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Abstract: In the past decade, several researchers have studied the phenomenon of excessive pedestrian-induced lateral vibrations and full-scale measurements of various bridges under crowd loading have been carried out. These tests have verified the existence of a form of instability for which a transition between limited and excessive lateral vibrations occurs for a small increase in the number of people occupying the bridge. This disproportionate increase in the lateral vibration amplitude is caused by a dynamic interaction between the pedestrian and the laterally moving structure, although the governing mechanism which generates the load is still somewhat disputed. Theoretical work has also been undertaken, but unlike current codes of practice and design guidelines, which are primarily based on the empirical full-scale observations, many of the theoretical hypotheses lack the proper experimental evidence to support their applicability. Recently, an extensive experimental campaign was carried out, in which the lateral forces generated by pedestrians during walking on a laterally moving treadmill were determined for various combinations of lateral frequencies (0.33–1.07 Hz) and amplitudes (4.5–48 mm). It was shown that large amplitude vibrations are the result of correlated pedestrian forces in the form of “negative damping”, with magnitudes that depend on the relationship between the pacing frequency and the frequency of the lateral movement. Herewith, a novel stochastic load model for the frequency and amplitude dependent pedestrian-induced lateral forces is presented. The lateral forces are modelled as a sum of an “equivalent static force” and “motion-induced” (or self-excited) forces which are quantified through equivalent pedestrian damping and mass coefficients. The parameters in the model are based directly on measured lateral forces from a large group of pedestrians. Thereby, the model is currently the most statistically reliable analytical tool for modelling of pedestrian-induced lateral vibrations. Through simplified numerical simulations, it is shown that the modal response of a footbridge subject to a pedestrian crowd is sensitive to the selection of the pacing rate distribution within the group, the magnitude of ambient wind loads and the total duration of the load event. In a particular simulation, the selection of these parameters ultimately affects the critical number of pedestrians needed to trigger excessive vibrations. Finally, as an example, it is shown that the prediction of the critical number of pedestrians matches well with observations made during the opening of the London Millennium Bridge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the viability of modifying bridge cable shape and surface for the purpose of controlling wind-induced vibrations. To this end, an extensive wind-tunnel test campaign was carried out on various cable shapes about the critical Reynolds number region. Cable shapes were chosen to passively modify the flow in a particular manner. Tested shapes included those which have some form of waviness, faceting and shrouding. Section models were tested using a static inclined rig, allowing them to be installed at yawed cable–wind angles for both smooth and turbulent flow conditions. The aerodynamic damping of the tested cylinders is evaluated by applying both 1- and 2-dof quasi-steady aerodynamic instability models. This allows for the prediction of regions of aerodynamic instability, as a function of flow angle and Reynolds number. Whilst the plain, wavy and faceted cylinders are predicted to suffer from either dry inclined galloping, “drag crisis” or Den Hartog galloping, the shrouded cylinder is found to be stable for all angles of attack, albeit with an increase in drag at typical design wind velocities. Finally, turbulent flow is found to introduce an increased amount of aerodynamic damping mainly by providing a more constant lift force over tested Reynolds numbers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a comprehensive experimental analysis of lateral forces generated by single pedestrians during continuous walking on a treadmill. Two different conditions are investigated; initially the treadmill is fixed and then it is laterally driven in a sinusoidal motion at varying combinations of frequencies (0.33–1.07Hz) and amplitudes (4.5–48mm). The experimental campaign involved 71 male and female human adults and covered approximately 55km of walking distributed between 4954 individual tests. When walking on a laterally moving surface, motion-induced forces develop at the frequency of the movement and are herewith quantified through equivalent velocity and acceleration proportional coefficients. Their dependency on the vibration frequency and amplitude is presented, both in terms of mean values and probabilistically to illustrate the randomness associated with intra- and inter-subject variability. It is shown that the motion-induced portion of the pedestrian load (on average) inputs energy into the structure in the frequency range (normalised by the mean walking frequency) between approximately 0.6 and 1.2. Furthermore, it is shown that the load component in phase with the acceleration of the treadmill depends on the frequency of the movement, such that pedestrians (on average) subtract from the overall modal mass for low frequency motion and add to the overall modal mass at higher frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undesirable wind induced vibrations of bridge cables can occur when atmospheric conditions are such to generate ice accretion. This paper contains the results of an extensive investigation of the effects of ice accretion due to in-cloud icing, on the aerodynamic characteristics of bridge hangers and stay cables. The aim of this paper is twofold; first, it was investigated the ice accretion process and the final shape of the ice accreted; then the aerodynamics of the ice accreted bridge cables was characterized, and related to the ice shape. Different climatic conditions, i.e. combinations of temperature, wind speed and yaw angle of accretion, were reproduced in a climatic wind tunnel, giving rise to different types of accretion. These were chosen such to generate the most common natural ice formations expected to produce bridge cable vibrations. A description of the geometric characteristics of the ice accretions is given in the paper. Only for the bridge hanger case, a short description of the evolution of the ice accretions is given. The aerodynamic force coefficients were then measured with varying yaw angle, angle of attack and wind speed, and are presented and discussed in the paper; these are found to be significantly affected by the characteristics of the ice accretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]