The role of physical models in the validation and calibration of numerical models -- The example of the Lillebælt Bridge

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Main Authors: Wunderlich, Paula Apollonia, Tondo, Gledson Rodrigo, Morgenthal, Guido
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Wunderlich, Paula Apollonia
Tondo, Gledson Rodrigo
Morgenthal, Guido
author_facet Wunderlich, Paula Apollonia
Tondo, Gledson Rodrigo
Morgenthal, Guido
contents With the rapid advancement of computer technologies enabling fast calculations of complex structures, numerical methods have become a central tool in engineering sciences, while physical models have increasingly receded into the background. Nevertheless, owing to their clarity and comprehensibility, these former engineering tools remain of great value and their use can still be highly relevant today. At the example of the scale model of the Lillebælt Bridge -- developed by the Copenhagen engineers Christen Ostenfeld and Wriborg Jønson and given for research purposes to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar -- this paper illustrates how physical models can still serve as useful instruments in research and teaching. By applying operational modal analysis, the natural frequencies and damping ratios of the bridge model are experimentally determined, which in turn can serve as reference data for the calibration and validation of numerical models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_25623
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The role of physical models in the validation and calibration of numerical models -- The example of the Lillebælt Bridge
Wunderlich, Paula Apollonia
Tondo, Gledson Rodrigo
Morgenthal, Guido
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
With the rapid advancement of computer technologies enabling fast calculations of complex structures, numerical methods have become a central tool in engineering sciences, while physical models have increasingly receded into the background. Nevertheless, owing to their clarity and comprehensibility, these former engineering tools remain of great value and their use can still be highly relevant today. At the example of the scale model of the Lillebælt Bridge -- developed by the Copenhagen engineers Christen Ostenfeld and Wriborg Jønson and given for research purposes to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar -- this paper illustrates how physical models can still serve as useful instruments in research and teaching. By applying operational modal analysis, the natural frequencies and damping ratios of the bridge model are experimentally determined, which in turn can serve as reference data for the calibration and validation of numerical models.
title The role of physical models in the validation and calibration of numerical models -- The example of the Lillebælt Bridge
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.25623