Abstract:The multiple independent updating of finite element models based on the random search is difficult to describe the dynamic laws of the structural performance degradation and the component damage deepening and expanding to adjacent components as the service time of the bridge increases. This paper proposes a dynamic calibration method for bridge finite element models considering structural performance degradation based on the Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CS algorithm). Firstly, the set of parameters to be updated corresponding to the code of the CS algorithm is divided into three groups: diseased components, adjacent components to diseased components, and other components. Then, different strategies are used to initialize each group of codes, and the upper limit of the parameters to be updated is set to the previous updating result. Finally, the search range for each group of codes is limited by setting different control factors for the step sizes. At the end of the paper, a single span truss bridge was used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The research results indicate that the dynamic calibration method of the finite element model based on the CS algorithm can dynamically calibrate the finite element model of bridges. The dynamically calibrated finite element model can describe the time-varying behavior of the operation performance of bridges as the disease deepens over time and extends to adjacent components.