Emergence of the London Millennium Bridge instability without synchronisation.

ABSTRACT: The pedestrian-induced instability of the London Millennium Bridge is a widely used example of Kuramoto synchronisation. Yet, reviewing observational, experimental, and modelling evidence, we argue that increased coherence of pedestrians' foot placement is a consequence of, not a cause of the instability. Instead, uncorrelated pedestrians produce positive feedback, through negative damping on average, that can initiate significant lateral bridge vibration over a wide range of natural frequencies. We present a simple general formula that quantifies this effect, and illustrate it through simulation of three mathematical models, including one with strong propensity for synchronisation. Despite subtle effects of gait strategies in determining precise instability thresholds, our results show th

SUBMITTER: Belykh I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8664840 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature