Experimental and numerical analysis of the dynamic characteristics of a bridge pier model

Abstract eng:
Free vibration in situ experiments on a bridge pier model structure have been performed in the framework of the European research project EUROSEISRISK, EVG1-CT-200100040). The aim of the paper is to model numerically the pier response and to compare the numerical response with the experimental one. The evaluation of the dynamic characteristics of the soil-foundation-pier system in terms of various inertial and stiffness configurations is the main goal of the present work. The surface ground motion and the foundation –pier response have been recorded by numerous sensors. The exponential decay of the time histories recorded provide the damping of the system whereas the study of the time histories in the frequency domain,, provides the value of the frequency that dominates the motion, which is equal with the translational eigenfrequency of the model. Taking into account the linear elastic behavior of the soil-foundation-superstructure system, modal analysis is suitable for the investigation of the bridge pier model characteristics in terms of eigenfrequencies. The numerical modeling highlights additional information concerning the torsional mode of vibration. A set of tendons connecting the foundation with the superstructure is an additional factor affecting the dynamic characteristics and the presence of the torsional and translational on the strong axis mode of vibration. Based on the very good comparison between the numerical and experimental results, we further investigated the role of the SSI on the structure’s eigenfrequencies.

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