Bridge pier column multi-hazard response – fire, impact and blast

Abstract

Bridge piers and pier columns are crucial load-carrying structural elements that may be under-designed for certain extreme demands such as vehicle collision, air blast, and fire. Numerous research studies have examined bridge column and bridge pier performance when subjected to such extreme events individually or in conjunction with one other demand. Combined effects of impact, blast and fire on pier column and multi-column pier performance have not been extensively explored in the literature. An ongoing study that uses LS-DYNA to analytically investigate performance of round pier columns and multi-column piers subjected to a multi-hazard scenario involving vehicle impact, blast, and fire is presented. Research focuses on blast and impact performance after fire exposure. The proposed finite element modeling approach was validated against published tests under various combinations of these demands and good agreement was shown.