Dynamic response of a box-girder bridge using the finite element technique

While constructing any bridge, the dynamic performance of the structure is a very important consideration. The interaction among wheel–rail–bridge is a sophisticated phenomenon, and thus requires advanced methods to understand the dynamic response of the system. In this study, a finite element three-dimensional model of a box-girder bridge along with the railway sub-track system is developed to predict its dynamic behavior due to different combinations of the railway system. The modeling and evaluation of the bridge and sub-track systems were performed using non-closed-form finite element method-based ANSYS software. The analysis was done considering parameters like load combinations, speed of moving vehicles, and rail pad stiffness. From the analysis, the dynamic responses of the bridge in terms of total deformation, velocity, equivalent stresses and accelerations were obtained. The load case study showed the variation in responses due to different load combinations and thus, worst load combination was obtained. Speed parametric study showed that on increasing the speed the deflection of rail section increases and therefore an upper speed limit needed to be defined. Moreover, the stiffness study of the rail pad showed that there is need to select optimum stiffness to maintain balance between the rail section deflection and corrugation of material. This study will help the designers obtain relevant information for further analysis of the dynamic behavior of the bridge model. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.