Recent Advances in Vehicle Scanning Methods for Bridge

Y.B. Yang

School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, China

Abstract: This presentation highlights key contributions made by the speaker and colleagues since the 1990s. The work began with the AASHTO (1992) impact formula, which lacked physical clarity. To address this, the team introduced vehicle–bridge interaction (VBI) analysis—used for the first time—and derived VBI elements that enabled a new set of physically meaningful impact formulas for bridges. They then proposed an optimal design rule for simple beams in high-speed railways: beam vibration is minimized when the beam length is 1.5 times the vehicle length. This guideline has been widely adopted in Europe, China, Japan, and Korea. Inspired by VBI research, the team introduced the concept of using a moving test vehicle to scan bridge frequencies. This indirect approach, later termed the vehicle scanning method (VSM), was validated in field tests and expanded to detect mode shapes and other dynamic properties using vehicle–bridge contact responses. Recent advances apply VSM with a two-axle test vehicle, enabling: (1) Separation of flexural and torsional frequencies from left and right wheel responses. (2) Identification of damping using wheel measurements at different times. (3) Construction of mode shapes using front and rear wheel data collected simultaneously. The VSM has been successfully demonstrated on bridges in Taipei, Chongqing, and Xiamen.

References 

1.Yang, Y. B., Yang, J. P., Zhang, B., and Wu, Y.T., Vehicle Scanning Method for Bridges, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., London, 2019. 

2.Xu, H., Yang, D.S., Yang, Y.B., Advanced Vehicle Scanning Method: Bridge Modal Parameter Identification, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., London 2025.

Bio: Dr. Yeong-Bin Yang got his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University in 1984. He is a member of Chinese Academy of Engineering and European Academy of Sciences and Arts, foreign member of Austrian Academy of Sciences. Currently, he is Honorary Dean of School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, China and Professor Emeritus of National Taiwan University (NTU), and Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics (IJSSD). Previously, he was President of National Yunlin University of Science and Technology (YunTech), Dean of College of Engineering, Chairman of Civil Engineering Department, NTU, President of Asian-Pacific Association of Computational Mechanics (APACM), and Chairman of East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction (EASEC). He received a number of Awards, including Lifetime Achievement Medal, ASCE Greater China Section (2023); Zienkiewicz Medal, APACM (2022); Li-Guo-Hao Bridge Innovation Medal, Tongji University, China (2022); Nishino Medal, EASEC (2016); Tsuboi Award, IASS (2008); Munro Prize, Engineering Structures (2003); Outstanding Scientist, Nobel Laureate Dr. Y. T. Lee's Foundation, Taiwan (1998); Distinguished Research Award, National Science Council, Taiwan (1988-1998); etc. In addition, he has published 6 books and more than 330 SCI papers, with a Google citation of 20,621 times and h-index of 72.