The wavelength characteristic is a useful clue for locating and assessing the severity of slope
discontinuity in beams. In this study, the slope discontinuity of a beam is represented by an
internal hinge restrained by elastic springs, and the wavelength of the beam is calculated
indirectly from the vertical response of a test vehicle during its travel over the beam. The key
parameters of the problem at hand are ¯rst unveiled using an approximate, closed-form solution
for the response of the vehicle moving at low speeds over the bridge. Then a two-beam element
model with slope discontinuity is formulated for the vehicle–bridge interaction (VBI) system
for use in numerical simulation. In the examples, the wavenumber-based response of the
test vehicle is used to identify the location and severity of the discontinuity in the beam.
It is demonstrated that the wavelength-based technique presented herein by using the moving
test vehicle as a moving sensor system o®ers a promising, alternative approach for damage
detection in girder type bridges.
Relation:
International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics 17(6), 1750060 (21 pages)
