Series tuned mass dampers in vibration control of continuous railway bridges

Abstract

This paper presents the applicability of series tuned mass dampers (STMDs) to reduce the multiple resonant responses of continuous railway bridges under high-speed train. The bridge is modeled by two-span Bernoulli-Euler beam with uniform cross-section, and a STMD device consisting of two TMD units installed on the bridge to reduce its multiple resonant vibrations. The system is assumed to be under the action of a high-speed train passage which is modeled as a series of moving forces. Sequential Programming Technique (SQP) is carried out to find the optimal parameters of the STMD that minimizes the maximum peak responses of the bridge. Comparisons with the results available in the literature are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of STMD system in reducing the multiple resonant responses of the continuous railway bridges under high-speed trains.