Variations in dynamic properties of a steel arch footbridge : An experimental study

Abstract: This study separately investigates how temperature as well as two real load-situations affects the modal damping ratio and natural frequencies of a 64.9m span steel arch footbridge. Measurements of acceleration have been completed which covers a temperature span of  to . The natural frequencies of the five investigated modes were observed to decrease 2-6% as the temperature increased. This effect was with the help of beam-theory and finite element modelling deduced to originate mostly from changes in Young’s modulus of the materials, but also geometrical changes in steel because of thermal expansion. Further investigation included a static mass in the form of packed snow that was estimated to weigh 14 tons. The natural frequencies were observed to remain unchanged while the modal damping ratios decreased. The second load-case was an uncontrolled mass-event where a large group of pedestrians travelled over the bridge as two cars stood stationary at the quarter-point of the span. A large increase (146%) of the damping ratio was observed while the natural frequency of the first mode decreased 4%. This change was suggested come from the human structure interaction (HSI) partially because the natural frequency of the human body is close to the first vertical frequency of the bridge thus making humans act like dampers on the bridge when close to resonance, and that the number of pedestrians contribute to the modal mass of the system, thus decreasing the natural frequency.