Extracting Bridge Frequencies From the Dynamic Response of a Passing Vehicle

Abstract

The frequencies of vibration of bridges represent a kind of information that is most useful for many purposes. Traditional vibration tests aimed at measuring the bridge frequencies often require on-site installation of the measurement equipment. The idea of using a vehicle moving over a bridge as a message carrier of the bridge is explored theoretically in this paper. In this preliminary study, a simple model is used for simulating the vehicle-bridge interaction response, with which approximate, but reasonably accurate, solutions are presented in closed-form. The key parameters dominating the vehicle-bridge response are identified. Concluding remarks are given concerning the feasibility of extracting the bridge frequencies from the dynamic response of a passing vehicle.