Table 1 Data processing using MATLAB for SAP 2000 numerical analysis

Preprocessing:

Three Comma-Separated Values (CSV) input files were created using MATLAB to define the problem.

1) Bridge Data:

Variables: (number of spans (N), and span length (L))

1- Set the range of N and L according to the parametric study.

2- Loop over N and L to generate point coordinates, and frame elements.

3- Assign frame section.

2) Vehicle Definitions:

Variables: (number of trucks (x), number of axles (n), spacing between axles (s), and axle load (p))

1- Generate load names with the following designation (Type(class)_Number(x)_Spacing(s)).

2- Assign number of axles for each load.

3- Define axle loads and spacing.

4- Apply scale factor (scale factor = 1 in the current study).

3) Load Cases:

1- Assign lanes to frame numbers.

2- Assign moving load cases for each load.

The three CSV dataframes are then imported into SAP2000

Postprocessing using MATLAB:

1- The results were exported in excel files.

2- MATLAB was used to perform the analysis and generate the figures.