The Singing Bridge: Sonification of a Stress-Ribbon Footbridge

Abstract

Because of their slenderness, stress-ribbon footbridges are often subject to excessive vibrations caused by human-induced loads. The liveliness of such bridges is strongly connected to several types of interaction effects. In earlier studies, multiple dynamic responses of a stress-ribbon footbridge were observed on the new campus of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Portugal. Although extreme vibrations have never been reported, vertical oscillations are clearly perceptible under the excitement of pedestrians. To assess the current levels of vibration caused by both natural phenomena and pedestrian excitation, several accelerometers have been placed on the structure. While monitoring the bridge, the accelerometers revealed physical phenomena that are indistinguishable from our senses. Therefore, this project aims to adopt sonification techniques as a compositional tool to create a sound manifestation that exhibits the dynamic response of the bridge. Furthermore, this project also aims to create a pleasant sonification that can convey information. When we talk about representing data in a musical form, we talk about musification.