TU Darmstadt HUMVIB-Bridge
(2016)
The simulation of the human-induced vibrations of lightweight footbridges is in general a complex problem where the dynamics of the pedestrian system meets the structural dynamics of the bridge. However, standard methods for numerical analysis of pedestrian bridges deal with this issue by using simplified approaches. The structure is mostly represented either by discretised multi mass systems or through a formulation in modal coordinates, while the excitation is typically described by a moving load.
Positive effects of the interaction between the two systems (pedestrian and structure) are usually completely neglected. This paper, which is partially
extracted from an actual research report of the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design (TU Darmstadt), presents an experimental set-up developed for investigations of the human-structure interaction (HSI), as well as results of the preliminary investigations carried out in the same context.
The present contribution proposes a novel method for the indirect measurement of the ground reaction forces (GRF) induced by a pedestrian during walking on a vibrating structure. Its main idea is to formulate and solve an inverse problem in the time domain with the aim of finding the optimal time dependent moving point force describing the GRF of a pedestrian (input data), which minimizes the difference between a set of computed and a set of measured structural responses (output data). The solution of the inverse problem is addressed by means of the gradient-based trust region optimization strategy. The moving force identification process uses output data from a set of acceleration and displacement time histories recorded at different locations on the structure. The practicability and the accuracy of the proposed GRF identification method is firstly evaluated using simulated measurements, which revealed a high accuracy, robustness and stability of the results in relation to high noise levels. Subsequently, a comprehensive experimental validation process using real measurement data recorded on the HUMVIB experimental footbridge on the campus of the Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany) was carried out. Besides the conventional sensors for the acquisition of structural responses, an array of biomechanical force plates as well as classical load cells at the supports were used for measurement reference GRFs needed in the experimental validation process. The results show that the proposed method delivers a very accurate estimation of the GRF induced by a subject during walking on the experimental structure.