Assessment of Reduction Measure for Seismicresponse of Bridge Decks during near-Source Earthquakes

Abstract

During the strong near-source ground motions, adjacent bridge decks often collide each other because of the insufficient separations. Pounding can cause severe bridge damage, or even result in unseating if the seating length is not enough. In this study, the bridge structure is modeled by a finite element method. The subsoil is represented by steel springs and viscous dampers. The considered reduction measure consists of steel springs with additional friction element. The nonlinear analysis is performed in the time domain. The considered earthquakes are the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The reduction of the relative displacement and pounding forces of the two bridge decks is investigated. The investigations reveal that the proposed reduction measure can be used to reduce the seismic responses between two bridge decks with their neighboring abutments.