Quick assessment of high-speed railway bridges based on a non-dimensional parameter representation

The objective of this study is to provide the engineering practice with a tool for simplified dynamic response assessment of high-speed railway bridges in the pre-design phase. To serve this purpose, a non-dimensional representation of the characteristic parameters of the train–bridge interaction problem is described and extended based on a beam bridge model subjected to the static axle loads of the crossing high-speed train. The non-dimensional parameter representation is used to discuss several code-related design issues. It is revealed that in an admitted parameter domain, a code-regulated static assessment of high-speed railway bridges may under-predict the actual dynamic response. Furthermore, the minimum mass of a bridge as a function of the characteristic parameters is presented to comply with the maximum bridge acceleration specified in standards.