Abstract
Recent collapses and malfunctions of European bridges threatened the service conditions of road networks and pointed out the need for robust procedures to mitigate the impact of material degradation and overloading of existing bridges. Condition assessment of bridges remains a challenging task, which could take advantage of cost-effective and reliable inspection strategies. The advances in sensors as well as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) ensure a significant enhancement of the capabilities in recording and processing physical and mechanical data. The present paper focuses on the paradigm of indirect vibration measurements for modal parameter identification in operational conditions. It is very attractive because of the related opportunities of application of dynamic tests as a tool for periodic inspections while significantly mitigating their impact on the traffic flow. In this framework the instrumented vehicle acts as a dynamic measurement device for periodic inspections and provides valuable information on the structural response of the bridge at a low-cost. Vehicle-bridge interaction models are here applied to realistically simulate the traffic-induced vibration response of bridges and assess the accuracy of modal parameter estimates obtained from indirect vibration measurements characterized by different noise levels.
Highlights
As far as the Authors know, the extension of the vehicle-bridge interaction (VBI) model to simulate traffic induced vibrations of the bridge due to random accesses of multiple vehicles with random characteristics and belonging to two different classes for modal identification based on indirect measurements is not reported in the literature and represents one of the main contributions of the present paper
The present paper reports the outcomes of a theoretical study aimed at assessing the performance of vehicles equipped with acceleration sensors as indirect measurement devices for Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) of bridges
OMA technique to the signals generated by a VBI model under random passages and characteristics of the multiple vehicles travelling on the bridge
Summary
The collapse of the Polcevera bridge in Italy, designed by Riccardo Morandi, erected in the 1960 s and collapsed on 14 August 2018 [1], gave a significant impulse to the renewal of the regulatory framework associated to the inspection, maintenance and condition assessment of existing bridges that resulted in the recent publication of national guidelines for safety assessment and structural monitoring of road and highway bridges [2]. The Italian guidelines present a comprehensive approach to the risk assessment and safety evaluation of road bridges, and remark the role that Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) can play in the process. They recommend dynamic testing for quantitative risk assessment and safety evaluation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
