Effectiveness of dampers in controlling a vibration problem near a highway bridge

An environmental vibration problem occurred at a house near a highway bridge on soft ground. Vibration experiments with a test truck were performed to investigate the cause of the problem and the vibration characteristics of the bridge and house. Experimental results showed that the house was resonating with the bridge. As a measure to reduce vibration, viscoelastic dampers were installed at the ends of the bridge girders. The effectiveness of this measure was evaluated by comparing the data gathered before and after the installation of the dampers using ordinary trucks running over the bridge. Moreover, a dynamic response analysis was carried out to investigate the vibration reduction as a function of the number of installed dampers as well as the various analytical conditions employed. Simulation results showed that the vibration reduction depends on the boundary condition, running position, and torsion modes that have a coupling vibration between the superstructure and the piers.