The influence of centripetal and Coriolis forces on the dynamic response of light bridges under moving vehicles

This paper deals with the linear dynamic response of a simply supported lig ht (steel) bridge under a moving vehicle of constant magnitude and velocity . This analysis focuses attention on the usually neglected influence of the centripetal force, Coriolis force and vehicle's rotatory inertia. The indi vidual and coupling effects of these forces on the dynamic response of the bridge in connection with the magnitude of the velocity of the moving vehic le are thoroughly discussed. A variety of numerical results allows one to d raw important conclusions for structural design purposes. (C) 2001 Academic Press.