An energy approach for geometrically non-linear analysis of cable-stayed bridges.

An energy approach for geometrically nonlinear analysis of cable-stayed bri dges is presented in this paper. The potential energy of the whole bridge, including the bridge deck, stay cables and pylons, and work done by externa l loads are considered in the development of the bridge energy equation. Th e sources of geometric non-linearity, such as the cable sag and the axial f orce-bending moment interaction in the bridge deck and in the pylons, are t aken into account in the analysis. An iterative procedure, which has a high convergence rate for solving the problem, is developed. The proposed energ y method is sufficient and simple to use. The predictions of the method sho w good agreement with experimental results.