Finite element model calibration of an arch synthetic bridge using terrestrial laser scanning measurements

Structural health monitoring (SHM), safety assessment, and reducing the cost of field testing of the civil structures is of great importance. Combining the field testing and Finite Element Model (FEM) are beneficial to optimize the process in proof load tests. In this master thesis, an arch synthetic bridge in a small scale is simulated based on the FEM under known monotonic loads. The aforementioned arch bridge was constructed in the laboratory of the Institute of Concrete Construction of Leibniz University Hannover. The designed FEM (available from previous works) needs to be calibrated to reveal approximately similar behaviors and parameters such as stress and strain as a real object. For this purpose, the geodetic sensor such as terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) is used, which provides 3D point clouds as well as reflectivity values. In order to calibrate the FEM, the mesh/surface is estimated by fitting the surface to the arch part of this structure based on the surface approximation approaches such as B-Spline.

Tasks:

• Understanding the nature and key features of loads, supports and analysis of structures
• Calibration of the FEM using fitted surface to the 3D point clouds
• Validation, evaluation, and comparison of the FE results to the true values and also to the previous works

Requirements:

• Good mathematical background
• Good programming skill in MATLAB or Python

References:

Xu, X., Augello, R., and Yang, H. (2021). The generation and validation of a CUF-based FEA model with laser-based experiments. Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, 28(16), 1648-1655.

Yang, H., Omidalizarandi, M., Xu, X., and Neumann, I. (2017). Terrestrial laser scanning technology for deformation monitoring and surface modeling of arch structures. Composite Structures, 169, 173-179.

Xu, W., Xu, X., Yang, H., & Neumann, I. (2019). Optimized finite element analysis model based on terrestrial laser scanning data. Composite Structures, 207, 62-71.