Evaluation of a road bridge dynamic response to ambient excitation by wavelet and other estimation techniques

A dynamic test was performed over a bridge located in northern Italy. The dynamic measures were analyzed by means of four different techniques to seek for the best algorithm within those appropriate for the identification of dynamic systems excited by unknown input. The bridge under test was excited by the flowing traffic and by some other unmeasured excitations as wind or other ground micromovements. A finite element model was set up using eight nodes brick elements based only on a rough sketch of the bridge which was used to optimize the position of the reference accelerometers.