Suspension Bridge: Influence of Damper on the Dynamic Behavior

A suspension bridge is a structural system that was used by the Red Indians' and still it is considered to be the latest technology in bridge construction. Due to their aesthetic appearance, efficient utilization of structural materials and other notable advantages suspension bridges have gained much popularity in recent decades. The recent developments in design technology in bridge engineering enable the construction of lighter, longer, and more slender bridges at the cost of losing stiffness and damping properties. This book is mainly focused on the effect of external damper on various responses of bridges such as displacement, acceleration, natural frequency etc. at selected joint. It also focuses on the effect of positioning of dampers on suspension bridge. For this analysis finite element method was used and FEM software SAP2000 was used for the analysis. The study reveals that by properly selecting the parameter of damper the response of the bridge can be controlled and effectively used for cost optimization without suffering the drawback of disrupting the aesthetics of the bridge.