Dynamic Performance Analysis of the Towers of a Long-Span Bridge Based on GPS Monitoring Technique

• Main Authors: Mosbeh R. Kaloop, Jong Wan Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of Sensors
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7494817

The present study investigates the parameter identification and the dynamic performance of a long-span bridge tower based on the output of a global positioning system (GPS) health monitoring system. The random decrement (RD) algorithm is used to estimate the tower displacement impulse response. Three methods are applied to extract the dynamic performance including least squares complex exponential (LSCE) method, Hilbert envelope method (HEM), and eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA). Results reveal that the HEM and LSCE method are more suitable to extract fundamental frequency and modal and damping ratios of the tower. Furthermore, the dynamic properties and statistical time series analysis of the GPS measurements illustrate that the traffic loads have a high significant impact on the semistatic and dynamic performances.