A SPRING-MASS-DAMPER MODEL OF BIPEDAL WALKING TO SIMULATE GROUND REACTION FORCES PRODUCED BY HUMANS
Palavras-chave:
bipedal walking models, human induced loads, vibrationsResumo
The pedestrian-bridge dynamic interaction problem has been the focus of significant research
worldwide due to the increase in vibration problems of footbridges caused by walking pedestrians. On
this topic, several authors have proposed biomechanical models to represent the pedestrian. However,
turning these models practical for use in engineering is still a challenge as numerous experimental results
are needed to validate them and identify their parameters. In this research, a numerical model of bipedal
walking with stiffness and damping was implemented in MATLAB. In parallel, experimental tests in-
volving different volunteers were carried out at the Structures Laboratory of COPPE/UFRJ (LabEst).
The volunteers were asked to walk at three different speeds on a test structure. The step forces were
measured by instrumented force plates and the acceleration nearest to the pedestrian’s center of mass
by using an accelerometer placed on a belt attached at the waist of each subject. In order to validate
this model, the simulated ground reaction forces (GRFs) were correlated with the experimental measure-
ments obtained from force plates, and thus the model parameters were identified. A large number of
Monte Carlo simulations were performed to find the best numerical-experimental correlation for each
case. This work intends to provide a database of parameters for a bipedal walking model aiming the
future use of this model in practice.
