Suppression of Bridge Vibration Induced by Moving Vehicles Using Pounding Tuned Mass Dampers

The dynamic responses of bridges induced by vehicles moving on poor road surfaces usually exceed those that are anticipated on highway bridges, thus the tuned mass damper (TMD) was studied to suppress dynamic responses of bridge structures. In this study, a new pounding tuned mass damper (PTMD), which dissipates energy through pounding between the tuned mass and the viscoelastic layer, was designed to reduce the traffic-induced bridge vibration. The effectiveness of PTMDs for suppressing vibrations of bridges under vehicle loads was first studied considering the road surface conditions. A three-dimensional vehicle model, a bridge structure, and a PTMD system were used in the simulation of the vehicle/bridge/PTMD coupled system. The vehicle/bridge/PTMD coupled equations were established by combining the equations of motion of both the bridge and vehicles, and the displacement and interaction force relationship between a tire and road surface condition was used. Comprehensive numerical simulations were performed on four bridges in both single-vehicle and multiple-vehicle cases in traffic flows with the PTMD system. For the purpose of comparing the suppressing effect, two cases of the TMD and PTMD installed on the vehicle/bridge coupled system were studied. The numerical simulations demonstrated that, for the same number of vehicles in traffic flows moving across the same bridge, the vibration suppression was more effective for cases with the PTMD than with the TMD. For the same PTMD installed on the same position of the bridge, the vibration suppression was more effective for cases with multiple vehicles in traffic flows passing over the bridge than with only one vehicle.