Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations

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 possibilit...

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Main Authors: Prendergast, Luke J., Hester, David, Gavin, Kenneth
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society of Civil Engineers 2016
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55018/
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author Prendergast, Luke J.
Hester, David
Gavin, Kenneth
author_facet Prendergast, Luke J.
Hester, David
Gavin, Kenneth
author_sort Prendergast, Luke J.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description 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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spelling nottingham-550182018-09-18T07:47:07Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55018/ Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations Prendergast, Luke J. Hester, David Gavin, Kenneth 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. American Society of Civil Engineers 2016-10 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55018/1/JBridgeEng_ScourPaper_Repository.pdf Prendergast, Luke J., Hester, David and Gavin, Kenneth (2016) Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations. Journal of Bridge Engineering, 21 (10). 04016065. ISSN 1943-5592 http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000931 doi:10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000931 doi:10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000931
spellingShingle Prendergast, Luke J.
Hester, David
Gavin, Kenneth
Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations
title Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations
title_full Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations
title_fullStr Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations
title_full_unstemmed Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations
title_short Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations
title_sort determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55018/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55018/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55018/