Traffic‐induced vibration analysis of a steel girder bridge compared with a concrete bridge

Abstract

AbstractAt the preliminary design stage for a highway bridge 81 m long, a three‐span continuous girder, including a span of about 30 m, is preferable from the point of construction cost. Generally, the concern is that girder bridges with spans of 30 m, which have a fundamental natural frequency of about 3 Hz, have large traffic‐induced vibrations due to the coupling dynamic response with heavy vehicles having a bouncing natural frequency of about 3 Hz. Furthermore, large traffic‐induced vibration in girder bridges causes low‐frequency sound (LFS) as one of the environmental vibration problems. Two kinds of girder bridge with a length of 81 m – a concrete hollow slab bridge and an eight‐girder steel bridge with the same spans – are proposed. For assessing the low‐frequency sound radiated from bridges, firstly, the traffic‐induced vibrations of two kinds of girder bridge are compared with each other by analysing the coupling dynamic response of bridges due to moving heavy vehicles in a dynamic system.