EFFICIENT ANALYSIS OF BRIDGE-VEHICLE INTERACTION

The study reported here considers the bridge and vehicle as an interaction system in which the complex behaviour of highway bridges is subjected to the dynamic influences of vehicles. This system can be modelled and analysed in a consistent manner which will result in efficient, safe and economic design of bridges. In this paper, a two dimensional grillage bridge and a three dimensional vehicle are combined to simulate their interaction. The vehicle may have various non-linear suspension systems and tyre springs and may travel in a symmetric or unsymmetric manner enabling the bridge to be excited by an asymmetric forcing action. The entire procedure for the interaction of the bridge vehicle system is implemented on computer which enables reliable and comprehensive investigation. This analytical package is used to investigate the influences of various parameters which contribute to the overall behaviour of a bridge vehicle system. (a) For the covering abstract of this conference, please see IRRD abstract no 861149.