Moving Force Identification from Bridge Acceleration Responses

Abstract

Following the sllccessful identification of moving titHe-varying axle loads from bridge strain responses, this paper describes an investigation into the feasibility of moving force identification from bridge acceleration responses. For this purpose, the acceleration responses of a bridge made in the laboratory were measured as well as the bending moments when a model car moved across it at different speeds. Thc moving torces were identified from the acceleration responses only by directly calculating pscudo inverse and by the singular value decomposition (SYD) of the coefficient matrix in the over-determined system of equation, and the rebuilt rcsponscs were calculated from the identitied forces. The effects of various parameters on the identification accuracy related to both the bridge and the vehiele were discussed. Assessment results show that moving Force identification from the acceleration responses is feasible and acceptable, but the accuracy of the identification could be further improved.