Field test and probabilistic vulnerability assessment of a reinforced concrete bridge pier subjected to blast loads

Abstract

Bridge piers have a high risk of being attacked in wartime, which has the potential to trigger progressive bridge collapse. This study aims to predict the failure probability of reinforced concrete (RC) piers exposed to military attack scenarios. Field explosion test and axial compression test were conducted to investigate the damage and post-blast performance of the RC pier first. Then, the uncertainties sourcing from the weapon accuracy were investigated. A performance-based (PB) vulnerability probabilistic assessment framework is developed which combines the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) with a full-scale finite element (FE) model which was verified with test results. A probabilistic vulnerability assessment of a typical RC pier subjected to stochastic blast loading is conducted, and the vulnerability curve corresponding to three performance levels is developed. In addition, the damage modes and post-blast performance of the RC pier under blast loading are analyzed. Results show that the blast-induced damage to an RC pier had a significant influence on the axial bearing capacity, and the pier presents different damage modes at different scaled distances, which has a critical value of 0.65 m/kg1/3 between local and global damage modes. The failure probability of the pier corresponding to different performance levels increased with an increase in the TNT charge. The pier’s probability of collapse is less than 20 % when the TNT charge weight does not exceed 500 kg.