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Timber floors are prone to vibration due to the reduced modulus of elasticity of the material. Composite floors represent the most convenient solution to achieve acceptable performances and at the same time to save material and cost. In determining the natural frequency of a composite floor, the stiffness of the connection between the joined structural member is crucial. Inclined screws connections are characterized by the highest slip modulus among the mechanical fastener connections. However, the determination of the optimal inclination angle of the screws for vibration and deflection reduction remains an unexplored issue. The optimization problem is faced by means of an analytical model of beam on foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long term dynamic monitoring of the Santa Maria di Collemaggio basilica revealed an unexpected trend of the first natural frequencies decreasing from their initial values estimated in 2018. The decrement of the natural frequency could originate from several factors. The structural system derives from the arrangement of four building materials: masonry (predominant), reinforced concrete (RC), timber and steel. Masonry is unlikely to suffer rapid decaying of their mechanical properties. Reinforced concrete (RC) and the embedded steel should not present decaying phenomena in the first years after built. Like- wise, the steel plates which connect the Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels should not manifest a significant progression of corrosion in an indoor environment. Conversely, timber's physical and mechanical properties, such as swelling and shrinkage, density, modulus of elasticity, strength have a time-dependent response, even in the long-term. Likely, the decaying of the natural frequencies depends on the CLT roof's time-dependent be- haviour due to the potential modification of its mechanical properties and boundary conditions (interaction with the steel plates, e.g.). This paper presents selected results from the basilica's three-years continuous dynamic monitoring and discusses an elementary mechanical model representative of the dynamics transverse to the nave walls. The mechanical model described by a limited set of parameters drives the assessment of the CLT roof's possible role in causing the detected decrement of the natural frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the dynamic identification and finite element (FE) modelling of a butterfly-arch stress-ribbon pedestrian bridge in Fuzhou, Fujian, China. The Stochastic Subspace Identification method yields an estimate of the operational modal parameters. A highly synchronous tri-axial wireless sensor network was deployed on the bridge deck to record the structure's ambient vibration. Eight stable modes in the frequency range 3.59–14.92 Hz were found, associated with prevalent bending and torsional deformations. Four distinct FE models of the bridge with progressive complexity and accuracy were developed to investigate the sensitivity of the modal features to the modelling choices. The FE model characterised by the fittest agreement with the experimental modal parameters was used for the automatic parametric optimisation based on a sensitivity-based algorithm. The stiffness of the springs simulating the soil-structure interaction, the elastic modulus of the concrete deck and the elastic modulus of the tendons were chosen as updating parameters for a total of eight parameters. The effect of non-structural elements (handrails) and prestress on the modal features are also investigated. The final advanced FE model developed can serve as baseline for a long-term monitoring of the bridge during its life-cycle, and also provides some recommendations to practitioners and scholars all over the world for the modelling and analysis of this particular kind of footbridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timber floors are prone to exhibit vibration levels, which can cause discomfort to the occupants. In the last 20 years , ambient vibration tests have become very popular due to the many advantages they have over traditional forced vibration tests when dealing with civil engineering structures. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses and black-box" optimization algorithms can support the development of refined finite-element models that accurately predict the structures' responses based on the experimental modal parameters. However, applications of these methods and techniques to timber structures are scarce compared with traditional materials. This paper presents and discusses the findings of an experimental testing campaign on a lightweight timber floor. At first, each component of the assembly was tested separately under different boundary conditions. Then, the authors evaluated the behavior of the whole floor assembly. In a second step, the authors carried out a covariance-based sensitivity analysis of finite element (FE) models representative of the tested structures by varying the different members' mechanical properties. The results of the sensitivity analysis highlighted the most influential parameters and supported the comparison among diverse FE models. As expected, the longitudinal modulus of elasticity is the most critical parameter, although the results are very dependent on the boundary conditions. Then automatic modal updating algorithms tuned the numerical model to test results. As a concluding remark, the experimental and numerical results were compared with the outcomes of a simplified analytical approach for the floor's first natural frequency estimate based on current European standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delivers a reliability-based method for the assessment of the elastic modulus (EM) of concrete in simply supported girders from dynamic identification. The correlation between the natural frequencies of the first bending modes and the concrete EM supports the use of the first natural frequency as a predictor of the EM value, which is a well-acknowledged indicator of the state of concrete. In the current application, the EMs of seven girders provide the prior state of knowledge about the considered bridge class, possibly to be obtained by more samples in working applications. The identified natural frequencies update the prior probability distribution of the EMs using Bayes inference. The resulting probability of exceeding a specific EM value expresses the degree of belief of the inspector in the obtained EM. The posterior probability, compared to a proper threshold, could be used in decision-making processes when prioritising the interventions in the maintenance plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parametric identification of bridges using instrumented vehicles can be challenging, mainly due to the reduced length of the time series associated with the bridge span under test. This research discusses the practicability of a time-domain identification method based on the use of an instrumented vehicle. The highest cross-correlation between the bridge response from an elementary analytical model and the experimental one, acquired by a moving force-balance accelerometer, yields the unknown model parameter. The effect of vehicle-bridge interaction is removed by proper filtering of the signals. Specifically, the authors estimate the elastic moduli of seven prestressed concrete bridges and compare a subset of the results to the outcomes of static load tests carried out on the same bridges. There is a good correlation between the elastic moduli from the instrumented vehicle and those from static load tests: the method grasps the approximate value of the elastic modulus of concrete. Still, the data do not return an excellent match due to the bias in the estimation of the deflection shape—the paper remarks on the issues faced during the experimental tests and proposes possible enhancements of these procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The elastic modulus of existing concrete bridges is estimated from dynamic measurements under known moving loads. • An Ordinary Least Square operator with a Bayesian uncertainty estimation yields a satisfactory assessment of the elastic modulus. • The procedure is validated on six prestressed concrete girders using static load tests. • The even percentage error between the outcomes of static and dynamic tests is about 5%. • The Quality Control plans could benefit from the presented procedure. Dynamic measurements under known moving loads yield a novel procedure for the elastic modulus assessment of existing concrete bridges. The bridge deck is modelled as a single-span, simply supported Euler–Bernoulli beam excited by a travelling force. The elastic modulus assessment derives from an Ordinary Least Square procedure with a Bayesian uncertainty estimation, obtained by approximating the known term of the governing equations due to the travelling force with a square wave signal. The authors validated the procedure on six full-scale concrete girders of the A24 motorway in Italy and compared the results to the values obtained via in situ static load tests and further tests on concrete specimens. The procedure represents a straightforward test devised for supporting the drafting of quality control plans and the prioritization of the interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]