A Meta-Modeling Procedure for Updating the Finite Element Model of an Arch Bridge Model

Abstract

Finite element (FE) model updating of structures using vibration test data has received considerable attentions in recent years due to its crucial role in fields ranging from establishing a reality-consistent structural model for dynamic analysis and control, to providing baseline model for damage identification in structural health monitoring. Model updating is to correct the analytical finite element model using test data to produce a refined one that better predict the dynamic behavior of structure. However, for real complex structures, conventional updating methods is difficult to be utilized to update the FE model of structures due to the heavy computational burden for the dynamic analysis. Meta-model is an effective surrogate model for dynamic analysis of large-scale structures. An updating method based on the combination between meta-model and component mode synthesis (CMS) is proposed to improve the efficiency of model updating of large-scale structures. The effectiveness of the proposed method is then validated by updating a scaled suspender arch bridge model using the simulated data.