Using a Calibrated Model to Analyse the Vertical Displacements of a Bridge Produced by Air Temperature Variations

In recent times, the present transportation infrastructures have encountered significant safety concerns, resulting in costly repairs, significant business disruptions, and occasionally demolition, all of which have had significant economic and social repercussions. Vibration-Based Monitoring is a strategic tool for real-time assessment of potential damages suffered by civil/strategic structures and infrastructures due to ageing or after a critical event. As a component of Vibration-Based Monitoring (VMB), experimental dynamic identification techniques enable the characterization of modal characteristics of existing structures, both in stationary and non-stationary conditions. The process used to calibrate the numerical model can be considered an inverse engineering application. This paper focuses on the dynamic calibration of a Finite Element (FE) model pertaining to the “Ponte della Musica – Armando Trovajoli” bridge located in Rome (Italy), built utilizing design documentation and visual inspections. The model calibration has been performed using accelerometric recordings to evaluate eigenfrequencies, mode shapes, and equivalent viscous damping factor. Multiple numerical FEM models were created using different boundary conditions. Uncertainties derived from external constraints and executive details have been accounted for by varying stiffness and other mechanical parameters within many parametric analyses with the aim of fitting experimental dynamic properties with simulated ones. Within Task WP6 (Monitoring and Satellite Data) of the DPC-ReLUIS 2022–2024 agreement, the present research activities were conducted. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of temperature on the vertical displacements of the monitored bridge and compare them with acquired satellite data information.