Human-structure interaction in pedestrian bridges: A probabilistic approach

This paper deals with the quantification of the effects of human-structure interaction in the vertical direction for footbridges. Analyses are based on the study of a coupled system of the footbridge, modeled as a continuous dynamic system, and pedestrians, schematized as moving single-degree-of-freedom systems, characterized by random dynamic properties. The equivalent dynamic properties of the coupled system are estimated based on a state-space approach. The dimensionless parameters governing the problem are identified and numerical simulations are carried out varying such dimensionless parameters. Results of Monte Carlo simulations allow to quantify the effects of human-structure interaction on the dynamic properties of the footbridge, identifying the ranges of the governing dimensionless parameters where such effect is determinant.