Keywords: multiplication factor approach, crowd excitation, pedestrian traffic, human-induced vertical vibrations, pedestrian bridges, serviceability assessment.

This paper utilizes the improved multiplication factor method to predict vertical vibrations of pedestrian footbridges under crowd excitation, aiming to conduct a parametric study of crowd-induced effects on structures across varying crowd and structural parameters. The method amplifies the response of a virtual structure subjected to a representative single pedestrian, using an improved multiplication factor calibrated from extensive high-detail microsimulations that capture the complexities of pedestrian behaviour, including inter-subject variability, step-to-step fluctuations, and human-human interaction. Additionally, the method can account for human-structure interaction by incorporating the coupled crowd-structure system modal properties. Straightforward to apply and broadly applicable to both crowd and structural parameters, the method allows for extensive parametric analysis of crowd-induced structural accelerations. The results demonstrate that higher crowd densities do not necessarily represent the most critical condition for all structural configurations. This highlights the strength of the improved multiplication factor method, which is not restricted by specific crowd-structure combinations, providing a robust alternative to existing literature and conservative guidelines that typically exhibit a more limited range of applicability.

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