Experimental verification of the numerical model of a reinforced concrete arch

Abstract

The paper presents numerical and experimental dynamic analysis of the reinforced concrete arch. The measurement of the accelerations at various points of the structure as a response to the force (single input-multiple output approach) was made. Dynamic response of the concrete arch has been measured by piezoelectric accelerometers and signals have been recorded by multi-channel LMS SCADAS Mobile recorder. As a result of the measurements frequencies and mode shapes have been determined. ADINA program has been used for building of numerical models. The static scheme of the arch (the stiffness of the supports) has been updated using the genetic algorithms (GA) available in MATLAB to obtain the results, which correspond to dynamic testing. Two similarity criteria have been considered: the mean squared error (MSE) between frequencies and the Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) for forms comparison. In additional example, the Young’s modulus has been also optimized.