Remarks on the experimental behaviour of curved surface sliders of the new Polcevera Bridge in Genoa

Abstract

This work presents the results of the procedure of certification and acceptance for the sliding behavior of non-standard devices curved surface sliders, used for the seismic isolation of the New Polcevera Bridge. Indeed, the deck is seismically isolated from the piers. The supporting scheme withstands the seismic actions, wind actions and thermal actions, very relevant in a 1067 m length bridge without middle expansion joints. The paper aim is to describe the approach followed during the construction supervision process for the functional certification and acceptance tests of the bearing devices coherently with Italian and European codes. The paper highlights the main issues encountered during the application of the different specifications. A description of the different functional tests required during the construction supervision process is presented as well as an overview of the different acceptance criteria of the tests results. The intent is to prepare a series of useful recommendations for the definition of the seismic acceptance tests for bearing devices for highway bridges in Italian and European contest. Finally, all the results regarding the static and dynamic frictional coefficients, have been used to derive regressions laws, by also comparing them with the outcomes of previous literature studies.