Dynamic effect of foundation settlement on bridge-vehicle interaction

Foundation settlement is a common issue for bridges, which not only generates additional static stresses in continuous bridge members but also may affect the dynamic interaction between the bridge and vehicle traveling over it. In this paper, a new bridge-vehicle model with consideration of foundation settlement effect is created through the principle of virtual works to investigate the settled bridge and vehicle interaction responses. The correctness and accuracy of the model are validated with theoretical and numerical results. Based on the proposed model, numerical simulations have been conducted using the Newmark’s β method to investigate the effects of settlement mode, vehicle traveling speed, road surface roughness and boundary condition. It is shown that foundation settlement has a significant effect on impact factors of the bridge at high vehicle speeds, and road surface roughness may act together with the settlement to have a coupling effect, which needs special attentions in bridge design.