Moving force identification based on the frequency-time domain method

This paper addresses the problem on the identification of moving vehicle axle loads based on measured bridge responses using a frequency-time domain method. The focus is on the evaluation of two solutions to the overdetermined set of equations established as part of the identification method. The two solutions are (i) direct calculation of the pseudo-inverse and (ii) calculation of the pseudo-inverse via the singular value decomposition (SVD) technique. For this purpose, a bridge-vehicle system model was fabricated in the laboratory and the bending moment responses of bridge model were measured as a two-axle vehicle model moved across the bridge deck. The moving axle loads are then calculated from the measured responses via the two solutions to the over-determined set of equations. The effects of changes in the bridge-vehicle system, measurement and algorithm parameters on the two solutions are evaluated. Case studies show that the moving force identification is more feasible and its accuracy acceptable with the use of the SVD technique. This technique can effectively enhance the identification method and improve the identification accuracy over that of the direct pseudo-inverse solution.     

Dynamic axle and wheel loads identification: laboratory studies

Two methods have been reported by Zhu and Law to identify moving loads on the top of a bridge deck. One is based on the exact solution (ESM) and the other is based on the finite element formulation (FEM). Simulation studies on the effect of different influencing factors have been reported previously. This paper comparatively studies the performances of these two methods with experimental measurements obtained from a bridge/vehicle system in the laboratory. The strains of the bridge deck are measured when a model car moves across the bridge deck along different paths. The moving loads on the bridge deck are identified from the measured strains using these two methods, and the responses are reconstructed from the identified loads for comparison with the measured responses to verify the performances of these methods. Studies on the identification accuracy due to the effect of the number of vibration mode used, the number of measuring points and eccentricities of travelling paths are performed. Results show that the ESM could identify the moving loads individually or as axle loads when they are travelling at an eccentricity with the sensors located close to the travelling path of the forces. And the accuracy of the FEM is dependent on the amount of measured information used in the identification.     

Modal identification based on continuous wavelet transform and ambient excitation tests

This paper deals with the use of the continuous wavelet transform for modal identification from ambient vibration tests. The wavelet analysis of the free responses of a linear mechanical system has been used to estimate its natural frequencies, viscous damping ratios, and mode shapes, using either the modulus or the phase of the wavelet transform with “ridge” and “skeleton” notions. This technique is extended in this paper, to the response from ambient excitation tests based on the equivalent formulation between the free response and the correlation function of a linear mechanical system under stationary stochastic excitation. The main novelties involve the new formulation of continuous wavelet transform and the use of the singular value decomposition algorithm for ridges and skeleton detection under the noisy conditions of ambient vibration tests. A complete procedure for modal identification of ambient response, including these new formulations, is presented and then applied to numerical examples and experimental test to illustrate its validity.     

Maximum likelihood identification of non-stationary operational data

In-operation modal analysis has become a valid alternative for structures where a classic input-output test would be difficult if not impossible to conduct. Due to practical considerations, measurements are sometimes performed in patches (roving sensor setups) instead of covering the entire structure at once. In practice, one is often confronted with non-stationary ambient excitation sources (e.g., wind, traffic, waves, etc.). Since the scaling of operational mode shape estimates depends on the unknown level of the ambient excitation, an extra effort is required in order to correctly merge the different parts of the mode shapes. In this contribution, two different approaches, for merging operational mode shapes from non-stationary data, are proposed. Both methods are based upon a single maximum likelihood estimation procedure. For comparison and validation, both techniques were applied to non-stationary data sets obtained by scanning laser vibrometry as well as the Z24 bridge bench mark data.     

HEALTH-MONITORING METHOD FOR BRIDGES UNDER ORDINARY TRAFFIC LOADINGS

A method for damage estimation of a bridge structure is presented using ambient vibration data caused by the traffic loadings. The procedure consists of identification of the operational modal properties and the assessment of damage locations and severities. An experimental study is carried out on a bridge model with a composite cross-section subjected to vehicle loadings. Vertical accelerations of the bridge deck are measured while vehicles are running. The modal parameters are identified from the free-decay signals extracted using the random decrement method. The damage assessment is carried out based on the estimated modal parameters using the neural networks technique. As input to the neural networks, the ratios of the resonant frequencies between before and after damages and the mode shapes after the damages are used to take into account the mass effect of the traffic on the bridge. The identified damage locations and severities agree reasonably well with the inflicted damages on the structure.     

复杂电磁环境下的信号盲分离方法

介绍了基于盲源分离的信号处理基本思想,阐述了ICA,SOBI,AMUSE三种典型算法的原理、特点,通过仿真实验研究了这三种盲源分离算法对于常见波形信号和真实信号的分离性能及其抗噪能力,验证了算法的有效性和可行性。三种方法对于抑制干扰信号,进行信号的有效提取具有实际意义和使用价值。     

TIME-FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF A SUSPENSION BRIDGE BASED ON GPS

This paper describes the results obtained from full-scale measurements of Humen bridge, which is the second longest suspension bridge in China. A real-time kinematic (RTK) global positioning system (GPS) has been developed and installed on the Humen bridge for on-line monitoring of bridge deck movements. The field wind-induced vibration data were measured by this monitoring system. Three system identification techniques are then adopted in the modal analysis of the wind-induced vibration response: the time-frequency Wigner distribution (WD) technique, the frequency-domain fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique and the time-domain auto-regressive moving average vector (ARMAV) technique. The WD technique can recognize close modal coupling and non-stationary response. The FFT technique can on site verify the quality of the measurements, but its frequency resolution is low and damping estimates are unreliable. The ARMAV method allows for gaining high-frequency resolution. However, it is strictly related to the stationary hypothesis. It is a general conclusion that we can improve the quality of the analysis and get more precise characteristics of the signal by these three methods. In addition, the WD combined with ARMAV seems to be the best case in quantitative analysis of fast-changing vibration signals.     

Modal parameter identification through Gabor expansion of response signals

A new method of identifying modal parameters by decomposing response signals with Gabor transform is presented in this paper to estimate natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes of linear time invariant systems. According to Gabor expansion theory, responses of a multi-degree-of-freedom system can be decomposed into uncoupled signal components, each vibrating at a single natural frequency. From these uncoupled signals, modal parameters are subsequently extracted with common methods. The proposed method can process stationary and non-stationary responses and requires no input signal except for the response signals generated by unknown excitation acting on a system. In the sense of less restriction on the in-out signals, the approach based on time-frequency decomposition is very general. A simulation study on a simply supported beam under non-stationary excitation has demonstrated that the proposed method is effective in parameter estimation.     

Numerical and experimental analysis of uncertainty on modal parameters estimated with the stochastic subspace method

Modal parameters of structures are often used as inputs for finite element model updating, vibration control, structural design or structural health monitoring (SHM). In order to test the robustness of these methods, it is a common practice to introduce uncertainty on the eigenfrequencies and modal damping coefficients under the form of a Gaussian perturbation, while the uncertainty on the mode shapes is modeled in the form of independent Gaussian noise at each measured location. A more rigorous approach consists however in adding uncorrelated noise on the time domain responses at each sensor before proceeding to an operational modal analysis. In this paper, we study in detail the resulting uncertainty when modal analysis is performed using the stochastic subspace identification method. A Monte-Carlo simulation is performed on a simply supported beam, and the uncertainty on a set of 5000 modal parameters identified with the stochastic subspace identification method is discussed. Next, 4000 experimental modal identifications of a small clamped–free steel plate equipped with 8 piezoelectric patches are performed in order to confirm the conclusions drawn in the numerical case study. In particular, the results point out that the uncertainty on eigenfrequencies and modal damping coefficients may exhibit a non-normal distribution, and that there is a non-negligible spatial correlation between the uncertainty on mode shapes at sensors of different locations.     

An analysis of the distortion effects of Coulomb damping on the vector plots of lightly damped systems

An analysis of the vector plot responses of lightly damped single degree-of-freedom systems with Coulomb damping has been made. The vector plots, as derived by using both an exact and an approximate method (the method of harmonic balance) are compared and it is shown that the distortion of the normally circular vector locus is due to the Coulomb damping. Although the vector plots of such systems are distorted it is also shown that the frequency gradient criterion is still applicable for location of a natural frequency even when the frictional force levels approach the excitation force levels. To permit estimation of the modal damping of these systems a criterion by means of which the limits of the useful frequency range can be specified is suggested. The criterion, which is based upon the quadrature input power necessary to excite the mode of vibration, is found to be equivalent to that obtained from the half power point theory when applied to linear systems.     

Estimation of fatigue life of railway bridges under traffic loads

Random modelling of railway bridge loading enables fatigue damage to be calculated on the basis of the cumulative damage theory of Palmgren-Miner and the classification of the stress-time history by means of the “rain-flow” counting method. The results of calculations are the mean value of the damage and the standard deviation of the stresses, and thus an estimation of the bridge fatigue life. Accordingly the bridge life is dependent on the number of stress cycles and their distribution, the standard deviation of stresses, and on the shape of the Wöhler curve. Bridge life increasing span and decreases with an increasing traffic load. Results are presented as obtained in a detailed study of the effects on the bridge life of different parameters (vehicle speed, damping of bridge vibrations, variability in length and time of the moving load and its magnitude, number of stress cycles and their distribution). The equivalent damage method (the λ_T-method) in the integral form enables one to compare the effects of the traffic loads with those of the standard loading.     

Extended Kalman filter for modal identification of structures equipped with a pendulum tuned mass damper

Pendulum tuned mass dampers (PTMDs) have been employed in several full-scale applications to attenuate excessive structural motions, which are mostly due to wind. Conducting periodic condition assessments of the devices to ascertain their health is necessary to ensure their continued optimal performance, which involves identifying the modal parameters of the underlying (bare) structure to which they are tuned to. Such an identification is also necessary for the design of control systems such as adaptive tuned mass dampers. Existing methods of arresting the motion of the damper to estimate the modal properties are expensive, time-consuming, and not suitable for online tuning. Instead, in this paper, parameter estimation using the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is proposed to undertake this task. The central task accomplished here is to estimate the dynamic characteristics of the bare structure (structure without the PTMD) from response measurements of the coupled main structure and PTMD system. The proposed methodology relies on ambient acceleration measurements of TMD-attenuated responses to estimate the bare structural modal frequencies, damping, and mode shapes, which can then be used either for condition assessment or for control. The application of EKF to modal parameter estimation is not new. However, a methodology to address the problem in wind engineering arising from stochastic disturbances present in both the measurement and state equations, and unknown process and noise covariances arising due to ambient excitations, is presented for the first time. Extensively studied for synthetic data, these two challenges have limited thus far the application of Kalman filtering to practical wind engineering parameter estimation problems using experimentally obtained measurements. In this paper, a detailed methodology is presented to address these challenges by using a modified form of the standard EKF equations, together with an algorithm to estimate the unknown disturbance and measurement noise covariances. Numerical simulations and an experimental study are both presented. Results demonstrate that the method proposed provides reliable estimates for the modal parameters required to perform condition assessment and control tasks for pendulum tuned mass dampers.     

PRACTICAL ASPECTS IN MOVING LOAD IDENTIFICATION

Several methods have been developed in recent years to identify moving loads on top of a continuous beam using measured vibration responses. The methods can identify the forces with some accuracy, but they have not been tested under field measurement conditions with a bridge-vehicle system. This paper discusses the weaknesses and merits of two methods when applied to a single-span bridge deck. The influence, on the moving load identification, of practical aspects such as measurement noise, sampling frequency, a small number of measured response modes, a small number of measuring points, road surface roughness and non-uniform velocity or braking of vehicle is studied in simulations and experiment. Results show that finite element approach with orthogonal function approximation of the responses give more accurate results, in general, than the exact solution approach for all the studies presented in this paper. The road surface roughness and a large variation in the speed are identified as the two main obstacles leading to erroneous results.     

A note on structural damping of ship hulls

Existing information on the structural damping of ships is far from satisfactory. It cannot be calculated and it can only be measured in the presence of hydrodynamic damping, whose nature and magnitude are also somewhat obscure. Yet it is very important.Symmetric responses to wave excitation can be estimated on the basis of existing hydrodynamic theories, with use of rough estimates of hull damping; our limited knowledge of structural damping is then only likely to be a handicap with heavy slender ships and/or fast ships. Much less is known about antisymmetric responses to waves, either as regards the means of estimating them or the appropriate levels of hull damping.Vibration at higher frequencies, due to excitation by machinery (notably propellers), is limited by structural damping to a much greater extent that it is by the fluid actions of the sea. Damping measurements at these frequencies therefore give more accurate estimates of hull damping. Even so, the estimation of ship vibration responses to excitation by machinery remains a matter of considerable difficulty.     

Forced transverse vibrations of an elastically connected complex simply supported double-beam system

The present paper is devoted to analyzing undamped forced transverse vibrations of an elastically connected complex double-beam system. The problem is formulated and solved in the case of simply supported beams. The classical modal expansion method is applied to ascertain dynamic responses of beams due to arbitrarily distributed continuous loads. Several cases of particularly interesting excitation loadings are investigated. The action of stationary harmonic loads and moving forces is considered. In discussing vibrations caused by exciting harmonic forces, conditions of resonance and dynamic vibration absorption are determined. The beam-type dynamic absorber is a new concept of a continuous dynamic vibration absorber (CDVA), which can be applied to suppress excessive vibrations of corresponding beam systems. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the theoretical analysis.     

Suspended bridges subjected to moving loads and support motions due to earthquake

The paper deals with the vibration of suspended bridges subjected to the simultaneous action of moving loads and vertical support motions due to earthquake. The basic partial integro-differential equation is applied to the vertical vibration of a suspended beam. The dynamic actions of traffic loads are modelled as a row of equidistant moving forces, while the earthquake is considered by vertical motions of supports. The governing equation is solved first analytically to receive an ordinary differential equation and next numerically. Moreover, the designed world's largest suspended bridge—Messina Bridge—is investigated (central span of length 3.3 km). The paper studies the effect of various lags of the earthquake arrival because the earthquake may appear at any time when the train moves along a large-span bridge. The modified Kobe earthquake records have been applied to calculations. The results indicate that the interaction of both the moving and seismic forces may substantially amplify the response of long-span suspended bridges in the vicinity of the supports and increase with the rising speed of trains.     

Identification of structural systems with full characteristic matrices under single point excitation

The aim of “System Identification” is to determine modal and system properties of structural systems. This is while in “Damage Detection”, the identification of system characteristic matrices is as important as or even more important than the identification of frequency characteristics. Because of various constraints – i.e. difficulties in force excitation of structures due to their large size, geometry, and location – in practice only single excitation and partial measurement, at selected degrees of freedom, is possible. In this paper, a single dynamic load was applied to identify a structural system only along one of the degrees of freedom of the structure. Further, responses corresponding to a few degrees of freedom were also measured. To identify a system with this sort of restricted information, a new approach was introduced enabling identification of the structure?s parameters of mass, damping and stiffness. Taking into account the significant effect of noise reduction in improving system identification accuracy levels, a noise reduction technique was also proposed. The accuracy of the method was also assessed against noise level and location of single excitation. It was shown that as noise level increases, identification errors will also increase (less than 3.5 percent). It was further observed that applying single force at the first storey of the flexural structure would yield the lowest error levels in the identification results. Later, the method?s efficiency and precision were examined through the application of a “closed loop solution” to a six-storey flexural structure, and a four-span Pratt truss. The obtained results showed that the proposed method could act as an effective model in identification of system properties.     

Sliding window proper orthogonal decomposition: Application to linear and nonlinear modal identification

The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) method is a tool well adapted to analyze vector signals whereas Continuous Gabor Transform (CGT) is suitable for scalar signal with multi-frequency components. In this paper, a method named Sliding Window Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (SWPOD) combining POD and CGT to analyze Multi-Degrees-Of-Freedom (MDOF) vibration system responses is presented. SWPOD gives access to the evolution of the coherent spacial structures and their frequency components versus time. The method is of principal interest in the case of swept-sine excitation of linear or nonlinear systems to access the resonance frequencies, mode shapes and modal damping ratios. A procedure is proposed to extract the linear and nonlinear normal modes of weakly damped MDOF mechanical systems and illustrated using numerical examples.     

Optimal design of passive viscous dampers for controlling the resonant response of orthotropic plates under high-speed moving loads

In this article, the resonant response of plates traversed by moving loads is addressed being its main application the dynamic performance of railway bridges under high-speed traffic. An innovative alternative to reduce the deck inadmissible oscillations that may appear in short simply supported structures in resonant conditions is proposed, based on artificially increasing the superstructure damping by retrofitting the deck with fluid viscous dampers. A particular auxiliary structure transforming the deck vertical deflection into relative movement within the devices is envisaged, being the main objectives of the study to optimise the retrofitting system parameters and to prove its efficiency under the action of railway vehicles. For these purposes, the retrofitted deck behaviour is first investigated using an orthotropic plate model under harmonic excitation. On the basis of an analytical approach, a dimensionless version of the equations of motion is presented, the governing parameters are extracted and an intensive sensitivity analysis of the plate response is performed. Finally, analytical closed-form expressions for the optimal dampers constants are derived and their adequacy is numerically evaluated. To this end, an existing bridge belonging to the Spanish Railway network is analysed using a three-dimensional finite element code specifically programmed by the authors for this application. In the end the controlling effect of the retrofitting system and the applicability of the optimal parameters analytical expressions are proven for a wide range of circulating velocities.     

Dynamic stability of a rotating beam with a constrained damping layer

The dynamic behavior and dynamic instability of the rotating sandwich beam with a constrained damping layer subjected to axial periodic loads are studied by the finite element method. The influences of rotating speed, thickness ratio, setting angle and hub radius ratio on the resonant frequencies and modal system loss factors are presented. The regions of instability for simple and combination resonant frequencies are determined from the Mathieu equation that is obtained from the parametric excitation of the rotating sandwich beam. The regions of dynamic instability for various parameters are presented.