Dynamic study of the Barqueta cable-stayed Bridge

Abstract

A theoretical and experimental research work of the Barqueta cable-stayed bridge is described in this paper. The Barqueta Bridge, across Guadalquivir river, links the city of Seville with the Scientific Park Cartuja 93. At jam hours cars may cover one half of the bridge lanes for more than one hour. Full-scale tests were carried out to measure the bridge dynamic response. The experimental program includes the dynamic study for both cases: the bridge with one half of it lanes full of cars, and empty. Modal parameters estimations were made based on the acquired data. Ten vibration modes have been identified in the frequency range of 0-6 Hz by different techniques, being two of these modes very close to each other. The traffic-structure interaction is also studied. The experimental results were compared with those obtained from a three-dimensional finite element model developed in this work. Both sets of results show very good agreement. Finally, a damage identification technique has been applied to determine the integrity of the structure