Abstract
Pedestrians may cause vibrations in footbridges, and these vibrations may potentially be problematic from a footbridge serviceability point-of-view. Foreseeing (already at the design stage) unfit conditions is useful, and the present paper employs a probability-based methodology for predicting vibrational performance of a bridge. The methodology and the walking load model employed for calculation of bridge response accounts for the stochastic nature of the walking parameters of pedestrians (step frequency, step length etc.) and the end result is central statistical parameters of bridge response (quantiles of bridge acceleration) to the action of a pedestrian. The paper explores the impact that selected decisions made by the engineer in charge of computations have on the statistical parameters of the dynamic response of the bridge. The investigations involve Monte Carlo simulation runs as walking parameters are modelled as random variables and not as deterministic properties. Single-person pedestrian traffic is the load scenario considered for the investigations of the paper and numerical simulations of bridge accelerations are made for artificial but realistic footbridges.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Abbreviations
- a :
-
Bridge acceleration
- f 1 :
-
Bridge fundamental frequency
- f s :
-
Step frequency
- i :
-
Integer
- l s :
-
Step length
- m 1 :
-
Bridge modal mass
- t :
-
Time
- v :
-
Pacing speed
- F :
-
Walking load
- L :
-
Bridge length
- Q :
-
Modal load
- W :
-
Weight of pedestrian
- α :
-
Dynamic load factor
- ζ 1 :
-
Bridge damping ratio
- μ :
-
Mean value
- σ :
-
Standard deviation
- Θ :
-
Phase
- Φ :
-
Mode shape
References
Dallard, P., Fitzpatrick, A.J., Flint, A., Le Bourva, S., Low, A., Ridsdill-Smith, R.M., Wilford, M.: The London Millennium Bridge. Struct. Eng. 79, 17–33 (2001)
Ontario Highway Bridge Design Code, Highway Engineering Division; Ministry of Transportation and Communication, Ontario, Canada (1983)
British Standard Institution: Steel, concrete and composite bridges. Specification for loads, BS 5400: Part 2 (1978)
Matsumoto, Y., Nishioka, T., Shiojiri, H., Matsuzaki, K.: Dynamic design of footbridges, In: IABSE Proceedings, No. P-17/78, pp. 1–15 (1978)
Živanovic, S.: Probability-based estimation of vibration for pedestrian structures due to walking. PhD Thesis, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, University of Sheffield (2006)
Kerr, S.C., Bishop, N.W.M.: Human induced loading on flexible staircases. Eng. Struct. 23, 37–45 (2001)
Pedersen, L., Frier, C.: Sensitivity of footbridge vibrations to stochastic walking parameters. J. Sound Vib. (2009). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsv.2009.12.022
Živanovic, S., Pavic, A., Reynolds, P.: Probability-based prediction of multi-mode vibration response to walking excitation. Eng. Struct. 29, 942–954 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2006.07.004
Ellis, B.R.: On the response of long-span floors to walking loads generated by individuals and crowds. Struct. Eng. 78, 1–25 (2000)
Bachmann, H., Ammann, W.: Vibrations in Structures—Induced by Man and Machines, IABSE Structural Engineering Documents 3e, Zürich, Switzerland (1987)
Rainer, J.H., Pernica, G., Allen, D.E.: Dynamic loading and response of footbridges. Can. J. Civ. Eng. 15, 66–78 (1998)
Kramer, H., Kebe, H.W.: Man-induced structural vibrations (in German). Der Bauingeniuer. 54(5), 195–199 (1979)
Acknowledgements
This research was carried out in the framework of the project “Urban Tranquility” under the Interreg V program and the authors of this work gratefully acknowledge the European Regional Development Fund for the financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Pedersen, L., Frier, C. (2020). Footbridge Vibrations and Their Sensitivity to Pedestrian Load Modelling. In: Pakzad, S. (eds) Dynamics of Civil Structures, Volume 2. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12115-0_31
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12115-0_31
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12114-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12115-0
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)