Using an instrumented vehicle to estimate surface roughness of a bridge

Abstract

Bridge parameter identification based on vehicle-bridge interaction theory and da-ta extracted from the vehicle response has many potential applications. However, its real ap-plication is restricted, partly due to the bridge surface roughness, which can significantly contaminate the vehicle response data and make parameter identification hard or even im-possible. If the bridge surface roughness can be detected with satisfactory accuracy, then it is possible to eliminate its uncertain effect on the vehicle-bridge interaction, which will facili-tate more accurate identification. This study aims to provide a way to estimate the surface roughness profile of a bridge using the acceleration data gathered from a vehicle running on the bridge twice with different masses. The mass-spring-damper model is used to simulate the moving vehicle. Finite element simulation results show that this method is able to estimate the surface roughness profile accurately.