A continuum analysis for determining the flexural-torsional vibration
of suspension bridge under vehicular movement is presented. The dynami
c analysis duly considers the nonlinear bridge-vehicle interactive for
ce. eccentricity of vehicle path, surface irregularity of the bridge p
avement, cable-tower connection and end conditions for the stiffening
girder. The surface irregularity of the bridge pavement is considered
as a stationary random process characterized by a power spectral densi
ty function (PSDF) of the surface irregularity. The irregular profile
of the bridge pavement is synthetically generated from the PSDF using
Monte Carlo simulation technique. The analysis makes use of normal mod
e theory and calculates the response in time domain utilizing an itera
tive scheme and a few closed-form expressions. The responses are obtai
ned and compared for three types of vehicle models, namely, 3-D, 2-D,
and single sprung mass system. A parametric study is also conducted to
investigate the influence of some important bridge and vehicle parame
ters on the dynamic behavior of the bridge.