Soil-Structure Interaction Analysis of Portal Frame Railway Bridges : Numerical Analysis of Two Case Study Bridges

Abstract: This thesis concerns dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) analysis of portal framerailway bridges. Dynamic problems are common for bridges used for high speedrailway traffic. The passing trains induce harmonic loads on the bridges causingvibration amplitudes that may cause damage to the bridge structures and userdiscomfort.Previous studies have shown that the effects of SSI are substantial for short spanportal frame bridges. The damping ratio of the system is greatly increased due to theenergy dissipation properties of the surrounding soil causing significant changes in thedynamic response of the structure. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the effectsof SSI for portal frame bridges with longer spans.Two case study bridges with span lengths of approximately 16m have been investigatedin detail in this study. Dynamic analyses of the bridges and train passage simulationshave been performed. The results show that SSI significantly increases the dampingratio which leads to lower vibration amplitudes. It is also possible to draw theconclusion that more accurate results are achieved when modeling fixed foundationsrather than using static spring foundations to replicate the stiffness of the subsoil.Moreover, a simplified modeling approach accounting for the effects of SSI is proposed.The proposed method provides satisfactory results, but more future work may increasethe quality of the results further. To validate the conclusions from this study, a proposalfor experimental validation is presented. Performing full-scale dynamic tests on thestudied bridges would enable further comparison and validation of the results.