Abstract
One of the challenges associated with Eurocode 8 and AASHTO-LRFD is predicting the failure of irregular bridges supported by piers of unequal heights. EC8 currently uses “moment demand-to-moment capacity” ratios to somewhat guarantee simultaneous failure of piers on bridges, while AASHTO-LRFD relies on the relative effective stiffness of the piers. These conditions are not entirely valid, in particular for piers with a relative height of 0.5 or less, where a possible combination of flexure and shear failure mode may occur. In this case, the shorter piers often result in brittle shear failure, while the longer piers are most likely to fail due to flexure, creating a combination of different failure modes experienced by the bridge. To evaluate the adequacy of EC8 design procedures for regular seismic behavior, various irregular bridges are simulated through a non-linear pushover analysis using shear-critical fiber-based beam-column elements. The paper investigates the behavior of irregular monolithic and bearing-type bridges experiencing different failure modes, and proposes different methods for regularizing the bridge performance to balance damage. The ultimate aim is to obtain a simultaneous or near-simultaneous failure of all piers irrespective of the different heights and failure mode experienced.
Highlights
Bridges are one of the critical components of any transport infrastructure network, and their serviceability during earthquakes is vital to ensure the safety of society
Four-span monolithic-type bridge with pier height ratio 0.37: In this case study, it has been further noted that the optimum value of corresponds to a small transverse reinforcement value in the short pier (Figs. 19-20)
Three-span monolithic-type bridge with pier height ratio of 0.5 under seismic excitations: In order to confirm the results obtained from the static analysis conducted earlier, a seismic analysis is conducted for case study bridge # I under the effect of El Centro earthquake record
Summary
Bridges are one of the critical components of any transport infrastructure network, and their serviceability during earthquakes is vital to ensure the safety of society. These are similar to case studies V-VI, except that the connection for the longer pier is assumed to be monolithic, while that for the shorter pier is kept as bearing-type. I. Three-span monolithic-type bridge with pier height ratio of 0.5: A pushover analysis was performed for this case study with pier height ratio of 0.5.
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