Exploring the potential of the semi-active inertial absorber in control resonant effects for short-to-medium span high-speed railway bridges

Abstract

Unlike other civil structures, railway bridges commonly experience changes in their operating conditions, such as the introduction of new train models or higher traffic speeds. These changes can lead to the appearance of resonant effects that are not considered in the design stage. To suppress the large vibration of the railway bridges under the train loads, various solutions have been proposed in the literature. One of those is the use of passive inertial controllers or Tuned Vibration Absorbers (also called Tuned Mass Dampers -TMD). However, these devices have a rather narrow bandwidth close to the tuned frequency, making them prone to detuning and losing their effectiveness. This article explores the use of the Semi-active Tuned Mass Damper (STMD) to reduce resonant vibrations of railway bridges under high-speed trains. This device broadens the spectrum of operation of the inertial controller in the frequency domain. Its different effects have been studied throughout this article, being able to conclude that the STMD not only works better in resonance, but also exhibits a higher degree of robustness and a broader operational range within the desired frequency band. KEYWORDShigh-speed railway bridges; dynamic responses; short span bridge; vibration control; semi-active; tuned mass damper.