• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2021

In this paper, the effects of Tuned Mass dampers (TMDs) on the reduction of the vertical vibrations of a real horizontally curved steel box-girder bridge due to different traffic loads are numerically investigated. The performance of TMDs to reduce the bridge vibrations can be affected by the parameters such as dynamic characteristics of TMDs, the location of TMDs, the speed and weight of vehicles. In the first part of this study, the effects of mass ratio, damping percentage, frequency ratio, and location of TMDs on the performance of TMDs to decrease vertical vibrations of different sections of bridge deck are evaluated. In the second part, the performance of TMD is investigated for different speeds and weights of traffic loads. Results show that the mass ratio of TMDs is the more effective parameter in reducing imposed vertical vibration in comparison with the damping ratio. Furthermore, it is found that TMD is very sensitive to its tuned frequency, i.e., with a little deviation from a suitable frequency, the expected performance of TMD significantly decreased. TMDs have a positive and considerable performance at certain vehicle speeds and this performance declines when the weight of traffic loads is increased. Besides, the results reveal that the highest impact of TMD on the reduction of the vertical vibrations is when free vibrations occur for the bridge deck. In that case, maximum reductions of 24% and 59% are reported in the vertical acceleration of the bridge deck for the forced and free vibration amplitudes, respectively. The maximum reduction of 13% is also obtained for the maximum displacement of the bridge deck. The results are mainly related to the resonance condition.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.437-452
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• 2019

In this study, in-situ static and dynamic tests of four pre-stressed concrete (PC) track beams with different span lengths and curvatures in a straddle monorail transit system were reported. In the static load tests, the strain and deflection at critical sections of the PC track beams were measured to determine the load bearing capacity and stiffness. The dynamic responses of strain, deflection, acceleration, and displacement at key positions of the PC track beams were measured under different train speeds and train loads to systematically study the dynamic behaviors of the PC track beams. A three-dimensional finite element model of the track beam-vehicle coupled vibration system was established to help understand the dynamic behavior of the system, and the model was verified using the test results. The research results show that the curvature, span length, train speed, and train loads have significant influence on the dynamic responses of the PC track beams. The dynamic performance of the PC track beams in the curve section is susceptible to dynamic loads. Appropriate train loads can effectively reduce the impact of the train on the PC track beam. The PC track beams allow good riding comfort.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.665-682
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• 2015

Structural identification or St-Id is 'the parametric correlation of structural response characteristics predicted by a mathematical model with analogous characteristics derived from experimental measurements'. This paper describes a St-Id exercise on Humber Bridge that adopted a novel two-stage approach to first calibrate and then validate a mathematical model. This model was then used to predict effects of wind and temperature loads on global static deformation that would be practically impossible to observe. The first stage of the process was an ambient vibration survey in 2008 that used operational modal analysis to estimate a set of modes classified as vertical, torsional or lateral. In the more recent second stage a finite element model (FEM) was developed with an appropriate level of refinement to provide a corresponding set of modal properties. A series of manual adjustments to modal parameters such as cable tension and bearing stiffness resulted in a FEM that produced excellent correspondence for vertical and torsional modes, along with correspondence for the lower frequency lateral modes. In the third stage traffic, wind and temperature data along with deformation measurements from a sparse structural health monitoring system installed in 2011 were compared with equivalent predictions from the partially validated FEM. The match of static response between FEM and SHM data proved good enough for the FEM to be used to predict the un-measurable global deformed shape of the bridge due to vehicle and temperature effects but the FEM had limited capability to reproduce static effects of wind. In addition the FEM was used to show internal forces due to a heavy vehicle to to estimate the worst-case bearing movements under extreme combinations of wind, traffic and temperature loads. The paper shows that in this case, but with limitations, such a two-stage FEM calibration/validation process can be an effective tool for performance prognosis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.527-544
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• 2009

In this study, the periodic seismic performance evaluation scheme is proposed using a structural health monitoring system in terms of seismic fragility. An instrumented highway bridge is used to demonstrate the evaluation procedure involving (1) measuring ambient vibration of a bridge under general vehicle loadings, (2) identifying modal parameters from the measured acceleration data by applying output-only modal identification method, (3) updating a preliminary finite element model (obtained from structural design drawings) with the identified modal parameters using real-coded genetic algorithm, (4) analyzing nonlinear response time histories of the structure under earthquake excitations, and finally (5) developing fragility curves represented by a log-normal distribution function using maximum likelihood estimation. It is found that the seismic fragility of a highway bridge can be updated using extracted modal parameters and can also be monitored further by utilizing the instrumented structural health monitoring system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.29-43
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• 2023

This study investigates the possibility of damage detection of a real bridge by means of a modal parameter-based finite element (FE) model update. Field moving vehicle experiments were conducted on an actual steel plate girder bridge. In the damage experiment, cracks were applied to the bridge to simulate damage states. A fast Bayesian FFT method was employed to identify and quantify uncertainties of the modal parameters then these modal parameters were used in the Bayesian model update. Material properties and boundary conditions are taken as uncertainties and updated in the model update process. Observations showed that although some differences existed in the results obtained from different model classes, the discrepancy between modal parameters of the FE model and those experimentally obtained was reduced after the model update process, and the updated parameters in the numerical model were indeed affected by the damage. The importance of boundary conditions in the model updating process is also observed. The capability of the MCMC model update method for application to the actual bridge structure is assessed, and the limitation of FE model update in damage detection of bridges using only modal parameters is observed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.2A
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• pp.89-96
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• 2011

The damping ratio as an index of bridge vibration could be considered as one of the important dynamic characteristics of a suspension bridge. But estimating of damping ratio on an existing suspension bridge under ambient vibration condition could be a laborious task. Moreover, it is not simple to directly distinguish aerodynamic damping and friction damping from apparent damping. According to previous studies, the aerodynamic damping properties can be linearly affected by wind speed level, and apparent damping ratio can be affected by amplitude of vibration. Therefore, in this article, the relationships among damping ratio, wind speed level and amplitude of acceleration were studied for separating extract aerodynamic damping and friction damping from apparent damping. Damping ratios on Sorok Bridge, a suspension bridge which is a located in Go-Heung, Korea, were estimated by two different methods as using Hilbert transform and extended Kalman filter which were well known as effective estimation methods for non-linear state. It was possible to distinguish aerodynamic damping and friction damping from apparent damping using averaged normal components of wind speed, RMQ values of acceleration, and estimated damping ratios from wind-induced vibration responses and vehicle loading responses.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.199-210
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• 2011

The cables in cable-stayed bridges are under high stress and are very sensitive to vibration due to their small section areas compared with other members. Therefore, it is reasonable to evaluate the cable impact factor by taking into account the dynamic effect due to moving-vehicle motion. In this study, the cable impact factors were evaluated via moving-vehicle-load analysis, considering the design parameters, i.e., vehicle weight, cable model, road surface roughness, vehicle speed, longitudinal distance between vehicles. For this purpose, two steel composite cable-stayed bridges with 230- and 540-m main spans were selected. The results of the analysis were then compared with those of the influence line method that is currently being used in design practice. The road surface roughness was randomly generated based on ISO 8608, and the convergence of impact factors according to the number of generated road surfaces was evaluated to improve the reliability of the results. A9-d.o.f. tractor-trailer vehicle was used, and the vehicle motion was derived from Lagrange's equation. 3D finite element models for the selected cable-stayed bridges were constructed with truss elements having equivalent moduli for the cables, and with beam elements for the girders and the pylons. The direct integration method was used for the analysis of the bridge-vehicle interaction, and the analysis was conducted iteratively until the displacement error rate of the bridge was within the specified tolerance. It was acknowledged that the influence line method, which cannot consider the dynamic effect due to moving-vehicle motion, could underestimate the impact factors of the end-cables at the side spans, unlike moving-vehicle-load analysis.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.501-516
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• 2023

Dynamic irregularity and acceleration of bridges subjected to high-speed trains provide crucial information for comprehensive evaluation of the health state of under-track structures. This paper proposes a novel approach for real-time estimation of vertical track dynamic irregularity and bridge acceleration using deep generative adversarial network (GAN) and vibration data from in-service train. The vehicle-body and bogie acceleration responses are correlated with the two target variables by modeling train-bridge interaction (TBI) through least squares generative adversarial network (LSGAN). To realize supervised learning required in the present task, the conventional LSGAN is modified by implementing new loss function and linear activation function. The proposed approach can offer pointwise and accurate estimates of track dynamic irregularity and bridge acceleration, allowing frequent inspection of high-speed railway (HSR) bridges in an economical way. Thanks to its applicability in scenarios of high noise level and critical resonance condition, the proposed approach has a promising prospect in engineering applications.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1299-1308
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• 1994

This paper is considered on the dynamic behavior and the dynamic impact coefficient on the cable-stayed bridge under the vehicle load. The method of static analysis, that is, the transfer matrix method is used to get influence values about displacements, section forces of girder and cable forces. Gotten influence values were used as basic data to analyse dynamic behavior. This paper used the transfer matrix method because it is relatively simpler than the finite element method, and calculating speed of computer is very fast and the precision of computation is high. In the process of dynamic analysis, the uncoupled equation of motion is derived from simultaneous equation of the motion of cable-stayed bridge and vehicle travelling by using mode shape, which was borne from system of undamped free vibration. The solution of the uncoupled equation of motion, that is, time history of response of deflections, velocity and acceleration on reference coordinate system, is found by Newmark-${\beta}$ method, a kind of direct integral method. After the time history of dynamic response was gotten, and it was transfered to the time history of dynamic response of cable-stayed bridge by linear transformation of coordinates. As a result of this numerical analysis, effect of dynamic behavior for cable-stayed bridge under the vehicle load has varied depending on parameter of design, that is, the ratio of span, the ratio of main span length, tower height, the flexural rigidity of longitudinal girder, the flexural rigidity of tower, and the cable stiffness, investigated. Very good agreements with the existing solution in the literature are shown for the uncracked plate as well as the cracked plate.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.279-297
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• 2019

Strong winds threaten the safety of vehicles on long-span bridges considerably, which could force traffic authorities to reduce speed limits or even close these bridges to traffic. In order to maintain the safe and economic operation of a bridge, a reasonable evaluation of the driving safety on that bridge is needed. This paper aims at carrying outdriving safety analyses for three types of vehicles on a long-span bridge in crosswinds by considering the aerodynamic interference between the bridge and the vehicles based on the wind-vehicle-bridge coupling vibration analysis. Firstly, CFD numerical simulations along with previously obtained wind tunnel testing results were used to determine the aerodynamic force coefficients of the three types of vehicles on the bridge. Secondly, the dynamic responses of the bridge and the vehicles under crosswinds were simulated, and based on those, the driving safety analyses for the three types of vehicles on the bridge were carried out for both cases considering and not considering the aerodynamic interference between the vehicles and the bridge. Finally, the effect of the aerodynamic interference on the safety of the vehicles was investigated. The results show that the aerodynamic interference between the bridge and the vehicles not only affectsthe accident critical wind speed but also the accident type for all three types of vehicles. Such effects are also different for each of the three types of vehicles being studied.