Effects of Vehicle Speed on Vehicle-Induced Dynamic Behaviors of a Concrete Bridge with Smooth and Rough Road Surfaces

Abstract

According to a previous study, a concrete bridge bearing vehicles traveling at lower speeds suffers from more severe apparent damage compared to one bearing vehicles traveling at higher speeds. The authors of the study subjectively inferred that the observed phenomenon is due to different vehicle load-holding durations for different vehicle speeds. However, this interpretation is not true for bridges with a smooth road surface. Based on an engineering case study of Renyihe Bridge (a concrete rigid-frame continuous highway bridge with spans of 80 m + 4 × 145 m + 80 m), this article reveals via numerical simulations that with the increase in road surface roughness, the resonant responses of the bridge are significantly amplified for cases of low vehicle speed, which can well explain the phenomenon observed by the aforementioned study. Field experiments undertaken on Renyihe Bridge further reveal the related mechanism. These experiments reveal that the frequency of the vehicle excitation for a bridge with sufficient road surface roughness might be closer to the low-order natural frequencies of a bridge with a decrease in vehicle speed. Therefore, the resonant responses are supposed to be more significantly amplified in cases of low vehicle speed after an increase in road surface roughness.

Keywords

• concrete bridge
• dynamic behavior
• vehicle speed
• road surface roughness