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P.A. Montenegro, E.-A. Laligant, F. Pimenta, A. Silva, O. Ahmed, C. Laurent, "Updated Damping Guidelines for Railway Bridges: Insights From the InBridge4EU Project", in P. Iványi, J. Kruis, B.H.V. Topping, (Editors), "Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing", Civil-Comp Press, Edinburgh, UK, Online volume: CCC 10, Paper 2.8, 2025,

Keywords: bridge damping, Eurocodes, railway bridges, damping estimation algorithms, InBridge4EU project, normative damping.

Abstract

Understanding and accurately estimating structural damping is essential for evaluating the dynamic performance of railway bridges, particularly under resonant conditions where responses can be amplified. Despite its importance, damping remains a complex and variable parameter, often influenced by factors such as soil–structure interaction, acceleration amplitude or damping estimation algorithms. Notably, recent measurement campaigns, including those carried out under the Shift2Rail In2Track2 and In2Track3 projects, have shown that damping levels in existing bridges frequently surpass the conservative values prescribed in current design codes, such as EN 1991-2. One of the most significant observations from these studies is the wide scatter of damping values, even among bridges with similar structural configurations. Recognising this, the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), together with Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail), launched the InBridge4EU project with the goal of improving guidance on dynamic behaviour, and particularly on damping, in the Eurocode framework. This paper presents major outcomes of the InBridge4EU project, which analysed over 1,000 traffic-induced acceleration records from 90 bridges across five European countries. Based on this extensive dataset, the project proposes updated damping curves and introduces a new classification of bridge typologies, aimed at better capturing the real-world variability of damping. These developments provide a more accurate and evidence-based foundation for the future revision of EN 1991-2.

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Front Page Browse CCC CCP CSETS CTR IJRT Other Authors Search Purchase Guide FAQ Contact us	Civil-Comp Conferences ISSN 2753-3239 CCC: 10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE EIGHTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CIVIL, STRUCTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING COMPUTING Edited by: P. Iványi, J. Kruis and B.H.V. Topping Paper 2.8 Updated Damping Guidelines for Railway Bridges: Insights From the InBridge4EU Project P.A. Montenegro¹, E.-A. Laligant², F. Pimenta³, A. Silva¹, O. Ahmed² and C. Laurent² ¹CONSTRUCT-iRAIL, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal ²Bureau d'Études en Acoustique et Vibrations, AVLS, France ³CONSTRUCT-VIBEST, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal Full Bibliographic Reference for this paper P.A. Montenegro, E.-A. Laligant, F. Pimenta, A. Silva, O. Ahmed, C. Laurent, "Updated Damping Guidelines for Railway Bridges: Insights From the InBridge4EU Project", in P. Iványi, J. Kruis, B.H.V. Topping, (Editors), "Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Computing", Civil-Comp Press, Edinburgh, UK, Online volume: CCC 10, Paper 2.8, 2025, Keywords: bridge damping, Eurocodes, railway bridges, damping estimation algorithms, InBridge4EU project, normative damping. Abstract Understanding and accurately estimating structural damping is essential for evaluating the dynamic performance of railway bridges, particularly under resonant conditions where responses can be amplified. Despite its importance, damping remains a complex and variable parameter, often influenced by factors such as soil–structure interaction, acceleration amplitude or damping estimation algorithms. Notably, recent measurement campaigns, including those carried out under the Shift2Rail In2Track2 and In2Track3 projects, have shown that damping levels in existing bridges frequently surpass the conservative values prescribed in current design codes, such as EN 1991-2. One of the most significant observations from these studies is the wide scatter of damping values, even among bridges with similar structural configurations. Recognising this, the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), together with Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail), launched the InBridge4EU project with the goal of improving guidance on dynamic behaviour, and particularly on damping, in the Eurocode framework. This paper presents major outcomes of the InBridge4EU project, which analysed over 1,000 traffic-induced acceleration records from 90 bridges across five European countries. Based on this extensive dataset, the project proposes updated damping curves and introduces a new classification of bridge typologies, aimed at better capturing the real-world variability of damping. These developments provide a more accurate and evidence-based foundation for the future revision of EN 1991-2. download the full-text of this paper (PDF, 14 pages, 1155 Kb) go to the previous paper go to the next paper return to the table of contents return to the volume description
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