Digital Twin of Bridge Calibrated by the PSO Method

This paper investigates the use of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method to calibrate a finite element model (FEM) using experimental tests. The PSO method, a numerical technique that uses a particle swarm, is used to find the optimal solution by evaluating the position of each particle based on its objective function. The objective function in this study focuses on comparing the calculated and measured natural frequencies. The study uses a sophisticated FEM of a cable-stayed bridge with a main span of about 300 m in Bratislava; the bridge was reconstructed in 2017and included a change in the weight of some parts and replacement of the road surface. The weight of any water pipes and the surface treatment of the pavements are taken into account as additional MATLAB parameters in the calibration process. Through an optimization process using the PSO method, these parameters are fine-tuned to achieve a closer match between the natural frequencies obtained from the measurements and the calculations from the FE model. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the PSO method in improving the fit by tuning these parameters.