Modal identification from ambient vibration tests on a cable-stayed bridge

Abstract

A cable-stayed bridge recently built in Coimbra, Portugal, was subjected to static and dynamic load tests, before it was opened to the traffic. Those tests included the ambient vibration tests presented in this paper. Dynamic tests with loaded trucks crossing the bridge with different speeds were also performed and are briefly referred. The paper describes the testing procedure and the modal identification techniques that were used to process the measured accelerations. The dynamic characteristics obtained with output-only modal identification techniques are presented and compared with the ones evaluated with a finite element model of the bridge.