Vehicle load spectrum simulation of long-span bridges

Based on the requirement for fatigue damage evaluation of long-span bridges, and existing research literatures, the vehicle type, vehicle weight and time duration are taken as characteristic parameters of random vehicle load. Taking the Second Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge as an example, the characteristics of traffic load are obtained by traffic investigation and the data from existing research results. In the paper the method and process for vehicle load spectrum simulation which includes data acquisition of random traffic load, statistical analysis and Monte Carlo simulation is proposed. The simulation program of random traffic flow is verified using the measured data. The proposed method can provide a reference for random traffic load simulation.