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Dynamic loading and response of footbridges

Rainer, J. H.; Pernica, G.; Allen, D. E.

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Ser
TH1
N21d
no. 1411 , National Research Consell national
C. 2 r(& Councll Canada de recherches Canada
BLDG
- -
Institute for lnstitut de
Research in recherche en
Construction construction

Dynamic Loading and

Response of Footbridges
by J.H. Rainer, G. Pernica and D.E. Allen

ANALYZED

Appeared in
Proceedings
C.S.C.E. Second International Conference
on Short and Medium Span Bridges
Ottawa, Ontario, August 12- 21, 1986
Vol. 2, p. 335-347
(IRC Paper No. 1411)

Reprinted with permission

Price $2.00
NRC - ctsn
NRCC 26485 IRC
LIBRARY

MAY 13 la87

BIBLJOTHSQUE
IRC
CNRC - IC1ST
On a mesur6, 3 l ' a i d e d'une plate-forme instrument&, les
f o r c e s dynamiques q u i s'exercent l o r s de l a marche, de l a
course e t du eaut. Les r 6 s u l t a t s s o n t exprimgs sous forme
d'amplitudes d e s f o r c e s sinuso'idales normalis&s par l e poids
du s u j e t e t rapport'ees l a f rhuence. On a c o n s t a t e que l e a
charges dynamiques maximales au pas de marche Btaient p r h de
deux f o i s p l u s grandes que c e l l e s recommand&es dans l e Ontario
Highway Bridge Design Code de 1983 ou l a norme britannique
BS5400, e t c e l l e s au pas de course ou en s a u t p l u s de s i x f o i s
plus grandes.

Les reponses des p a s s e r e l l e s s o n t calcul6es au moyen d'une

f o r n u l e simple b a s k s u r l a charge dynamique due 3 une
personne, l a rgponse d'une trav6e simple e n rgsonance, e t l a
dur6e l i m i t & de l ' e x c i t a t i o n . On a obtenu une bonne
c o n c o r d a n c e a v e c l a r g p o n s e mesurge d e deux t r a v g e s
exp6rimentales de 17 m soumises 3 une e x c i t a t i o n humaine, 3 l a
f o i s pour l a premiere e t pour l a d e u x i h e harmonique de l a
frgquence du pas. Les v i b r a t i o n s de resonance des t r a v h s
peuvent O t r e r e d u i t e s mnaFdknhlm--t - =- l ' e m p l o i
d 'amortissew
 DYNAMIC LOADING AND RESPONSE OF FOOTBRIDGES

RAINER, J.H., PERNICA, G., ALLEN, D.E.

Research O f f i c e r s
I n s t i t u t e f o r Research i n Construction
National Research Council of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

SUMMARY

Dynamic f o r c e s were measured d u r i n g walking, running and jumping, u s i n g a n

instrumented platform. The r e s u l t s are expressed as s i n u s o i d a l f o r c e
amplitudes normalized by t h e s u b j e c t ' s weight and p l o t t e d v e r s u s frequency.
The maximum dynamic loads f o r walking were found t o be n e a r l y twice a s l a r g e
a s t h o s e recommended i n t h e 1983 Ontario Highway Bridge Design Code o r t h e
B r i t i s h Standard BS5400, and t h o s e f o r running o r jumping, more than s i x times
a s large.

Responses of f o o t b r i d g e s a r e c a l c u l a t e d using a simple formula based on t h e

dynamic loading due t o one person, t h e response of a simple span a t resonance,
and l i m i t e d d u r a t i o n of e x c i t a t i o n . Good agreement was obtained w i t h t h e
measured response of two 17 m experimental spans s u b j e c t e d t o human
e x c i t a t i o n , f o r both t h e f i r s : and second harmonics of t h e s t e p r a t e . The
resonant v i b r a t i o n s of t h e spans can be s u b s t a n t i a l l y reduced by resonant
dampers.
1. INTKODUCTION

S i n c e t h e primary purpose of f o o t b r i d g e s i s t h e conveyance of p e d e s t r i a n s ,

such b r i d g e s need t o be s a f e and t o e x h i b i t a c c e p t a b l e behaviour f o r u s e r s .
Walking, running, and jumping produce dynamic f o r c e s and, as a consequence, a
v i b r a t i o n a l response which can annoy o r a l a r m people. S e r v i c e a b i l i t y w i l l
t h e r e f o r e be a major d e s i g n c o n s i d e r a t i o n .

A number of s t u d i e s have d e a l t w i t h t h e problem of v i b r a t i n g f o o t b r i d g e s

[l-41. Design requirements and g u i d e l i n e s have been e s t a b l i s h e d , such a s t h e
B r i t i s h Standard BS5400 [ 5 ] , t h e 1983 O n t a r i o Highway Bridge Design Code
(OHBDC) [61 and t h o s e used i n A u s t r a l i a [ 3 ] . The OHBDC b a s e s i t s d e s i g n
requirements and recommendations l a r g e l y on BS5400, b u t h a s a n a d d i t i o n a l
c o n d i t i o n t h a t t h e lowest n a t u r a l frequency ( f ) s h a l l n o t be less t h a n 4 Hz.
Both codes s p e c i f y a dynamic d e s i g n l o a d of 188 s i n ( 2 n f t ) newtons. The
r e s u l t i n g v i b r a t i o n s s h a l l n o t exceed 0 . 5 q m / s 2 i n BS5400 and h a l f of t h a t
i n OHBDC. Wheeler [ 3 ] p r e s e n t e d a s t u d y of f o o t b r i d g e v i b r a t i o n s i n
A u s t r a l i a , i n which t h e p e d e s t r i a n model was a sequence of measured
s i n g l e - s t e p f o r c e p u l s e s . The a c c e p t a n c e l e v e l was based on t h e " u n p l e a s a n t "
boundary c o n t o u r by Kobori and Kajikawa [ 7 ] .

This paper p r e s e n t s t h e r e s u l t s of f o r c e measurements from p e r s o n s walking,

running and jumping, and a comparison between c a l c u l a t e d and measured
r e s p o n s e s of two test s t r u c t u r e s . Comparisons a r e made w i t h a v a i l a b l e d e s i g n
procedures f o r a c c e p t a b i l i t y of v i b r a t i o n s on f o o t b r i d g e s .

2. FOKCES INDUCED BY PEDESTRIAN MOTION

A number of p r e v i o u s s t u d i e s of f o r c e s induced by human a c t i v i t y c a n be found

i n References 8 t o 11. These employed t h e f o r c e s produced by one s t e p and
t h e n formed a s i m u l a t e d walking sequence by adding s i n g l e s t e p r e s u l t s w i t h
a p p r o p r i a t e time d e l a y s . The p r e s e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n measures d i r e c t l y t h e
continuous dynamic f o r c e s produced by one o r more p e r s o n s walking, running o r
jumping.

2.1 T e s t Procedure and A n a l y s i s

The e f f e c t s of walking and running were determined f o r a p l a t f o r m 17 m l o n g by

i n s t a l l i n g load c e l l s a t a c e n t r e s u p p o r t . A p l a n view and e l e v a t i o n of t h e
p l a t f o r m a r e shown i n Fig. 1. F u r t h e r d e t a i l s of t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n and
measurement t e c h n i q u e s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n Reference 12.

The t e s t s were conducted by p l a y i n g pre-recorded p u l s e s a t t h e d e s i r e d walking

o r running r a t e through l o u d s p e a k e r s , and r e q u e s t i n g t h e s u b j e c t t o walk o r
r u n a l o n g t h e span a t t h e p u l s e r a t e u s i n g a s t r i d e of h i s own choosing. The
lowest n a t u r a l frequency of t h e i n s t r u m e n t e d f l o o r s t r i p was 12 Hz. U s e f u l
r e s u l t s were l i m i t e d t o f r e q u e n c i e s below about 10 Hz, s i n c e beyond t h a t
frequency t h e dynamic a m p l i f i c a t i o n becomes l a r g e and r a t h e r s e n s i t i v e t o
damping.

2.2 R e s u l t s of Force Measurements

2.2.1 Walking: A t y p i c a l r e c o r d of t h e f o r c e induced a t t h e c e n t r e s u p p o r t

due t o a s i n g l e person walking i s shown i n Fig. 2a. The r e c o r d c o n t a i n s o n l y
t h e dynamic p o r t i o n of t h e induced f o r c e s , s i n c e t h e s t a t i c component h a s been
e l i m i n a t e d by a 0.2 Hz h i g h p a s s f i l t e r . These f o r c e s are bounded by a
 ELEVATIOM
ON TEMPORARY
SUPPORT

DIMENSIONS IN m m

Figure 1. Instrumented p l a t f o r m (Span 1)

a ) T I M E RECORD, 0 . 2 - 1 0 H z B A N D P A S S

-400
-600 I I I I I i 1 1
1 3 5 7 9
TIME, s
1600

0
0 5 10
FREQUENCY, H z

Figure 2. Forces from walking a t 2.4 s t e p s p e r second, Subject A

p a r a b o l i c a l l y shaped envelope t h a t corresponds t o t h e s t a t i c i n f l u e n c e l i n e

f o r t h e mid-span support of t h e test platform. The F o u r i e r amplitude spectrum
of t h i s f o r c e record i s shown i n Fig. 2b. The spectrum shows t h a t t h e f o r c e
produced by one person walking c o n s i s t s of d i s t i n c t frequency components a t
i n t e g e r m u l t i p l e s (harmonics) of t h e f o o t s t e p r a t e , w i t h amplitudes t h a t
 HARMONIC n

0.4
3 0

FREOUENCY. Hz
F R E O U E N C Y . Hi!

Figure 3. F o u r i e r amplitude Figure 4. Averaged dynamic load

spectrum of f o r c e s due t o jumping a t f a c t o r s f o r walking, S u b j e c t s A, B
2.2 jumps p e r second and C

d e c r e a s e w l t h i n c r e a s i n g frequency. The f i r s t t h r e e o r f o u r harmonics

comprise t h e main dynamic components of walking f o r c e s . As t h e time record i n
Fig. 2.3 shows, t h e f o r c e s a r e p e r i o d i c f u n c t i o n s of t h e f o o t s t e p r a t e .

2.2.2 Running The f o r c e s from one person running a r e s i m i l a r t o t h o s e f o r

walking, except t h a t they a r e t r u n c a t e d below zero d u r i n g t h e t i m e t h e runner
i s a i r b o r n e . The F o u r i e r spectrum of t h e f o r c e record a g a i n c o n t a i n s d i s c r e t e
frequency components a t harmonics of t h e f o o t s t e p r a t e .

2.2.3 Jumping: The jumping f o r c e s c o n s i s t of a sequence of i s o l a t e d p u l s e s

s e p a r a t e d by a s e c t i o n of z e r o f o r c e [13]. The F o u r i e r spectrum of t h e f o r c e
record (Fig. 3) a g a i n c o n s i s t s of harmonic components s i m i l a r t o t h a t f o r
walki ng.

2.3 Mathematical Representation of Forces

The above a n a l y s i s of f o r c e r e c o r d s i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e f o r c e s ( F ( t ) ) from

walking, running, and jumping can be r e p r e s e n t e d by:
N
F(t) = P(1 + an s i n ( n 2 u f t + $,))
n= l
where P = s t a t i c weight of person;

n -
a = F o u r i e r amplitude o r c o e f f i c i e n t ;
o r d e r of harmonic of t h e f o o t s t e p r a t e , n = 1, 2, 3 . . .
f = Eootstep r a t e i n s t e p s p e r second;
t = time;

N -
$ = r e l a t i v e phase a n g l e ;
t o t a l number of harmonics.

The dynamic component of t h e a c t i v i t y f o r c e i n Eq. ( 1 ) i s r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e

summation t e r m , which i s a F o u r i e r series w i t h F o u r i e r c o e f f i c i e n t s a, a t t h e
d i s c r e t e f r e q u e n c i e s nf. These correspond t o t h e c e n t r e amplitudes of t h e
various harmonics of t h e f o r c e record a s i n Fig. 2a, normalized by t h e
person's weight (P).
 1.6
1.4
T I
.&
I
..,A
T I I I I
HARMONIC n
1

c HARMONIC n

FREQUENCY, Hz FREQUENCY, Hz

F i g u r e 5. Averaged dynamic l o a d F i g u r e 6. Averaged dynamic l o a d

f a c t o r s f o r running, S u b j e c t s A, B f a c t o r s f o r jumping, S u b j e c t s A, B,
and C C and D

2.4 V a r i a t i o n of Dynamic Forces With S t e p Frequency

The key parameters i n Eq. ( 1 ) t h a t d e s c r i b e t h e dynamic f o r c e a r e t h e F o u r i e r

c o e f f i c i e n t s ( a n ) and t h e f o o t s t e p frequency ( f ) . I n a manner s i m i l a r t o t h a t
used t o d e s c r i b e rhythmic f o r c e s [13,14], t h e F o u r i e r c o e f f i c i e n t s ( a ) a r e
c a l l e d "dynamic l o a d f a c t o r s " , which a r e d e f i n e d a s t h e r a t i o of t h e F o r c e
ainplitude of each harmonic t o t h e weight of t h e person. The v a r i a t i o n of an
with s t e p frequency was s t u d i e d f o r ~ q a l k i n gr a t e s from 1.0 t o 3.0 Hz, running
r a t e s between 1.6 and 4.0 Hz, and jumping r a t e s from 1.0 t o 4.0 Hz. The
r e s u l t s of each a c t i v i t y f o r t h e t e s t s u b j e c t s were averaged and a r e shown i n
Figs. 4, 5 and 6. R e s u l t s f o r i n d i v i d u a l t e s t s u b j e c t s are s i m i l a r t o t h e
averaged ones and a r e p r e s e n t e d i n Reference 1 3 f o r walking and running.
F i g u r e 4 shows t h a t f o r walking, t h e dynamic l o a d f a c t o r of t h e f i r s t
harmonic ( a l ) i s t h e l a r g e s t , a t 2.4 Hz, and r e a c h e s a n averaged maximum of
0.52. For running, Fig. 5 shows a maximum averaged v a l u e f o r al of about 1.4
between 2.8 and 4.0 Hz, whereas f o r jumping, Fig. 6 shows t h e maximum averaged
a1 t o be about 1.75 between 2 and 3 Hz.

Not a l l of t h e s e rates a r e e q u a l l y l i k e l y t o o c c u r i n p r a c t i c e , however.

Walking r a t e s a r e g e n e r a l l y w i t h i n 1.7 t o 2.3 s t e p s p e r second, w i t h a mean
r a t e of 2.0 [ 4 ] , whereas running o r j o g g i n g r a t e s r a n g e from 2 t o 3 s t e p s p e r
second.

2.4.1 M u l t i p l e Persons Jumpin% For groups of two o r f o u r p e o p l e jumping t o

a common t i m i n g s i g n a l , t h e peak v a l u e f o r a , was l i t t l e d i f f e r e n t than t h a t
f o r a s i n g l e p e r s o n jumping, a l t h o u g h t h e p e i k s f o r t h e second harmonic a r e
about 15% lower. For e i g h t p e r s o n s jumping, however, t h e dynamic l o a d f a c t o r
f o r t h e f i r s t harmonic was about 15% lower, and t h a t of t h e second harmonic
(a*), 50% lower t h a n f o r a s i n g l e male. The t h i r d harmonic ( a 3 ) was reduced
even more r e l a t i v e t o t h a t f o r one person.

3. RESPONSE OF TEST SPANS TO PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT

Two simply-supported t e s t s p a n s were l o c a t e d s i d e by s i d e f o r dynamic t e s t i n g .

Span 1 , t h e t r u s s e d span shown i n Fig. 1, b u t w i t h t h e c e n t r e s u p p o r t removed,
had a fundamental n a t u r a l frequency ( f ) of 4.17 Hz. Span 2, a s t r u c t u r e of
e q u a l Length and decking b u t u s i n g two wide-flange beams a s t h e main
 I-- 0 PEAK ACCELERATION PER UNlT FORCE - WALKING
PEAK ACCELERATION PER UNlT FORCE - JUMPING
OFLlMlTEDDURATlON

Ir\\
Z
N
-E
- 6 y RESPONSE ~ - ~ ~ ~ ~
'
w

w
- 5 -
I
'.I\
CURVE (ACCELERANCE)
OF EQUIVALENT SDF
OF SPAN
_
U
CL
& = 0.014, f, = 2.03 HZ
2- 4 - -
Z

+ 3 - -
u
DZ
W
2

:2 -
U

I I I I t I 1
1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
FREQUENCY, Hz
W A L K I N G RATE, steps p e r second

Figure 7. Peak a c c e l e r a t i o n p e r u n i t f o r c e and frequency response curve f o r

Span 1

s t r u c t u r a l members, had a fundamental n a t u r a l frequency ( f ) of 2.05 Hz. A

s i n g l e t e s t s u b j e c t weighing 735 N was used t o e x c i t e t h e spans a t s e l e c t e d
s t e p f r e q u e n c i e s a s given by an a u d i b l e pulse. The response of each span was
measured by two v e r t i c a l accelerometers a t midspan; t h e i r s i g n a l s were added,
recorded and analyzed. The dynamic l o a d f a c t o r s f o r walking and running f o r
t h e t e s t s u b j e c t were r e p o r t e d i n Reference 1 2 under "Subject A".

3.1 Span 2, f = 2.05 Hz

The peak a c c e l e r a t i o n response of Span 2 t o d i f f e r e n t walking r a t e s i s shown

i n Fig. 7. This p l o t has been normalized by t h e f o r c e i n p u t ; i.e., by t h e
weight of t h e t e s t s u b j e c t times t h e dynamic load f a c t o r a p p l i c a b l e t o each
walking r a t e . The peak response occurs when t h e walking r a t e c o i n c i d e s with
the Fundamental frequency of t h e span. These r e s u l t s were compared w i t h t h e
s t e a d y - s t a t e frequency response curve of t h e span i n t h e form of "accelerance"
( a c c e l e r a t i o n / f o r c e i n p u t ) a t midspan, shown i n Fig. 7 by t h e dashed l i n e . A t
resonance, t h e normalized response from walking is considerably lower than f o r
steady s t a t e , whereas below and above resonance, t h e peak response f o r walking
is s l i g h t l y l a r g e r . The d i f f e r e n c e a t resonance is caused by t h e l i m i t e d
d u r a t i o n and changing amplitude of t h e e f f e c t i v e walking f o r c e (Fig. 2a).
Away from resonance, t h e l a r g e r walking responses can be a t t r i b u t e d t o b e a t i n g
between t h e f o r c e d response a t t h e walking frequency and t h e simultaneously
e x c i t e d v i b r a t i o n a t t h e resonance frequency of t h e span. It i s t h e response
a t resonance t h a t i s maximum, however, and only t h i s w i l l be addressed here.
 NUMBER OF CYCLES PER SPAN

Figure 8. Dynamic amplification factor for resonant response due to

sinusoidal load moving across simple span

3.2 Calculation of Resonant Response

3.2.1 Walking To calculate the peak dynamic response at midspan, the span
is modelled as an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (SDF) oscillator. The
amplitude of the sinusoidal excitation at the walking frequency is F = aP. As
the pedestrian crosses the span, the effective force variation across the span
is enveloped by a curve corresponding to the fundamental mode shape with
maximum aP occurring at midspan. When such a force variation is applied to
the SDF vibration model of the span, the maximum response is given by a
dynamic amplification factor ( O ) , similar to but smaller than the dynamic
amplification factor for steady state excitation. The factor O for simply
supported spans as a function of the number of cycles applied and various
damping ratios has been calculated and is presented in Fig. 8. This
amplification factor decreases with an increase in the damping ratio and
increases monotonically towards the steady state solution with increasing
number of cycles of excitation, i.e. with the number of steps it takes the
person to traverse the span. Thus the peak acceleration response (a) at the
fundamental frequency is given by:

aP/k is the static displacement at midspan due to the dynamic force amplitude,
and multiplication by (21tf)~converts the displacement to acceleration.

An alternate expression for Eq. (2) is obtained by substituting (2xf)* = k/m:

where m = mass of equivalent SDF oscillator. For a uniform simply supported

beam, m = 17/35 times the total mass (M) of the span, which is often
approximated as m = 0.5 M. Thus,

Eq. (3) indicates that the acceleration response of a span when excited at its
natural frequency is directly proportional to the dynamic load (aP) and the
 TIME, s TIME, s

Figure 9. Response of Span 2 t o Figure 10. Response of Span 2 due

walking a t 2.06 s t e p s p e r second t o jumping a t resonance frequency

amplification factor (a), and i n v e r s e l y p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e t o t a l mass of t h e

span.

For c a l c u l a t i n g t h e response of Span 2 t o walking, t h e f o l l o w i n g d a t a were

used :

a = 0.41 (Subject A [ 1 2 ] ) ;
P = 735 N;
Q, = 20 f o r damping r a t i o of 1.43% and 19 s t e p s (Fig. 8);
k = measured s t i f f n e s s of span a t c e n t r e , 897000 N/m;
f = resonance frequency of span, 2.05 Hz.

S u b s t i t u t i o n i n Eq. ( 2 ) g i v e s a peak a c c e l e r a t i o n of 1.06 m / s 2 , o r 11%of

g r a v i t y . This compares w e l l w i t h t h e maximum measured response a t resonance
of 1.14 m / s 2 . Figure 9 shows t h e response of Span 2 t o t h e t e s t s u b j e c t
walking a t a r a t e t h a t c o i n c i d e s w i t h t h e n a t u r a l frequency of t h e span.

3.2.2 Running A s f o r walking, t h e response of Span 2 t o running i s a l s o

given by Eq. ( 2 ) o r (3). With a dynamic load f a c t o r a = 1.1 a t 2.05 Hz
( s u b j e c t A [ 1 2 ] ) , t h e c a l c u l a t e d peak a c c e l e r a t i o n i s 3.14 m / s 2 . The measured
a c c e l e r a t i o n f o r t h e test s u b j e c t running a t 2.05 s t e p s per second i s
3.3 m / s 2 . When t h e running r a t e does n o t c o i n c i d e w i t h t h e resonance
frequency of t h e span, t h e response i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduced; a t 3.0
s t e p s per second, a peak a c c e l e r a t i o n of 0.4 m / s 2 was measured.

3 . 2 . 3 : Span 2 was e x c i t e d
s u b j e c t jumping a t c e n t r e span, and
a t t h e resonance frequency by t h e t e s t
t h e response i s shown i n Fig. 10. Since
t h i s r e p r e s e n t s a s t e a d y s t a t e e x c i t a t i o n , much g r e a t e r response can be
expected than from walking o r running. A t t h e peak a c c e l e r a t i o n of 5 m / s 2
(and up t o 6 m / s 2 f o r o t h e r t e s t s ) t h e e x c i t a t i o n was stopped, b u t t h i s was
e v i d e n t l y not t h e l i m i t t o which t h e span could have been e x c i t e d . IJsing
a = 1.7 a t 2.05 Hz ( s u b j e c t A 1121 ), t h i s response of 6.0 m / s 2 corresponds t o
an acceleration-to-force r a t i o of 4.8 nrm/s2/~and i s shown i n Fig. 7 by t h e
s o l i d c i r c l e . An upper bound response, corresponding t o t h e peak of t h e
freqrlency response curve i n Fig. 7, can be c a l c u l a t e d from t h e r e l a t i o n
applicable t o steady s t a t e e x c i t a t i o n :

o r , with t h e s u b s t i t u t i o n a s f o r Eq. ( 3 ) ,

where < = c r i t i c a l damping r a t i o .

For Span 2 t h i s g i v e s a peak a c c e l e r a t i o n of 8.0 m / s 2 o r a peak dynamic

displacement of 49 mm. The p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e damping r a t i o changes a t
t h e s e l a r g e amplitudes needs t o be considered. It seems p l a u s i b l e , however,
t h a t a response c l o s e t o t h i s f u l l resonance response can be reached. Such a
response l e v e l , o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o a s "vandal" e x c i t a t i o n , should t h u s be
considered i n t h e design procedure and a check on s t r e s s e s c a r r i e d out.

3.3 Span 1: f = 4.17 Hz

The r e s u l t s from t h e f o r c e measurements p r e s e n t e d i n Figs. 4, 5 and 6 i n d i c a t e

s u b s t a n t i a l components a l s o a t twice and, t o a l e s s e r degree, a t 3 o r 4 times
t h e walking, running o r jumping r a t e [12]. Thus a resonant c o n d i t i o n could
a l s o be produced a t t h e s e h i g h e r harmonics. This was i n v e s t i g a t e d on Span 1.
Walking r a t e s were chosen s o t h a t t h e second harmonic of t h e f o r c e s f a l l s n e a r
t h e n a t u r a l frequency of t h e span. The measured peak a c c e l e r a t i o n s a r e shown
i n Fig. 11. A peak a c c e l e r a t i o n of n e a r l y 0.8 m / s 2 occurred a t a walking r a t e
of 2.08 s t e p s p e r second, which corresponds t o an e x c i t a t i o n frequency of
4.16 Hz t h a t i s provided by t h e second harmonic of t h e walking f o r c e s .

0 MEASURED PEAK RESPONSE

u I I I I
1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
W A L K I N G R A T E , steps per second

Figure 11. Peak responses of Span 1 t o walking

The response t o walking of Span 1, having a n a t u r a l frequency of 4.17 Hz, w i l l

now be determined by t h e proposed procedure, Eq. ( 2 ) o r (3). For t h e test
s u b j e c t walking, t h e dynamic l o a d f a c t o r a2 of t h e second harmonic a t 4.17 Hz
i s 0.20; f o r 36 c y c l e s , double t h e number of s t e p s , t h e a m p l i f i c a t i o n factor
o = 31 from Fig. 8 f o r t h e a p p l i c a b l e damping r a t i o $ = 1.2%. Substitution i n
Eq. ( 2 ) gives:

This compares w i t h a measured peak response of 0.80 m / s 2 f o r walking by t h e

t e s t subject.

4. COMPARISONS WITH BS5400 AND ONTARIO HIGHWAY BRIDGE DESIGN CODE (OHBDC)

Tl~eprocedure used h e r e and t h e methods o u t l i n e d i n BS5400 [5] and OHBDC [ 6 ]

need t o be compared using a c o n s i s t e n t set of assumptions. Although t h e
s t a t e d f o r c i n g f u n c t i o n i n BS5400 and OHBDC i s F = 180(sin 2 n f t ) newtons t o
r e p r e s e n t f o r c e s from walking, t h i s i s not used e x p l i c i t l y . I n s t e a d , t h e
a c c e l e r a t i o n is c a l c u l a t e d from a n e q u i v a l e n t s t a t i c d e f l e c t i o n (w,) due t o a
person weighing 700 N:

where f = n a t u r a l frequency of span;

K = configuration factor;
9 = dynamic response f a c t o r .
The s t i f f n e s s k a t t h e c e n t r e of Span 2 was measured a s 897 Nlmm, s o t h e
d e f l e c t i o n due t o a 700 N person i s ws = 0.780 am, K = 1.0 f o r a simple span,
and + = 7.5 from t h e graphs i n References 6 and 7. Thus t h e c a l c u l a t e d
a c c e l e r a t i o n (a) i s 0.97 m/s*.

The response c a l c u l a t i o n given by Eqs. (2) o r (3) r e s u l t s i n a peak

a c c e l e r a t i o n ( a ) of 1.06 m / s 2 , u s i n g f = 2.03 Hz, a = 0.41, P = 735 N, and
O = 19 f o r 18 s t e p s a t 1.4% damping. This compares favourably w i t h t h e
measured peak response f o r t h e fundamental mode of 1.05 m/s2.

Although t h e f i n a l answers from BS5400 and OHBDC and t h e method proposed h e r e

a r e i n good agreement, t h e v a l u e s f o r t h e parameters used a r e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t
(Table 1).

Table 1: Response C a l c u l a t i o n s and Measured Values f o r Span 2

P Peak Acceleration
Met hod a (N) Dynamic Factor (m/s2)
- . - .- .- --

Proposed 0.41 735 Q, = 19 (Fig. 8) 1.06

met hod 700 1.01

BS5400, 1801700
OHBDC = 0.257 700 += 7.5 [5,6]

Measured 7 35 1.05

The d i f f e r e n c e s i n a and t h e dynamic f a c t o r s O and 3, l a r g e l y compensate one

another i n t h e two c a l c u l a t i o n methods. The proposed method, however, has a
wider a p p l i c a t i o n i n t h a t i t would permit a d e s i g n e r o r i n v e s t i g a t o r t o
s u b s t i t u t e d i f f e r e n t parameters t h a t a r e a p p l i c a b l e t o o t h e r s p e c i f i c loading
cases. For example, Eqs. ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) apply t o walking and running f o r one o r
more people i n s t e p , and E q s . ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) a p p l y t o jumping. These formulas
can a l s o be used w i t h o t h e r t h a n t h e f i r s t harmonic of t h e f o r c i n g f u n c t i o n ,
a s f o r example when t h e n a t u r a l frequency of t h e span c o i n c i d e s w i t h t h e
second harmonic of t h e e x c i t a t i o n .

The critertnn given by BS5400 i s that t h e peak r e s p o n s e s h o u l d n o t exceed

0 , 5 R m/s2. For Span I, 0.5- = 0.72 m / s 2 , w h i l e f o r Span 2,
0
.
- = 1.02 m / s 2 . The permissibl-e v a l u e s i n t h e OHBDC a r e h a l f t h e s e ,
i.e., 0.36 and 0 . 5 1 m/s2, for Span 1 and Span 2, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Thus t h e
ohserved a c c e l e r a t i o n s f o r walking on Span 1 exceed t h e c r i t e r i a under BS5400,
and t h e acceleratfans on both spans exceed t h e c r i t e r i a under OHBDC. A
subjective assessment of the i n v e s t i g a t o r s would s u p p o r t t h e OHBDC r e s u l t ,
alchough t h l s p e r c e p t i o n would n o t n e c e s s a r i l y be a p p l i c a b l e t o i n - s e r v i c e
behaviour.

5. RESPONSE REDUCTION BY RESONANT DAMPERS

Resonant dampers were constructed with n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s of 2.06 and

2.14 Hz, a p p l i e d a t midspan of Span 2. A s e r i e s of walking t e s t s w a s
performed and t h e resulting peak a c c e l e r a t i o n s f o r v a r i o u s damper p r o p e r t i e s
p l o t t e d i n Plg, 12. Comparison w i t h r e s u l t s w i t h o u t t h e damper shows major
reduceions i n peak a c c e l e r a t i o n s , w e l l below t h e c r i t e r i a quoted above. A
sindlar observation w a s made when a r e s o n a n t damper was a p p l i e d t o Span 1.
Thus the o b j e c t i o n a b l e v i b r a t i o n s a t t h e r e s o n a n t f r e q u e n c i e s of t h e s p a n s can
be drastically reduced by an a p p r o p r i a t e l y s i z e d r e s o n a n t damper. T h i s
confirms what other investigators [1,3,4] have r e p o r t e d . Footbridges could
t h e r e f o r e be designed with a resonant damper, o r p r o v i s i o n can be made f o r
u s i n g one a s a r e t r o f i t measure, s h o u l d o b j e c t i o n a b l e v i b r a t i o n s occur. The
l a t t e r s t r a t e g y may be a c o s t - e f f e c t i v e solution, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n view of
u n c e r t a i n t i e s i n e s t i m a t l n g damping and c a l c u l a t i n g t h e n a t u r a l frequency of
the structure.

I RESONANT DAMPER PROPERTIES

MASS, FREQUENCY, DAMPING,
I
kg Hz % CRITICAL
0 181 2.06 11
a 163 2.14 9

W A L K I N G RATE, steps p e r second

Figure 12. Response r e d u c t i o n due t o r e s o n a n t damper

6. CONCLUSIONS

Dynamic f o r c e s f o r walking, running and jumping have been p r e s e n t e d f o r t h e

range of s t e p f r e q u e n c i e s u s u a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s . The
l o a d i n g f u n c t i o n p r i m a r i l y c o n s i s t s of up t o f o u r harmonic components w i t h
f r e q u e n c i e s of i n t e g e r m u l t i p l e s of t h e f o o t s t e p r a t e and d e c r e a s i n g
amplitudes f o r t h e h i g h e r f r e q u e n c i e s .

A procedure i s d e s c r i b e d f o r e v a l u a t i n g t h e r e s p o n s e of s i m p l e s p a n s t o
walking, running and jumping e x c i t a t i o n s a t t h e resonance f r e q u e n c i e s . The
peak a c c e l e r a t i o n r e s p o n s e a t t h e frequency resonance of two t e s t s p a n s i s
computed. T h i s i s s i m i l a r t o t h e method i n BS5400 and OHBDC, e x c e p t t h a t t h e
l a t t e r two do n o t f u l l y r e f l e c t t h e a c t u a l l o a d i n g f u n c t i o n s . The new
procedure p e r m i t s t h e d e s i g n e r t o employ o t h e r l o a d i n g f u n c t i o n s t h a t may be
a p p l i c a b l e t o f o o t b r i d g e s , a s , f o r example, where e x c i t a t i o n a r i s e s frola t h e
second harmonic component of p e d e s t r i a n movement. The p r e d i c t e d peak
a c c e l e r a t i o n s a r e v e r i f i e d by t e s t s on two l a b o r a t o r y f o o t b r i d g e s . It i s
s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e r e s p o n s e t o jumping a l s o be c o n s i d e r e d i n design.

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper i s a c o n t r i b u t i o n of t h e I n s t i t u t e f o r Research i n C o n s t r u c t i o n ,

N a t i o n a l Research Council of Canada,

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