Effect of the Load Modelling Strategy on the Dynamic Response Prediction of Bridges Subjected to High-Speed Trains

The paper evaluates the effect of various modelling strategies for the bridge–train interaction system on the prediction of the dynamic bridge response. Trains crossing the bridge with constant high-speed are described either by a series of moving single forces representing their static axle loads or by a planar mass-spring-damper multi-body system. The outcomes of the latter model serve as reference solution because vehicle–bridge interaction (VBI) is explicitly considered. In an application problem the vertical bridge peak response is derived based on models of different degree of sophistication. From the outcomes it can be concluded that the impact of high-speed trains on a bridge by means of single forces (representing the static train axle loads) provides accurate results if bridge damping is increased and additional dynamic distributed mass is added to the bridge to account indirectly for VBI effects.