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Field tests and verification of damping calculation methods for operating highway bridges

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Abstract

Structural damping is an important parameter in system identification and assessment of structural systems. Due to its variable nature, especially in highway bridges, precise estimation of damping poses challenges both from the computational point of views as well as complexity of operations. Survey of technical literature indicates that several methodologies have been developed over the past few decades for the determination of structural damping parameters. The present study determines damping in an operational highway bridge using two approaches, namely, the decay of motion direct measurement and the natural excitation technique. A two-span concrete box girder bridge was instrumented with various types of fiber optic Bragg grating sensors. Series of live load tests were performed on the bridge using a calibrated truck. Estimated damping was implanted in a detailed finite element model of the bridge. Live load on the actual bridge was replicated on the finite element model and the calculated results correlated with measured data at site.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0730259.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Smart Sensors and NDT Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 W. Taylor Street (M/C 246), Chicago, IL, 60607-7023, USA

    Ali Zarafshan, Farhad Ansari & Todd Taylor

Authors
  1. Ali Zarafshan
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  2. Farhad Ansari
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  3. Todd Taylor
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Correspondence to Farhad Ansari.

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Zarafshan, A., Ansari, F. & Taylor, T. Field tests and verification of damping calculation methods for operating highway bridges. J Civil Struct Health Monit 4, 99–105 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-013-0067-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-013-0067-y

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