There is currently a need for more precise knowledge of the load limits of this type of bridge when supporting increasingly faster and heavier trains, which requires the adaptation of prevention technology to address these changes.
As a result of the unique characteristics of this type of bridge and their age, there has been a lack of interest in the development of modern techniques to facilitate their maintenance. Nevertheless, there are a considerable number of these bridges in service, with masonry bridges accounting for 45% of all of the railway bridges in Spain, and there is growing interest in them in terms of their historic value.
The project’s goal is to generate a new acoustic surveying methodology to assess the dynamic performance characteristics of masonry structures to make it possible to maintain stonework or brickwork railway structures.
Some of the specific scientific-technical goals include:
- Formulate proposed criteria to guide the selection of the optimum level of excitation, in addition to the preferred methodology for calibrating models, for the dynamic characterization of masonry bridges (optimum BiME)
- Validate a new procedure for two representative structures, using four levels of excitation and different EMA and OMA techniques for dynamic characterization.
- Determine whether or not level E4 dynamic excitation should be used, due to the appearance of some type of non-linear behavior.
- Determine whether or not the non-linear FEM-DEM models need to be adjusted to reproduce the dynamic structural behavior.
- Experimental testing to verify the proposal formulated to choose the optimum BiME.
- Propose equivalent linear models to predict the dynamic behavior of masonry bridges.
- Demonstrate the capacity for predictive analysis
The technical capabilities of the participants bring together INSE RAIL’s extensive experience in other projects in the industry, the research potential of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and the technological innovation of TRES and HAMERTEC.
Source: Inse Rail
