Probability-based evaluation of the effect of fluid viscous dampers on a high-speed railway bridge

Abstract

One approach for upgrading existing high-speed railway bridges which are susceptible to excessive vibrations is to install damping devices. In this article, a model of a simply supported bridge with supplemental fluid viscous dampers installed between the superstructure and the abutments is derived based on an arbitrary mode of vibration. The aim is to ensure the robustness of the proposed vibration mitigation method by conducting Monte Carlo simulations including uncertainties associated with the bridge-damper system. From this statistical screening, it is possible to evaluate the probability of exceedance of a stipulated acceleration level, as well as studying the sensitivity of the ingoing random variables. This probabilistic evaluation highlights the necessity of conducting a statistical assessment to determine an estimate for the distribution of the acceleration limit and model uncertainty for dynamic analyses. The results show that the required damping coefficient could be multiply reduced, as compared to a deterministic analysis.