A Contribution To Moving Force Identification In Bridge Dynamics

The knowledge of the real forces acting on a structure are of great importance in the condition assessment process of existing structures. In this sense, this work provides a novel approach for identification of dynamic moving forces acting on a bridge structure. It seeks to find the optimal time dependent force values that minimize the difference between the computed and measured displacement and acceleration time histories for a limited number of sensor locations. The work also presents extensive experimental investigations of the developed method on real structures in operation, which consistently show that it can be successfully used on a wide range of applications: from small structures excited by rather low pedestrian forces up to the "heavy category" of a complete train passing a railway bridge. In this context, a set of particularities and limitations arising in the practical application of the method on real structures are also discussed. Andrei Firus studied civil engineering at the University "Politehnica" Timisoara, Romania and at the HTWG Konstanz - University of Applied Sciences, Konstanz, Germany. Between 2015 and 2021, he completed his PhD in structural dynamics at the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jens Schneider), Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. In 2020, he co-founded iSEA Tec GmbH in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Since then, he has been managing director of the company, which is active in the fields of structural design of lightweight structures, structural dynamics as well as monitoring and condition assessment of existing structures.

The knowledge of the real forces acting on a structure are of great importance in the condition assessment process of existing structures. In this sense, this work provides a novel approach for identification of dynamic moving forces acting on a bridge structure. It seeks to find the optimal time dependent force values that minimize the difference between the computed and measured displacement and acceleration time histories for a limited number of sensor locations. The work also presents extensive experimental investigations of the developed method on real structures in operation, which consistently show that it can be successfully used on a wide range of applications: from small structures excited by rather low pedestrian forces up to the "heavy category" of a complete train passing a railway bridge. In this context, a set of particularities and limitations arising in the practical application of the method on real structures are also discussed.

The interaction phenomenon is very common between different components of a mechanical system. It is a natural phenomenon and is found with the impact force in aircraft landing; the estimation of degree of ripeness of an apple from impact on a beam; the interaction of the magnetic head of a computer disk leading to miniature development of modern c

Bridge Safety, Maintenance, Management, Life-Cycle, Resilience and Sustainability contains lectures and papers presented at the Eleventh International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS 2022, Barcelona, Spain, 11–15 July, 2022). This e-book contains the full papers of 322 contributions presented at IABMAS 2022, including the T.Y. Lin Lecture, 4 Keynote Lectures, and 317 technical papers from 36 countries all around the world. The contributions deal with the state-of-the-art as well as emerging concepts and innovative applications related to the main aspects of safety, maintenance, management, life-cycle, resilience, sustainability and technological innovations of bridges. Major topics include: advanced bridge design, construction and maintenance approaches, safety, reliability and risk evaluation, life-cycle management, life-cycle, resilience, sustainability, standardization, analytical models, bridge management systems, service life prediction, structural health monitoring, non-destructive testing and field testing, robustness and redundancy, durability enhancement, repair and rehabilitation, fatigue and corrosion, extreme loads, needs of bridge owners, whole life costing and investment for the future, financial planning and application of information and computer technology, big data analysis and artificial intelligence for bridges, among others. This volume provides both an up-to-date overview of the field of bridge engineering and significant contributions to the process of making more rational decisions on bridge safety, maintenance, management, life-cycle, resilience and sustainability of bridges for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of society. The volume serves as a valuable reference to all concerned with and/or involved in bridge structure and infrastructure systems, including students, researchers and practitioners from all areas of bridge engineering.

The inverse dynamics problem was developed in order to provide researchers with the state of the art in inverse problems for dynamic and vibrational systems. Contrasted with a forward problem, which solves for the system output in a straightforward manner, an inverse problem searches for the system input through a procedure contaminated with errors and uncertainties. An inverse problem, with a focus on structural dynamics, determines the changes made to the system and estimates the inputs, including forces and moments, to the system, utilizing measurements of structural vibration responses only. With its complex mathematical structure and need for more reliable input estimations, the inverse problem is still a fundamental subject of research among mathematicians and engineering scientists. This book contains 11 articles that touch upon various aspects of inverse dynamic problems.

This volume gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM) and more broadly in the fields of smart materials and intelligent systems. The volume covers highly diverse topics, including signal processing, smart sensors, autonomous systems, remote sensing and support, UAV platforms for SHM, Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, and SHM for civil structures and infrastructures. The contributions, which are published after a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaboration among different specialists. The contents of this volume reflect the outcomes of the activities of EWSHM (European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring) in 2020.

Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management, Life-Cycle Sustainability and Innovations contains lectures and papers presented at the Tenth International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS 2020), held in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, April 11–15, 2021. This volume consists of a book of extended abstracts and a USB card containing the full papers of 571 contributions presented at IABMAS 2020, including the T.Y. Lin Lecture, 9 Keynote Lectures, and 561 technical papers from 40 countries. The contributions presented at IABMAS 2020 deal with the state of the art as well as emerging concepts and innovative applications related to the main aspects of maintenance, safety, management, life-cycle sustainability and technological innovations of bridges. Major topics include: advanced bridge design, construction and maintenance approaches, safety, reliability and risk evaluation, life-cycle management, life-cycle sustainability, standardization, analytical models, bridge management systems, service life prediction, maintenance and management strategies, structural health monitoring, non-destructive testing and field testing, safety, resilience, robustness and redundancy, durability enhancement, repair and rehabilitation, fatigue and corrosion, extreme loads, and application of information and computer technology and artificial intelligence for bridges, among others. This volume provides both an up-to-date overview of the field of bridge engineering and significant contributions to the process of making more rational decisions on maintenance, safety, management, life-cycle sustainability and technological innovations of bridges for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of society. The Editors hope that these Proceedings will serve as a valuable reference to all concerned with bridge structure and infrastructure systems, including engineers, researchers, academics and students from all areas of bridge engineering.

This book presents selected, peer-reviewed contributions from the 9th International Conference on Experimental Vibration Analysis for Civil Engineering Structures (EVACES 2021), organized by the University of Tokyo and Saitama University from September 17-20, 2021 on the Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo, and hosted in an online format. The event brought together engineers, scientists, researchers, and practitioners, providing a forum for discussing and disseminating the latest developments and achievements in all major aspects of dynamic testing for civil engineering structures, including instrumentation, sources of excitation, data analysis, system identification, monitoring and condition assessment, in-situ and laboratory experiments, codes and standards, and vibration mitigation. The topics of EVACES 2021 included but were not limited to: damage identification and structural health monitoring; testing, sensing and modeling; vibration isolation and control; system and model identification; coupled dynamical systems (including human–structure, vehicle–structure, and soil–structure interaction); and application of advanced techniques involving the Internet of Things, robot, UAV, big data and artificial intelligence.