A GENERAL MULTI-AXLE VEHICLE MODEL TO STUDY THE BRIDGE-VEHICLE INTERACTION

Develops a general five-axle vehicle model to study the dynamic intera ctions between the moving mass and the bridge structural components. T wo-axle, three-axle, or four-axle sprung loads, and the limiting load conditions such as a moving constant force, a moving alternating force , a moving unsprung mass, and combinations thereof, can be treated as special cases of the more general case presented. Further, its integra tion with the versatile finite element modelling has enhanced the prac tical applicability of such a theoretical development. The physical ch aracteristics of the bridge and the vehicle, such as the bridge geomet ry, mechanical properties, profile of the road surface, the vehicle pa rameters including the distance between axles, leaf springs suspension and the total weight, are considered explicitly in the present model. The dynamic equations of equilibrium in time are integrated using the Newmark integration scheme. Verifies the accuracy of the algorithm by comparing the numerical results obtained from the present formulation with the experimental results.