Crowd–structure interaction in footbridges: Modelling, application to a real case-study and sensitivity analyses

A mathematical and computational model used to simulate crowd–structure interaction in lively footbridges is presented in this work. The model is based on the mathematical and numerical decomposition of the coupled multiphysical nonlinear system into two interacting subsystems. The model was conceived to simulate the synchronous lateral excitation phenomenon caused by pedestrians walking on footbridges. The model was first applied to simulate a crowd event on an actual footbridge, the T-bridge in Japan. Three sensitivity analyses were then performed on the same benchmark to evaluate the properties of the model. The simulation results show good agreement with the experimental data found in literature and the model could be considered a useful tool for designers and engineers in the different phases of footbridge design.