Determining the Presence of Scour around Bridge Foundations Using Vehicle-Induced Vibrations
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21, Issue 10
Abstract
Bridge scour is the number one cause of failure in bridges located over waterways. Scour leads to rapid losses in foundation stiffness and can cause sudden collapse. Previous research on bridge health monitoring has used changes in natural frequency to identify damage in bridge beams. The possibility of using a similar approach to identifying scour is investigated in this paper. To assess if this approach is feasible, it is necessary to establish how scour affects the natural frequency of a bridge, and if it is possible to measure changes in frequency using the bridge dynamic response to a passing vehicle. To address these questions, a novel vehicle–bridge–soil interaction (VBSI) model was developed. By carrying out a modal study in this model, it is shown that for a wide range of possible soil states, there is a clear reduction in the natural frequency of the first mode of the bridge with scour. Moreover, it is shown that the response signals on the bridge from vehicular loading are sufficient to allow these changes in frequency to be detected.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of the Earth and Natural Sciences (ENS) Doctoral Studies Programme, funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) through the Programme for Research at Third Level Institutions, Cycle 5 (PRTLI-5), cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Union Framework 7 project SMART RAIL (Project No. 285683), and the European Union H2020 project DESTination RAIL (Project No. 636285).
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Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21 • Issue 10 • October 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 19, 2015
Accepted: Mar 4, 2016
Published online: Apr 15, 2016
Discussion open until: Sep 15, 2016
Published in print: Oct 1, 2016
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