Structural damage detection of Gerber saddles in RC bridges by monitoring the variation of their dynamic properties

Journal
Structural Concrete
ISSN
1464-4177
1751-7648
Publisher
Wiley
Date Issued
2025
Author(s)
Jesús Valdés‐González
Jaime De‐la‐Colina
Fernando Sánchez‐Cortes
Type
text::journal::journal article
DOI
URL
Abstract
This paper numerically studies the behavior of a Gerber saddle model in a reinforced concrete (RC) bridge. The feasibility of identifying its structural damage by monitoring the variation of its dynamic properties is investigated. The main objective of this research is to establish an index based on the changes in the model's dynamic properties able to identify both its different behavior stages and its structural damage. The model was analyzed with the ANSYS program using the extended finite element method, which allows one to explicitly model concrete cracking. The analytical model was calibrated with laboratory tests. By simulating ambient vibration tests, it was feasible to estimate the first modal vibration frequency of the model and its damping percentage. The frequency response functions (FRF) for each damage stage were also obtained from the simulated tests. The proposed index to evaluate the structural damage was the correlation coefficient r, which was computed between pairs of FRFs corresponding to two different states of damage, without and with damage. It was observed that the change in the dynamic properties (natural frequencies and critical damping percentages) can be considered an indicator of the presence of structural damage in the case study. The correlation coefficient r proved to be a useful parameter to identify the presence of damage. It was also possible to correlate the value of r with the level of damage.
License
Acceso Restringido.
URL License
How to cite
Valdés‐González, J., De‐la‐Colina, J., González‐Pérez, C. A., & Sánchez‐Cortes, F. (2025). Structural damage detection of Gerber saddles in RC bridges by monitoring the variation of their dynamic properties. Structural Concrete, 26(6), 8401-8418. https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.70214