Abstract
The actual earthquake resistance performance and the seismic damage state of bridges during future earthquakes are important issues that need to be resolved. Using an expressway reinforced concrete (RC) girder bridge in a high seismic intensity area of China as the research object, the damage correlation between different structural components of the bridge is analyzed, and the key components that determine the structural safety state of the bridge are determined. Then, the safety evaluation indexes of the bridge pier and bearing are researched, and a two-stage seismic safety evaluation methodology for RC girder bridges is proposed. The first stage is a rapid and general evaluation using empirical statistical methods, and the second stage is a precise evaluation obtained by calculating the damage index of the components. Subsequently, the seismic damage prediction matrix is presented. Considering the modification of the bridge span number, service life, and skew angle, a seismic safety evaluation from a typical single bridge to a group of bridges of the same type is implemented. Finally, an actual expressway bridge in China is presented as a numerical example to illustrate the application of the method. The research results show that damage to the key components, including bearings, piers, and abutments, is the deciding factor of the bridge damage state. The seismic damage states of piers and bearings can be conveniently assessed according to the pier top displacement angle and bearing shear deformation during earthquakes. According to the suggested standard of RC girder bridge seismic damage, the seismic safety evaluation of the whole bridge structure can be obtained using the seismic safety evaluation of individual key components of the bridge structure. According to the evaluation results of individual bridges and considering the modification of influencing factors, an earthquake performance evaluation of a group of bridges of the same type can be obtained. The two-stage seismic safety evaluation methodology proposed in this study is effective and efficient.
Highlights
Once the bridge is damaged during an earthquake, it will inevitably lead to a decline or even suspension of the overall function of the transportation system
Considering that the abutment and pier structures of expressway bridges are relatively consistent, in this study, we selected bearings and piers as two key components to be used in seismic safety evaluations of concrete beam bridges
(2) e dimensionless displacement angle of the pier top and shear deformation was selected as the evaluation indexes of the damage state of the pier and bearing, respectively. e calculations are simple, the engineering applicability is strong, and the results closely match the existing specifications. e evaluation index values of different damage states are given
Summary
Once the bridge is damaged during an earthquake, it will inevitably lead to a decline or even suspension of the overall function of the transportation system. 1970s, the United States and Japan have conducted seismic evaluations of highway bridges in service, and early evaluations were mainly based on empirical statistical methods [5]. E code checking method requires first the calculation of the seismic load of the main components of the bridge according to the relevant provisions in the “Code for seismic design of Highway Engineering (TJT004-89)” in China. From the research results at home and abroad [15,16,17,18,19], the commonly used bridge seismic damage prediction methods currently include empirical statistical methods, code check methods, structural analysis methods, neural network prediction methods, and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation methods. A two-stage seismic safety evaluation method for RC girder bridges was established, and an earthquake damage prediction matrix was developed. By modifying the factors affecting the seismic performance of the bridge, the transformation from the seismic safety evaluation of a typical single bridge to a group of bridges of the same type was realized
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