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Sensitivity of Footbridge Response to Load Modeling

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Abstract

The paper considers a stochastic approach to modeling the actions of walking and has focus on the vibration serviceability limit state of footbridges. The use of a stochastic approach is novel, but useful, as it is more advanced than the quite simplistic deterministic load models seen in many design codes. Using a stochastic approach, however, requires a number of decisions to be made (statistical distributions and associated parameters) for walking parameters. These decisions might have an impact on the outcome of serviceability evaluations (bridge acceleration levels), but it is often not a simple matter to foresee their impact. The paper contributes by examining how some of these decisions influence the outcome of serviceability evaluations. The sensitivity study is made focusing on vertical footbridge response to single person loading.

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Abbreviations

f 0 :

Bridge frequency

l s :

Stride length

q :

Modal load

e :

Response ratio

ζ :

Bridge damping ratio

f s :

Step frequency

m :

Weight of pedestrian

L :

Bridge length

a :

Bridge acceleration

μ :

Mean value

f :

Walking load

p :

Prob. density function

M :

Bridge modal mass

α :

Dynamic load factor

σ :

Standard deviation

References

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Correspondence to Lars Pedersen .

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© 2012 The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2012

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Pedersen, L., Frier, C. (2012). Sensitivity of Footbridge Response to Load Modeling. In: Caicedo, J., Catbas, F., Cunha, A., Racic, V., Reynolds, P., Salyards, K. (eds) Topics on the Dynamics of Civil Structures, Volume 1. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2413-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2413-0_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-2412-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-2413-0

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