Examining changes in bridge frequency due to damage using the contact-point response of a passing vehicle

Abstract

Ongoing inspection and maintenance of bridges poses a challenging task for infrastructure owners who must manage large bridge stocks with limited budgets. Drive-by monitoring approaches, using sensors in a vehicle, provide a promising solution to this challenge. This paper investigates the use of the response at the point-of-contact between the tyre and the bridge as a means of monitoring bridge frequency. An expression is derived to allow the contact-point (CP) response to be inferred directly from in-vehicle measurements, expanding on previous studies by allowing the vehicle suspension characteristics to be considered. The sensitivity of the CP-response to the pavement characteristics is investigated in detail and a rigid-disk model is used to overcome issues with how existing vehicle-bridge interaction models consider the interaction between the wheel and the pavement. The feasibility of the CP-response as a measure of bridge condition is investigated and results show that the CP-response significantly outperforms the response measured directly on the vehicle. The CP-response is successful in identifying the bridge frequency and changes caused by damage, without being influenced by the vehicle frequencies. Incorporating the CP-response into drive-by bridge monitoring will improve accuracy over existing methods which use the vehicle response alone.

Discussion on a Vehicle–Bridge Interaction System Identification in a Field Test

“…Modal parameters of bridges are mainly natural frequency, damping, and mode shape. Since indirect monitoring was proposed, identifying bridge frequencies [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ] from vehicle vibrations has been an exciting topic. Yang et al [ 4 ] proposed the first method to estimate the natural frequencies of bridges from vehicle vibrations.…”

A deep‐learning framework for classifying the type, location, and severity of bridge damage using drive‐by measurements

“…In order to calibrate the FE model, the remote‐controlled vehicle was driven over the bridge 30 times at its low‐speed setting, crossing the bridge in the same direction each time. It is noted that the mean vehicle speed at this setting was 0.7 m/s, which is equivalent to something in the range of 14‐33 km/h on a full‐scale bridge, depending on the scaling rule that is applied (as discussed by Corbally & Malekjafarian, 2023). The PSO algorithm was implemented to calibrate the parameters of the FE model so that the simulated measurements matched the real measurements from the laboratory as closely as possible.…”

Surface Properties of Concrete and Bonding Strength of Pine Resin-Based Adhesives to Concrete Surfaces

“…Among the most important parts of this evaluation are accurate investigations and reasonable assessments of structures [2]. Studies of various sensors and evaluation and diagnosis systems along with proper assessment procedures are actively conducted for accurate evaluations and assessments of structures [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Te investigation of concrete structures is performed by permanently attaching measurement devices or sensors to concrete surfaces or by employing noncontact methods.…”