Dynamic Response of a Highway Bridge Subjected to Moving Vehicles

Several full-scale load tests were performed on a selected Florida highway bridge. The bridge was dynamically excited by two fully loaded trucks, and the strain, acceleration, and displacement at selected points were recorded for the investigation of the bridge’s dynamic response. Experimental data were compared with simplified vehicle and bridge finite-element models. The vehicle was represented as a three-dimensional mass–spring–damper system with 11 degrees of freedom, and the bridge was modeled as a combination of plate and beam elements that characterize the slab and girders, respectively. The equations of motion were formulated with physical components for the vehicle and modal components for the bridge. The coupled equations were solved using a central difference method. It was found that the numerical analysis matched well with the experimental data and was used to successfully explain critical dynamic phenomena observed during the testing. Impact factors for this tested bridge were thoroughly inv...