Nonlinear modeling of the vehicle/structure interaction on a skewed highway bridge using an iterative uncoupled approach

Vehicle/structure interaction is extremely important in determining the structural performance of highway bridges. However, an accurate prediction of the generated vibrations and forces requires a high-fidelity nonlinear 3D model which is sufficiently representative of the actual vehicle and bridge structure. In spite of all the computational advancements, there are still many technical difficulties to obtain a converging solution from a coupled highly nonlinear and highly damped vehicle/structure models. This paper presents an iterative uncoupled approach to obtain an accurate estimation of the vehicle/structure interaction. The multi-axle vehicle is simulated using a nonlinear 3D multibody dynamics model. The bridge model also contains several nonlinear components to accurately model the bridge behavior. The vehicle/bridge interaction results are obtained through an iterative solution by exchanging the outputs of two uncoupled nonlinear models. A convergence criterion is selected to obtain a reliable solution after several of these iterations. Finally, a reduced-order model of the bridge is developed using a state-space model. The linear reduced-order model of the bridge is coupled with the nonlinear vehicle model to improve the solution time of the analysis. The results are in a very good agreement with the iterative uncoupled approach.

[1]  Rui Calçada,et al.  A direct method for analyzing the nonlinear vehicle–structure interaction , 2012 .

[2]  G. A. Fonder,et al.  AN ITERATIVE SOLUTION METHOD FOR DYNAMIC RESPONSE OF BRIDGE–VEHICLES SYSTEMS , 1996 .

[3]  S. Emerson,et al.  AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials). 2001. A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets. Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C. , 2007 .

[4]  M. Yener,et al.  Numerical method of lines for analysis of vehicle-bridge dynamic interaction , 1994 .

[5]  R. Moreno Delgado,et al.  Modelling of railway bridge-vehicle interaction on high speed tracks , 1997 .

[6]  F Moses,et al.  Load Capacity Evaluation of Existing Bridges , 1987 .

[7]  David Cebon,et al.  Dynamic interaction between heavy vehicles and highway bridges , 1997 .

[8]  David P. Thambiratnam,et al.  Development of an analytical model for treating bridge-vehicle interaction , 1998 .

[9]  Hani Nassif,et al.  Analytical Modeling of Bridge-Road-Vehicle Dynamic Interaction System , 2004 .

[10]  David P. Thambiratnam,et al.  Dynamic response of a curved bridge under moving truck load , 2002 .

[11]  Andrew Scanlon,et al.  AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications provisions for loss of prestress , 2012 .

[12]  Chul-Woo Kim,et al.  Computer simulation for dynamic wheel loads of heavy vehicles , 2001 .

[13]  R. Calçada,et al.  University of Huddersfield Repository A direct method for analyzing the vertical vehicle-structure interaction , 2011 .

[14]  Dennis Sylvester,et al.  Overview of a cyber-enabled wireless monitoring system for the protection and management of critical infrastructure systems , 2009, Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[15]  J. Korvink,et al.  Mor4ansys: Generating compact models directly from ANSYS models , 2004 .

[16]  W. Arnoldi.  The principle of minimized iterations in the solution of the matrix eigenvalue problem , 1951 .

[17]  David Cebon,et al.  Dynamic Response of Highway Bridges to Heavy Vehicle Loads: Theory and Experimental Validation , 1994 .