15 ∙ + 16.51 ∙ = 12.87 𝑚 (128)
90 90

It means that the cable before breaking has reached the second cable and they start to work
together and using again the two models the procedure is repeated but now with two cables.
The velocity at 10 m is defined with the step by step approach:
• Sliding model, 55.37 Km/h.
The maximum displacement reached by the first cable is considered as a start for the
second cable:

𝑢2 = 12.87 − 10 = 2.87 𝑚 (129)

𝑙 ′ 𝑥 = √4.122 + 2.872 − 2 ∙ 4.12 ∙ 2.87 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜋 − 𝛾) = 6.89 𝑚 (130)

𝑙 ′ 𝑠 = √85.242 + 2.872 − 2 ∙ 85.24 ∙ 2.87 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) = 82.55 𝑚 (131)

∆𝐿 = 6.89 + 82.55 − 89.36 = 0.079 𝑚 (132)

0.079
∆𝜀 = ∙ (1 + 3.82 ∙ 10−3 ) = 0.87 ∙ 10−3 (133)
89.36

1
𝑘2 (𝑝) = 0.4 ∙ 1860 ∙ 0.87 ∙ 10−3 + ∙ 195000 ∙ (0.87 ∙ 10−3 )2 = 0.73 𝑀𝑃𝑎 (134)
2

For the first cable, at 10 m:

𝑙 ′ 𝑥 = √4.122 + 102 − 2 ∙ 4.12 ∙ 10 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜋 − 𝛾) = 13.94 𝑚 (135)

𝑙 ′ 𝑠 = √95.882 + 102 − 2 ∙ 95.88 ∙ 10 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) = 86.55 𝑚 (136)

∆𝐿 = 13.94 + 86.55 − 100 = 0.491 𝑚 (137)

0.491
∆𝜀 = ∙ (1 + 3.82 ∙ 10−3 ) = 4.93 ∙ 10−3 (138)
100

𝜀0 = (3.82 + 4.93) ∙ 10−3 = 8.75 ∙ 10−3 (139)

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

𝜎0 = 195000 ∙ 8.41 ∙ 10−3 + 8260 ∙ (8.75 − 8.41) ∙ 10−3 = 1643 𝑀𝑃𝑎 (140)

1643
𝑝= = 0.88 (141)
1860

For the first cable, at 12.87 m:

𝑢1 = 12.87𝑚 (142)

𝑙 ′ 𝑥 = √4.122 + 12.872 − 2 ∙ 4.12 ∙ 12.87 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜋 − 𝛾) = 16.80 𝑚 (143)

𝑙 ′ 𝑠 = √95.882 + 12.872 − 2 ∙ 95.88 ∙ 12.87 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝛾) = 83.90 𝑚 (144)

∆𝐿 = 16.80 + 83.90 − 100 = 0.70𝑚 (145)

0.70
∆𝜀 = ∙ (1 + 3.82 ∙ 10−3 ) = 7.04 ∙ 10−3 (146)
100

𝜀 = (7.04 + 3.82) ∙ 10−3 = 10.86 ∙ 10−3 (147)

1
𝑘1 (𝑝) = (1643 ∙ (10.86 − 8.75) ∙ 10−3 + ∙ 8260
2 (148)
−3 2
∙ ((10.86 − 8.75) ∙ 10 ) ) = 3.49 𝑀𝑃𝑎

• No-sliding model, 73.51 Km/h.

With the assumption of the same displacement, the part of the cable below the impact
breaks and the two cables are studied separately.
Now, the total energy absorbed and the velocity are calculated with equation (123):

20 70
𝑣 = 73.51 ∙ + 55.37 ∙ = 59.40 𝐾𝑚/ℎ (149)
90 90

1 59.40 2
∙ 40000 ∙ ( ) = 5.45 ∙ 106 𝑁𝑚 (150)
2 3.6

47
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

139 ∙ 50 70 20
∙ ((100 ∙ 3.49 + 89.36 ∙ 0.73) ∙ + (4.37 ∙ 50.23) ∙ )
1 + 3.82 ∙ 10 −3 90 90 (151)
6
= 2.57 ∙ 10 𝑁𝑚

The kinetic energy is greater than the energy absorbed, it means that the elongation, hence the
displacement, need to be increased. The consequence is that the first cable breaks and the study
of the second cable is again performed like an isolated cable, with new initial conditions.
• Sliding model.
The results for a displacement of 2.87 m have been calculated already in equations
(129)-(134):

•
𝐿 = 6.89 + 82.55 = 89.44 𝑚 (152)

• 𝜀0 = (3.82 + 0.87) ∙ 10−3 = 4.69 ∙ 10−3 (153)

𝜎0 = 195000 ∙ 4.69 ∙ 10−3 = 915 𝑀𝑃𝑎 (154)

915
𝑝= = 0.49~0.50 (155)
1860

• No-sliding model.
the initial stress is calculated as a weighted mean between sliding and no-sliding. In case
of the no-sliding model at the displacement of 2.87 m the cable has already broken, so
the maximum tension is taken.

20 70
𝜎0 = 1860 ∙ + 915 ∙ = 1125 𝑀𝑃𝑎 (156)
90 90

1125
𝜀0 = = 5.77 ∙ 10−3 (157)
195000

6.89
𝑙𝑥 = = 6.85 𝑚 (158)
1 + 5.77 ∙ 10−3

1125
𝑝= = 0.60 (159)
1860

The last parameter to calculate is the new velocity. It is influenced by both cables between the
displacement of 10 m and 12.87 m, for this reason the forces of both cables against the vehicle
are considered in the step by step approach. The velocity to consider as a starting value is the
new v0 given by the impact with the second cable.

48
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

• Sliding model, 33.15 Km/h, with the starting velocity given in equation (160):

40000 + 2770
𝑣0 = ∙ 55.37 = 52.34 𝐾𝑚/ℎ (160)
40000 + 2770 + 2475

• No-sliding model, 63.86 Km/h, with the starting velocity given in equation (161):

40000
𝑣0 = ∙ 73.51 = 69.23 𝐾𝑀/ℎ (161)
40000 + 2475

At the end, the velocity is calculated again with equation (123):

20 90 − 20
𝑣 = 63.86 ∙ + 33.15 ∙ = 39.97 𝐾𝑚/ℎ (162)
90 90

Now with the new velocity, the minimum requirements can be calculated with the same
procedure as before. Starting with the breakage condition:
• Sliding model:

39.97 2
40000 ∙ ( 3.6 ) (163)
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑛° = ∙ (1 + 4.69 ∙ 10−3 )~4
2 ∙ 50.23 ∙ 89.44 ∙ 139

• No-sliding model:

39.97 2
40000 ∙ ( 3.6 ) (164)
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑛° = ∙ (1 + 4.69 ∙ 10−3 )~52
2 ∙ 50.23 ∙ 6.85 ∙ 139

With equation (123) calculate the minimum number of strands to not reach the breakage:

20 90 − 20
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑛° = 52 ∙ +4∙ ~15 (165)
90 90

Therefore, the second cable will not break, but the range in which it is going to work still has
to be defined. Given the values of p in equations (155) and (159) and using Table 2, it is possible
to first check the zero-tension limit.

49
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

• Sliding model:

39.97 2
40000 ∙ ( 3.6 ) (166)
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑛° = ∙ (1 + 4.69 ∙ 10−3 )~16
2 ∙ 12.95 ∙ 89.44 ∙ 139

• No-sliding model:

39.97 2
40000 ∙ ( 3.6 ) (167)
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑛° = ∙ (1 + 4.69 ∙ 10−3 )~190
2 ∙ 13.65 ∙ 6.85 ∙ 139

20 90 − 20
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑛° = 190 ∙ + 16 ∙ ~55 (168)
90 90

As a result, the cable will have reached the zero-tension limit and passed it and it will have
totally lost the initial tension. The same steps can be repeated between the second and third
cable, but at the end the last element will not be involved because the maximum displacement
is smaller than the spacing.

15. Generic vehicle

In the whole process a big vehicle of 40 tons has been considered, the same reasoning could be
done with a normal vehicle with a mass of about 2000 Kg, that now have a greater velocity, and
see if this will give more restrictive conditions. Considering a velocity of 120 Km/h:

1 1 120 2
∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2 = ∙ 2000 ∙ ( ) = 1.11 ∙ 106 𝑁𝑚 (169)
2 2 3.6

In comparison with the previous result there is a difference of almost one order of magnitude:

1 1 80 2
∙ 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2 = ∙ 40000 ∙ ( ) = 9.88 ∙ 106 𝑁𝑚 (170)
2 2 3.6

In case of the sliding model when the usual equation (31) is analysed, the resultant value “AL”
fixing the minimum requirement will be smaller and it will not present any worst situations.
In case of the no-sliding model there is a difference since now in consideration of a normal car,
the centre of mass is lower in respect to the 1.5 m considered before. Considering now a height
of 0.5 m and the first type of impact:

50
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

0.5
𝑙𝑥 = (171)
𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾)

𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾) 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2
𝐴= ∙ ∙ (1 + 𝜀0 ) = ∙ (1 + 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾) (172)
2 ∙ 𝑘(𝑝) 0.5 𝑘(𝑝)

The terms k(p), sin(γ) and ε0 are the same, by comparing the term with mass and velocity the
result is:

80 2
𝑀∙𝑣 2 40000 ∙ ( ) (173)
= 3.6 = 6.58 ∙ 106 𝑁𝑚
3 3

120 2
2
𝑀 ∙ 𝑣 = 2000 ∙ ( ) = 2.22 ∙ 106 𝑁𝑚 (174)
3.6

The value is almost 3 times smaller, so again this is not going to change any of the minimum
requirements or present any more unfavourable situation.
In case of the impact in the opposite direction, in consideration of the simplified condition given
by equation (85), the following equation is valid:

0.5 𝑀 ∙ 𝑣2
𝐴 ∙ (𝐿 − )= (175)
(1 + 𝜀0 ) ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝛾) 2 ∙ 𝑘(𝑝)

The term in the parenthesis has increased while the term related to the mass and velocity has
decreased, as stated above. Again, the requirements coming from this type of impact will be
smaller than the previous one, giving a less severe outcome.
One aspect that could be further analysed when the mass starts to be relatively small is the fact
that with the sliding model there is the possibility that the vehicle at one point loses contact
with the road. This would happen in the cases of big cables, strong enough to resist to the impact
and to push the vehicle upwards. As a result, the deformation in the cable will be even smaller
presenting at the end conditions that could even be non-damaging for the system.

16. Conclusions

Cable-stayed bridges are imponent structures subjected to many aggressive events, such as the
impact of a heavy vehicle. For this reason, they are constructed with a special attention to the
redundancy of the cables to ensure that in case of a loss of an element, the rest of the structure
will not suffer excessive damage or reach any ultimate state. This work has been developed to
analyse the breakage of the cables using an energetic and step by step solution in order to
confirm if the loss of one cable is a safe consideration or not and to analyse under which
conditions an element could break. The full study on the response of a single isolated cable has

51
Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

been developed, presenting the limit conditions that lead to the failure, loss of the tension or
just elastic behaviour. At the end a numerical example has been presented with a possible
configuration of several elements, in order to see how many of them could be involved and how
many could be considered as lost, if the breakage or total loss of tension has occurred. Finally,
the main conclusions have been drawn and presented as follow:
• The size of the cable follows a hyperbolic function when a maximum strain is set, if the
length increases the area could decrease and vice versa, without changing the response.
• When analysing short cables, the number of strands required starts to be really high. The
breakage condition is more likely to be reached in respect to long cables, but in case of the
zero-tension or elastic behaviour the minimum requirement is out of the normal
construction range, as a result the loss has to be considered in any case.
• When analysing long cables, it is more likely that the cable will not break because the
number of strands required starts to decrease, but still the elastic and zero-tension ranges
are hard to guarantee due to the still high number of strands required.
• The maximum displacement reached is an important aspect both in case of breakage and
not, because it allows to define weather the next cables will be touched and if for certain
ranges more than one cable are going to work together against the vehicle. It can happen
that one cable stops the vehicle, that several cables will be broken and they work as isolated
cables, because the maximum displacement is always smaller than the spacing or that
several cables will be touched by the impact due to the fact that the maximum displacement
is way higher than the spacing. In the latter case it might be that there is no breakage, but
the cables have passed the zero-tension condition and are close to the maximum strain.
• If the inclination grows the number of strands required increases, considered fixed the
height of the centre of mass of the vehicle.
• The impact of a normal car is less severe than a heavy vehicle, even if it has a greater
velocity.
• In the final numerical example, it has been proved that in case of the collision of a heavy
vehicle at least two cables are going to be affected, where the first one will break and the
second one will have lost totally the initial tension. The consequence is that in this and many
other cases, considering the loss of just one cable could not be enough and the effect on the
rest of the structure could be more severe than what expected.

Acknowledgements

This project has been possible thanks to the collaboration between the Politecnico di Torino
and the Imperial College London, that allowed the author to participate to the exchange program
between the two Universities. In particular, the support given by the professor Ana M. Ruiz-
Teran through this work is gratefully acknowledged.

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

Appendix A – symbolic notations

IF impact factor
N0 initial tension in the cable
Nmin minimum tension in the cable
fptk ultimate strength of steel
fp0.1k yielding strength of steel, stress at 0.1% of residual deformation
Esp elastic modulus
Ep plastic modulus
εyk yielding strain of steel
εuk ultimate strain of steel
γ inclination of the cable in respect of the horizontal direction
T0 initial tension in the cable
σ0 initial stress in the cable
L strained length of the cable
lx strained length of the part of the cable below impact
ls strained length of the part of the cable above impact
ΔL0, ε0⸱L0 initial elongation in the cable, due to the initial tension
ΔL0x initial elongation of the part of the cable below impact, due to the initial tension
ΔL0s initial elongation of the part of the cable above impact, due to the initial tension
L0 unstrained length of the cable
ε0 initial strain in the cable, due to the initial stress
l0x unstrained length of the part of the cable below impact
l0s unstrained length of the part of the cable above impact
M mass of the vehicle
ρ density of the steel
m half of the mass of the cable concentrated in the point of the impact
mx mass concentrated in the bottom node
ms mass concentrated in the top node
v velocity of the vehicle
l'x deformed length of the part of the cable below impact
l's deformed length of the part of the cable above impact
ωx, ωs, θx, θs angles formed by the cable in the deformed shape
h height of the triangle formed by the cable in the deformed shape
u maximum displacement of the cable in the point of the impact
T tension in the cable after the impact
Tmax tension in the cable after the impact
Δε⸱L0, ΔL increment in elongation of the cable after the impact
εyk⸱L0 yielding elongation of the cable
εuk⸱L0 ultimate elongation of the cable
ε⸱L0 maximum elongation of the cable after the impact
fpo.1k⸱A yielding tension of the cable
fptk⸱A ultimate tension of the cable
k(p) deformative constant
ΔLx increment in elongation of the part of the cable below the impact
ΔLs increment in elongation of the part of the cable above the impact
c height of the centre of mass of the vehicle
v0 initial velocity of the system vehicle + cable
Δt fictitious duration of the impact
ts time step for the step by step solution

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Breakage of stay cables due to the impact of vehicles Luca Gonella

s Lagrangian coordinate along the cable

t time
x vertical coordinate
y horizontal coordinate
Δx displacement increment in the vertical direction
Δy displacement increment in the horizontal direction
l0i strained length of the element
li strained length of the element
vx velocity in the vertical direction
vy velocity in the horizontal direction
w index used to define the point of impact
z generic variable
ki(p) value of the constant for different cables if more than one has to be considered

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