Vibration Serviceability Assessment of a Historic Suspension Footbridge

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