Extreme Value Extrapolation for Bridge Vehichle Load Effect Based on Synthetic Vehicle Flow

Abstract:

Vehicle load is one of the key factors for bridge design and assessment. For accurate condition assessment or key components design, site specific vehicle load models based on real traffic conditions should be established. Since the static vehicle data in China cannot be used for weight in motion(WIM) data based methods directly, a synthetic vehicle flow based simulation method is proposed. Statistic models of vehicle data, and vehicle flow models are established on the basis of field measurement. The Gaussian and stationary assumption for using Rice’s formula to extrapolate characteristic value for long return period based on simulated vehicle loading effects processes is calibrated in mathematical way. An example is given to illustrate the difference of live load effect based on loading models derived by the existing Chinese design code and the proposed method in this study, and the accuracy of simulation and extrapolation are also checked.