Development of a Vehicle-Bridge-Soil Dynamic Interaction Model for Scour Damage Modelling

Damage detection in bridges using vibration-based methods is an area of growing research interest. Improved assessment<br/>methodologies combined with state-of-the-art sensor technology are rapidly making these approaches applicable for real-world<br/>structures. Applying these techniques to the detection and monitoring of scour around bridge foundations has remained<br/>challenging; however this area has gained attraction in recent years. Several authors have investigated a range of methods but<br/>there is still significant work required to achieve a rounded and widely applicable methodology to detect and monitor scour.This<br/>paper presents a novel Vehicle-Bridge-Soil Dynamic Interaction (VBSDI) model which can be used to simulate the effect of scour<br/>on an integral bridge. The model outputs dynamic signals which can be analysed to determine modal parameters and the variation<br/>of these parameters with respect to scour can be examined.The key novelty of this model is that it is the first numerical model for<br/>simulating scour that combines a realistic vehicle loadingmodel with a robust foundation soil responsemodel.This paper provides a<br/>description of the model development and explains the mathematical theory underlying themodel. Finally a case study application<br/>of the model using typical bridge, soil, and vehicle properties is provided.