Dynamic Bridge Response for a Bridge-friendly Truck

摘要

A truck with controlled semi-active suspensions traversing a bridge is examined for benefits to the bridge structure. The original concept of a road-friendly truck was extended to a bridge-friendly vehicle, using the same optimization tools. A half-car model with two independently driven axles is coupled with simply supported bridges (beam, slab model) with the span range from 5m to 50 m. Surface profile of the bridge deck is either stochastic or in the shape of a bump or a pot in the mid-span. Numerical integration in the MATIAB/SIMULINK environment solves coupled dynamic equations of motion with optimized truck suspensions. The rear axle generates the prevailing load and to a great extent determines the bridge response. A significant decrease in contact road-tire forces is observed and the mid-span bridge deflections are on average smaller, when compared to commercial passive suspensions.