Mechanisms of thermally induced deflection of a long-span cable-stayed bridge

Variation of temperature is a primary environmental factor that affects the behavior of structures. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of normal temperature-induced variations of structural behavior would help in distinguishing them from anomalies. In this study, we used the structural health monitoring data of the Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge, a steel girder cable-stayed bridge, to investigate the mechanisms of thermally induced vertical deflection ($D_T$) at mid-span of such bridges. The $D_T$ results from a multisource combination of thermal expansion effects of the cable temperature ($T_{Cab}$), girder temperature ($T_{Gir}$), girder differential temperature ($T_{Dif}$), and tower temperature ($T_{Tow}$). It could be approximated by multiple linear superpositions under operational conditions. The sensitivities of $D_T$ of the Shanghai Yangtze River Bridge to the above temperatures were in the following order: $T_{Cab}$ > $T_{Gir}$ > $T_{Tow}$ > $T_{Dif}$. However, the direction of the effect of $T_{Cab}$ was observed to be opposite to that of the other three temperatures, and the magnitudes of the effects of $T_{Cab}$ and $T_{Gir}$ were found to be almost one order greater than those of $T_{Dif}$ and $T_{Tow}$. The mechanisms of the thermally induced vertical deflection variation at mid-span of a cable-stayed bridge as well as the analytical methodology adopted in this study could be applicable for other long-span cable-stayed bridges.