On the separation between moving vehicles and bridge

In vehicle-bridge interaction problems, the contact force between the moving vehicle and the bridge depends on the velocity and acceleration of the moving vehicle, the flexibility of the bridge as well as the roughness of the upper surface of the bridge. In some cases, the contact force may become zero, which implies that the moving vehicle separates from the bridge. Neglecting this separation phenomenon will lead to a tensile contact force, which will affect the results. This paper investigates the onset and effects of separation between the moving vehicle and bridge. An algorithm to account for the impact on the reestablishment of contact is proposed. Numerical results also show that the effects are not negligible. (C) 1999 Academic Press.