Pedestrian–bridge dynamic interaction, including human participation

The pedestrian–bridge dynamic interaction problem based on bipedal walking model and damped compliant legs is presented in this work. A time-variant damper is modeled at a given walking speed. A control force is applied by the pedestrian to compensate for energy dissipated with the system damping in walking and to regulate the walking performance of the pedestrian. The effects of stiffness, damping of the leg and the landing angle of attack are investigated in the numerical studies. Simulation results show that the dynamic interaction will increase with a larger vibration level of structure. More external energy must be input to maintain steady walking and uniform dynamic behavior of the pedestrian in the process. The simple bipedal walking model could well describe the human–structure dynamic interaction.

► The Lagrangian human–structure interaction system is studied with feedback control force.
► Pedestrian is represented as a bipedal walking model with time-varying damper and leg stiffness.
► Two examples are analyzed with comparison of results from the time domain force model.
► The effects of stiffness, damping of the leg and the landing angle of attack are investigated.