Papers by Author: Silvano Erlicher

Abstract: In this paper, a simple 1D crowd model is proposed, which aim is to properly describe the crowd-flow phenomena occurring when pedestrians walk on a flexible footbridge. The crowd is assumed to behave like a continuous compressible fluid and the pedestrian flow is modeled in a 1-D framework using the (total) mass (of pedestrians) conservation equation. This crowd model is then coupled with a simple model for the dynamical behavior of the footbridge and an optimized modeling of synchronization effects is performed. Numerical simulations are presented to show some preliminary results.

Abstract: This paper presents a technique for identification of non-linear hysteretic systems subjected to non-stationary loading. In the numerical simulations, a Bouc-Wen model was chosen for its ability to represent the properties of a wide class of real hysteretic systems. The parameters of the model are computed instantaneously by approximating the internal restoring force surface through an “ad hoc” polynomial basis. Instantaneous estimates result from time-varying spectra of the response signals. A numerical application of interest to earthquake engineering is finally reported.