Ambient Vibration Testing of Historic Steel-Composite Bridge, the E. Torroja Bridge, for Structural Identification and Finite Element Model Updating

The E. Torroja Bridge is a steel-composite bridge which combines inverted steel arch trusses with a concrete deck. This bridge crosses the Guadalquivir River in the small town of Posadas, 30 km far from Cordoba, Spain. It was E. Torroja, the renowned civil engineer who designed and built it until its inauguration in 1951 with an original deck 7 m width. Nevertheless, in 1995 it was remodeled by the author’s grandson, Jose Antonio Torroja, who raised the width of the deck to 11 m and added two new inverted steel arches beside the original ones. In order to assess the structural health condition of the bridge, ambient vibration tests were carried out in June 2014.