The increasing need for High-Speed Railway (HSR) to reduce the travelling time requires increasing research within this field. Bridges are main components of any railway network, including HSR networks, and the optimization of their design for this purpose would contribute to a faster and more cost effective development of the HSR network. The initial investment, the running and maintenance costs of the bridges can be decreased through better understanding of the their dynamic behaviour. This thesis studies the dynamic behaviour of end-shield railway bridges under HSR operation. 2D beam analysis is used to study the effect of the distribution of the train’s axle load. Relatively accurate 3D FE-models are developed to study the effect of Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) and the dynamic response of the bridges. Modelling alternatives are studied to develop an accurate model. A full scale test of a simply supported Bridge with end-shields using load-controlled forced excitation was performed and the results were used to verify the theoretical models. A manual model updating process of the material properties of the 3D FE-model is performed using FRFs from the field measurements. A Simple 2D model is also developed, where a spring/dashpot system is implemented to simplify SSI, and updated to reproduce the field measured responses. The conclusions of the project emphasize the importance of SSI effects in the dynamic analysis of end-shield bridges for predicting their dynamic behaviour. The conclusions also show that the modelling of the surrounding soil and the assumption of the soil material parameters have significant effect on the dynamic response. Even the boundary conditions, bedrock level and the ballast on the railway track affects the response. The results also show that the bridge’s concrete section behaves as uncracked section under the studied dynamic loading. / <p>QC 20170403</p>

In the design of a railway bridge that is meant for train speeds larger than 200 km/h, the Swedish Traffic Administration requires a dynamic analysis in addition to the conventional static design. The models used for static design may not always be suitable for dynamic analysis, which could lead to inaccurate estimations of the dynamic response. The reason for this is a limited knowledge of the actual structural dynamic behaviour of bridges, which is why a hydraulic bridge exciter has been developed. With this device, smaller bridges can be excited in a load- or displacement-controlled manner under variable frequency and load. By having known inputs, the bridges’ dynamic properties can be evaluated using experimental modal analysis. A finite element model of the double tracked railway bridge Pershagen was created in order to plan a pilot test of the bridge exciter. The influence of the load amplitude and sweep rate was evaluated. A theoretically optimal excitation position was also investigated in order to excite as many eigenmodes as possible from one position during the pilot test. Based on these results, a pilot test was performed on the Pershagen Bridge. The dynamic properties of the bridge were evaluated based on the results from the test. From the pilot test it could be concluded that the load amplitude had a direct influence on the dynamic properties of the bridge, hence the dynamic behaviour is non-linear. The 1st vertical bending mode and its dynamic properties could also be identified. / Då en järnvägsbro som är avsedd för tåghastigheter över 200 km/h ska dimensioneras ställs det krav av Trafikverket att en dynamisk analys av bron skall utföras, utöver konventionell statisk dimensionering. De bromodeller som används för statisk analys är dock inte alltid lämpliga för dynamisk analys, vilket kan leda till felaktiga skattningar gällande den dynamiska inverkan. Anledningen till detta är att kunskapen om broars dynamiska egenskaper är begränsade, och av denna anledning har en lastexciterare utvecklats. Med hjälp av denna anordning kan mindre broar exciteras med kontrollerad last eller förskjutning under variabel frekvens och last. Då dessa input-parametrar är kända kan broars dynamiska egenskaper utvärderas genom experimentell modal analys. En finit element-modell av den tvåspåriga järnvägsbron vid Pershagen har skapats för att kunna planera ett pilottest av lastexciteraren. Svephastigheten och lastamplituden har analyserats. En teoretiskt optimal exciteringsposition har utvärderats för att excitera största möjliga antal moder från en och samma position under pilottestet. Utifrån dessa resultat utfördes ett pilottest på bron vid Pershagen, där brons dynamiska egenskaper utvärderades utifrån resultaten. Från pilottestet kunde en slutsats dras om att lastamplituden hade en direkt inverkan på de dynamiska egenskaperna, vilket betyder att det dynamiska beteendet är olinjärt. Den första vertikala böjmoden och dess dynamiska egenskaper kunde också fastställas.