Vibration Serviceability Assessment of a Historic Suspension Footbridge

Experimental and numerical studies for the structural and vibration serviceability assessment of a historic suspension footbridge adopting non-invasive surveys and low-cost equipment are presented. Field surveys have been carried out to determine geometric properties, ambient vibration tests have been performed to estimate the dynamic properties, and the dynamic response of the footbridge under the action of a single crossing pedestrian has been recorded. Based on field surveys, a 3D Finite Element model was built and was then calibrated against ambient vibration test results. The experimentally-measured maximum acceleration under the action of one crossing pedestrian is compared with the ones obtained numerically and analytically. Furthermore, vibration serviceability assessment under multi-pedestrian loading is carried out, adopting the simplified procedure recommended by a recent guideline. Results show that low-cost non-invasive dynamic testing is suitable to correctly identify the footbridge vertical natural frequencies and mode shapes, including higher-order ones, and to draw considerations about the state of degradation of the structure. Moreover, the level of vibration under the action of a single pedestrian can be estimated with sufficient accuracy using a simplified loading model, provided that the modal damping ratio is properly tuned.