Bridge Scour Detection of the Feather River Bridge in Yuba City, CA through the use of Finite Element Modeling and Infrasound

A. Jordan [1], D. Whitlow [1], S. McComas [1], M. H. McKenna [1],
[1] U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, USA
Published in 2015

Ongoing studies by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are investigating infrasound as a means of persistent monitoring and scour detection at bridges through analysis of the frequency change of the structure caused by altered boundary conditions. Bridges resonate frequencies which are typically in the infrasound passband (0.1-20 Hz range). A recent field deployment allowed for characterization of scour on a known scour-critical structure with validation from a comparison of infrasound data and numerical modeling. Using COMSOL Multiphysics® software, finite element models have been developed of the Bridge to investigate the fundamental frequencies. As future research is conducted using COMSOL, predictions can be made on how the bridge will resonate based on the intensity of the scour.