Dynamic Behavior of a Pedestrian Bridge in Alicante, Spain
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 29, Issue 5
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamic behavior of a pedestrian bridge in Alicante, Spain, which showed vertical and horizontal vibration problems. Moreover, the deck’s structural steel showed severe corrosion damage. Hence, two cases were analyzed: before retrofitting the structure using glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRPs) and after. While the GFRP was designed for aesthetic and durability purposes only—and not for structural retrofitting—it changed the mass and stiffness of the footbridge, affecting its dynamic characteristics. The natural frequencies, mode shapes, and modal damping factors of the bridge were calculated based on accelerations recorded at 11 points on the bridge under different conditions—i.e., ambient vibration and forced vibration produced by a fixed number of pedestrians walking on the bridge at a certain speed and frequency. A numerical model was also designed in order to compare the experimental and numerical results.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the University of Alicante for its financial support, VIBGROB-212-(GRESMES), and ACIE13-07. The authors also wish to acknowledge the Council of Alicante for their administrative support during the experimental testing.
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 29 • Issue 5 • October 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 3, 2013
Accepted: Dec 5, 2013
Published online: Dec 7, 2013
Discussion open until: Feb 11, 2015
Published in print: Oct 1, 2015
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