Identifying the relationship between suspension parameters of underframe equipment and carbody modal frequency

As a critical component of the railway vehicle, underframe equipment has a great influence on the ride comfort of railway vehicles due to their big mass and active vibration. Therefore, study on the relationship between suspension parameters of underframe equipment and the modal frequency of carbody is extremely crucial for con trolling the ride quality of railway vehicles. In this paper, a finite element model of the carbody was developed to investigate the effects of the suspension location, the mass of the suspension equipment, and the suspension frequency on the mode of the carbody. Then, the matching relationship between the suspension parameters and the modal frequency of the carbody was studied through the transfer function. In addition, roller rig tests were performed to verify the numerical simulation model of the carbody. The results show that the suspension parameters of the underframe equipment have a great influence on the mode of the carbody, especially for the frequency of the first bending mode. To improve the frequency of carbody highfrequency bending and reduce energy transfer, equipment with a large mass should be suspended toward the middle of the carbody. The weight of the equipment strongly affects the first bending frequency and energy transfer of the carbody. The frequency of heavy suspended equipment should be sufficiently low to increase the transmissibility of high frequencies and improve the vibration characteristics of the carbody. Although the bending frequency of the carbody can be improved effec tively by increasing the suspension stiffness of thesuspension equipment, in order to reduce carbody vibration effectively, the suspension frequency of the equipment should be slightly lower than the carbody bending frequency.

Modal Identification of Offshore Platforms Using Statistical Method Based on ERA

Identification of modal parameters of a linear structure with output-only measurements has received much attention over the past decades. In the paper, the Natural Excitation Technique (NExT) is used for acquisition of the impulse signals from the structural responses. Then Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA) is utilized for modal identification. For disregarding the fictitious ‘computational modes', a procedure, Statistically Averaging Modal Frequency Method (SAMFM), is developed to distinguish the true modes from noise modes, and to improve the precision of the identified modal frequencies of the structure. An offshore platform is modeled with the finite element method. The theoretical modal parameters are obtained for a comparison with the identified values. The dynamic responses of the platform under random wave loading are computed for providing the output signals used for identification with ERA. Results of simulation demonstrate that the proposed method can determine the system modal frequency with high precision.

Structural condition assessment of long-span suspension bridges using long-term monitoring data

This paper focuses on developing an online structural condition assessment technique using long-term monitoring data measured by a structural health monitoring system. The seasonal correlations of frequency-temperature and beam-end displacement-temperature for the Runyang Suspension Bridge are performed, first. Then, a statistical modeling technique using a six-order polynomial is further applied to formulate the correlations of frequency-temperature and displacement-temperature, from which abnormal changes of measured frequencies and displacements are detected using the mean value control chart. Analysis results show that modal frequencies of higher vibration modes and displacements have remarkable seasonal correlations with the environmental temperature and the proposed method exhibits a good capability for detecting the micro damage-induced changes of modal frequencies and displacements. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively eliminate temperature complications from frequency and displacement time series and is well suited for online condition monitoring of long-span suspension bridges.

Assessment of structural damage using natural frequency changes

The present paper develops a new method for damage localization and severity estimation based on the employment of modal strain energy. This method is able to determine the damage locations and estimate their severities, requiring only the information about the changes of a few lower natural frequencies. First, a damage quantification method is formulated and iterative approach is adopted for determining the damage extent. Then a damage localization algorithm is proposed, in which a damage indicator is formulated where unity value corresponds to the true damage scenario. Finally, numerical studies and model tests are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed algorithm.

Vibration of axially moving beam supported by viscoelastic foundation

In this paper, transverse vibration of an axially moving beam supported by a viscoelastic foundation is analyzed by a complex modal analysis method. The equation of motion is developed based on the generalized Hamilton＇s principle. Eigenvalues and eigenfunctions are semi-analytically obtained. The governing equation is represented in a canonical state space form, which is defined by two matrix differential operators. The orthogonality of the eigenfunctions and the adjoint eigenfunctions is used to decouple the system in the state space. The responses of the system to arbitrary external excitation and initial conditions are expressed in the modal expansion. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed approach. The effects of the foundation parameters on free and forced vibration are examined.

Rigid Bridges Health Dynamic Monitoring Using 100 Hz GPS Single-Frequency and Accelerometers

This article presents the modal frequency recordings of a rigid bridge, monitored by the GPS receivers (Global Positioning System) with a data recording rate of 100 Hz and accelerometers. The GPS data processing was performed through the double-difference phase, using the adjusted interferometry technique (i.e. phase residue method—PRM&reg). In the method, the double-difference phase of the carrier L1 is realized by using two satellites only, one was positioned at the zenith of the structure and the other satellite was positioned near the horizon. The results of the parametric adjustment of the PRM observations were finalized through software Interferometry, mathematical algorithm were applied and compared with the accelerometer. The comparison served to validate the use of GPS as a fast and reliable instrument for the preliminary monitoring of the dynamic behavior of the bridge, road artworks which are common in several countries, especially in the Brazilian road network. The data time series from the GPS and accelerometers were processed using the Wavelet. The detection of frequencies means that the combination of 100 Hz GPS receivers and the PRM allows detecting vibrations up to 5 mm. It presented significant results which were never obtained by the Fourier Transform.