Comparative Study of Different Numerical Models for Vehicle-Bridge Interaction Analysis

In this paper, a comprehensive comparative study on several existing vehicle-bridge interaction (VBI) models is presented with the aim to provide a useful reference to the selection of vehicle and bridge models when conducting the VBI simulation. A simply-supported slab-on-girder highway bridge and the AASHTO HS20-44 vehicle are adopted in the numerical analysis. The bridge is modeled as an Euler-Bernoulli beam, grillage, plate-and-beam system and solid-element system, respectively, while the vehicle is modeled as a moving-force, moving-mass and spring-damper-mass (SDM) system, respectively. Other factors, including the road roughness and the contact condition between the vehicle tire and bridge, are also considered. The effects of different VBI models on the bridge responses are studied and the results from different models are compared in terms of their accuracy, efficiency and suitability. The results show that the accuracy of different types of bridge responses calculated varies with the number of bridge vibration modes used in the simulation. It is also found that the type of element used in the bridge model and the vehicle tire model both have a larger impact on the bridge acceleration than bridge deflection.