Fully computerized approach to study cable-stayed bridge-vehicle interaction

This paper presents a fully computerized approach for assembling equations of motion of any types of coupled vehicle-bridge systems. Heavy road vehicl es are idealized as a combination of a number of rigid bodies connected by a series of springs and dampers while the bridge is modelled using the conv entional finite element method. The mass matrix, stiffness matrix, damping matrix, and force vector of coupled vehicle-bridge systems are automaticall y assembled using the fully computerized approach and taking into account r oad surface roughness. The required input data about vehicles to the comput er program are only the dynamic properties and the positions of rigid bodie s, springs, and dampers, and constraint conditions. The derived equations o f motion of the coupled vehicle-bridge system are then solved by the direct integration method. A case study of a real long span cable-stayed bridge w ith a group of moving heavy vehicles demonstrates that the fully computeriz ed approach and the associated computer program provide an efficient and co nvenient tool for studying the interaction problems of large complicated br idges with various types of running vehicles. (C) 2001 Academic Press.