Modal experiment and model updating for Yingzhou Bridge

Abstract

To facilitate effective structural analyses of long-span bridges, numerical models of high fidelity are indispensable. Model updating can guarantee the fidelities of the numerical models, and is therefore embraced in many numerical simulation processes of long-span bridges. However, two issues current exist which hinder the effective model updating of bridge models. First, the reference information employed for model updating generally are structural modal parameters measured on the bridges’ locations, but most field modal test methods demand excessive sensing resources, and are therefore hard to be undertaken. Second, the traditional model updating based on sensitivity analyses of uncertain parameters cannot be applied to the detailed numerical models of bridges with regard to the high computational costs. To this end, under the engineering background of Yingzhou Bridge (a special-shaped arch bridge with a main span of 120 m), the applicability of the moving sensor modal test of low sensing resource demand is validated, and the practice of replacing the detailed models with simplified models for model updating is also proved to be effective in this article. With these findings, the detailed numerical model of Yingzhou Bridge is established and validated which will facilitate the future structural health monitoring, structural safety assessment and structural behavior prediction of the arch bridge.