ABSTRACT
This study presents the calibration and validation of the numerical model of a steel-concrete composite railway bridge considering the vehicle-structure interaction. An ambient vibration test, based on limited experimental data, and a dynamic test under traffic actions, were performed, in order to estimate the modal parameters of the bridge and the dynamic responses for the passage of Alfa Pendular train, respectively. The numerical dynamic responses were obtained using ABAQUS software based on an iterative uncoupled method for vehicle-structure interaction which considerers the track irregularities. The calibration of the numerical model was based on the application of a genetic algorithm, minimizing the differences between numerical and experimental modal parameters. The experimental responses obtained from the dynamic test under railway traffic revealed a good agreement with the numerical responses.
