• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.315-331
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• 2014

The present study investigated the effect of the correlation of the measured road roughness profiles corresponding to the left and right wheels of a vehicle on the vibration of a vehicle-bridge coupling system. Four sets of road roughness profiles were measured by a laser road-testing vehicle. A correlation analysis was carried out on the four roughness samples, and two samples with the strongest correlation and weakest correlation were selected for the power spectral density, autocorrelation and cross-correlation analyses. The scenario of a three-axle truck moving across a rigid-frame arch bridge was used as an example. The two selected road roughness profiles were used as inputs to the vehicle-bridge coupling system. Three different input modes were adopted in the numerical analysis: (1) using the measured road roughness profile of the left wheel for the input of both wheels in the numerical simulation; (2) using the measured road roughness profile of the right wheel for both wheels; and (3) using the measured road roughness profiles corresponding to left and right wheels for the input corresponding to the vehicle's left and right wheels, respectively. The influence of the three input modes on the vibration of the vehicle-bridge system was analyzed and compared in detail. The results show that the correlation of the road roughness profiles corresponding to left and right wheels and the selected roughness input mode both have a significant influence on the vibration of the vehicle-bridge coupling system.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2010

The Pseudo-Excitation Method (PEM) is applied to study the stochastic space vibration responses of train-bridge coupling system. Each vehicle is modeled as a four-wheel mass-spring-damper system with two layers of suspension system possessing 15 degrees-of- freedom. The bridge is modeled as a spatial beam element, and the track irregularity is assumed to be a uniform random process. The motion equations of the vehicle system are established based on the d'Alembertian principle, and the motion equations of the bridge system are established based on the Hamilton variational principle. Separate iteration is applied in the solution of equations. Comparisons with the Monte Carlo simulations show the effectiveness and satisfactory accuracy of the proposed method. The PSD of the 3-span simply-supported girder bridge responses, vehicle responses and wheel/rail forces are obtained. Based on the $3{\sigma}$ rule for Gaussian stochastic processes, the maximum responses of the coupling system are suggested.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2015

Among the destruction instances of half-through arch bridges, the shorter hangers are more likely to be ruined. For a thorough investigation of the hanger system durability, we have studied vehicle impact effect on hangers with vehicle-bridge coupling method for a half-through concrete-filled-steel-tube arch bridge. A numerical method has been applied to simulate the variation of dynamic internal force (stress) in hangers under different vehicle speeds and road surface roughness. The characteristics and differences in impact effect among hangers with different length (position) are compared. The impact effect is further analyzed comprehensively based on the vehicle speed distribution model. Our results show that the dynamic internal force induced by moving vehicles inside the shorter hangers is significantly greater than that inside the longer ones. The largest difference of dynamic internal force among the hangers could be as high as 28%. Our results well explained a common phenomenon in several hanger damage accidents occurred in China. This work forms a basis for hanger system's fatigue analysis and service life evaluation. It also provides a reference to the design, management, maintenance, monitoring, and evaluation for this kind of bridge.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.399-416
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• 2018

In order to reveal the independent relationship between track irregularity and wind loads, the stochastic characteristics of train-bridge coupling systems subjected to wind loads were investigated by the multi-sample calculation. The vehicle was selected as 23 degrees of freedom dynamical model, and the bridge was described by three-dimensional finite element model. It was assumed that the wind loads were random processes with strong spatial correlation, while the track irregularities were stationary random ones. As a case study, a high-speed train running on a cable-stayed bridge subjected to wind loads was studied. The effect of rail irregularities was deemed to be independent of the effect of wind excitations on the coupling system in the same wind circumstance for the same project, leading to the conclusion that the effect of wind loads and moving vehicle could be calculated separately. The variance results of the stochastic responses of vehicle-bridge coupling system under the action of wind loads and rail irregularities together were equivalent to the sum of the variance of the responses induced by each excitation. Therefore, when one of the input excitations is different, only the effect of changed loads needs to be assessed. Moreover, the new calculated results were combined with the effect of unchanged loads to present the stochastic response of coupling system subjected to the different excitations, reducing the cost of computations. The stochastic characteristics, the CFD (cumulative distribution function) of the coupling system with different wind velocities, vehicle speed, and vehicle marshalling were studied likewise.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2024

The investigation on vehicle-bridge coupling system (VBCS) is crucial in bridge design, bridge condition evaluation, and vehicle overload control. A real-time hybrid testing (RTHT) method for VBCS (RTHT-VBCS) is proposed in this paper for accurately and economically disclosing the dynamic performance of VBCSs. In the proposed method, one of the carriages is chosen as the experimental substructure loaded by servo-hydraulic actuator loading system in the laboratory, and the remaining carriages as well as the bridge structure are chosen as the numerical substructure numerically simulated in one computer. The numerical substructure and the experimental substructure are synchronized at their coupling points in terms of force equilibrium and deformation compatibility. Compared to the traditional iteration experimental method and the numerical simulation method, the proposed RTHT-VBCS method could not only obtain the dynamic response of VBCS, but also economically analyze various working conditions. Firstly, the theory of RTHT-VBCS is proposed. Secondly, numerical models of VBCS for RTHT method are presented. Finally, the feasibility and accuracy of the RTHT-VBCS are preliminarily validated by real-time hybrid simulations (RTHSs). It is shown that, the proposed RTHT-VBCS is feasible and shows great advantages over the traditional methods, and the proposed models can effectively represent the VBCS for RTHT method in terms of the force equilibrium and deformation compatibility at the coupling point. It is shown that the results of the single-degree-of-freedom model and the train vehicle model are match well with the referenced results. The RTHS results preliminarily prove the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed RTHT-VBCS.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.203-223
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• 2014

The extensive use of prestressed reinforced concrete (PSC) highway bridges in marine environment drastically increases the sensitivity to both fatigue-and corrosion-induced damage of their critical structural components during their service lives. Within this scenario, an integrated method that is capable of evaluating the fatigue reliability, identifying a condition-based maintenance, and predicting the remaining service life of its critical components is therefore needed. To accomplish this goal, a procedure for fatigue reliability prediction of PSC highway bridges is proposed in the present study. Vehicle-bridge coupling vibration analysis is performed for obtaining the equivalent moment ranges of critical section of bridges under typical fatigue truck models. Three-dimensional nonlinear mathematical models of fatigue trucks are simplified as an eleven-degree-of-freedom system. Road surface roughness is simulated as zero-mean stationary Gaussian random processes using the trigonometric series method. The time-dependent stress-concentration factors of reinforcing bars and prestressing tendons are accounted for more accurate stress ranges determination. The limit state functions are constructed according to the Miner's linear damage rule, the time-dependent S-N curves of prestressing tendons and the site-specific stress cycle prediction. The effectiveness of the methodology framework is demonstrated to a T-type simple supported multi-girder bridge for fatigue reliability evaluation.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.263-276
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• 2009

This paper is intended to investigate interaction response of a train running over a suspension bridge undergoing support settlements. The suspension bridge is modeled as a single-span suspended beam with hinged ends and the train as successive moving oscillators with identical properties. To conduct this dynamic problem with non-homogeneous boundary conditions, this study first divides the total response of the suspended beam into two parts: the static and dynamic responses. Then, the coupled equations of motion for the suspended beam carrying multiple moving oscillators are transformed into a set of nonlinearly coupled generalized equations by Galerkin's method, and solved using the Newmark method with an incremental-iterative procedure including the three phases: predictor, corrector, and equilibrium-checking. Numerical investigations demonstrate that the present iterative technique is available in dealing with the dynamic interaction problem of vehicle/bridge coupling system and that the differential movements of bridge supports will significantly affect the dynamic response of the running vehicles but insignificant influence on the bridge response.

• International journal of steel structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1617-1630
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• 2018

The crucial differences between conventional rail with split-type connectors and continuous welded rails are axial stress in the longitudinal direction and stability, as well as other issues generated under the influence of loading effects. Longitudinal stresses generated in continuously welded rails on railway bridges are strongly influenced by the nonlinear behavior of the supporting system comprising sleepers and ballasts. Thus, the track structure interaction cannot be neglected. The rail-support system mentioned above has properties of non-uniform material distribution and uncertainty of construction quality. The linear elastic hypothesis therefore cannot correctly evaluate the stress distribution within the rails. The aim of this study is to apply the nonlinear finite element method using the nonlinear coupling interface between the track and structural model and to illustrate the welded rail behavior under the loading effect and uncertain factors of the ballast. Numerical results of nonlinear finite analysis with a three-dimensional solid and frame element model are presented for a typical track-bridge system. A composite plate girder, modeled by solid and shell elements, is also analyzed to consider the behavior of the welded rail. The analysis result showed buckling under the independent calculations of load cases, including 'temperature change', 'bending of the supporting structure', and 'braking' of the railway vehicle. A parametric study of the load combination method and the loading sequence is also included in this analysis.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1017-1044
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• 2015

This study aimed to investigate the random vibration characteristic of train-slab track-bridge interaction system subjected to both track irregularities and earthquakes by use of pseudo-excitation method (PEM). Each vehicle subsystem was modeled by multibody dynamics. A three-dimensional rail-slab- girder-pier finite element model was created to simulate slab track and bridge subsystem. The equations of motion for the entire system were established based on the constraint condition of no jump between wheel and rail. The random load vectors of equations of motion were formulated by transforming track irregularities and seismic accelerations into a series of deterministic pseudo-excitations according to their respective power spectral density (PSD) functions by means of PEM. The time-dependent PSDs of random vibration responses of the system were obtained by step-by-step integration method, and the corresponding extreme values were estimated based on the first-passage failure criterion. As a case study, an ICE3 high-speed train passing a fifteen-span simply supported girder bridge simultaneously excited by track irregularities and earthquakes is presented. The evaluated extreme values and the PSD characteristic of the random vibration responses of bridge and train are analyzed, and the influences of train speed and track irregularities (without earthquakes) on the random vibration characteristic of bridge and train are discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2023

To study the evaluation standard and control limit of mortar filling layer void length, in this paper, the train sub-model was developed by MATLAB and the track-bridge sub-model considering the mortar filling layer void was established by ANSYS. The two sub-models were assembled into a train-track-bridge coupling dynamic model through the wheel-rail contact relationship, and the validity was corroborated by the coupling dynamic model with the literature model. Considering the randomness of fastening stiffness, mortar elastic modulus, length of mortar filling layer void, and pier settlement, the test points were designed by the Box-Behnken method based on Design-Expert software. The coupled dynamic model was calculated, and the support vector regression (SVR) nonlinear mapping model of the wheel-rail system was established. The learning, prediction, and verification were carried out. Finally, the reliable probability of the amplification coefficient distribution of the response index of the train and structure in different ranges was obtained based on the SVR nonlinear mapping model and Latin hypercube sampling method. The limit of the length of the mortar filling layer void was, thus, obtained. The results show that the SVR nonlinear mapping model developed in this paper has a high fitting accuracy of 0.993, and the computational efficiency is significantly improved by 99.86%. It can be used to calculate the dynamic response of the wheel-rail system. The length of the mortar filling layer void significantly affects the wheel-rail vertical force, wheel weight load reduction ratio, rail vertical displacement, and track plate vertical displacement. The dynamic response of the track structure has a more significant effect on the limit value of the length of the mortar filling layer void than the dynamic response of the vehicle, and the rail vertical displacement is the most obvious. At 250 km/h - 350 km/h train running speed, the limit values of grade I, II, and III of the lengths of the mortar filling layer void are 3.932 m, 4.337 m, and 4.766 m, respectively. The results can provide some reference for the long-term service performance reliability of the ballastless track-bridge system of HRS.