Seismic response of a Reduced-scale continuous girder bridge with rocking Columns: Experiment and analysis

Abstract

Rocking columns offer several advantages for bridges constructed in seismic-prone areas, such as reducing the overall seismic damage, minimizing the repair cost and time, and enhancing the seismic resilience after strong earthquakes. In this paper, a 1/10 scaled four-span continuous girder bridge was tested on a shaking table array system to investigate the seismic responses of the continuous girder bridge with rocking columns. Considering the flexibility of the cross-section and the boundary conditions of the continuous girder bridge, an improved analytical model is proposed to predict the rocking behavior of the bridge system. Experimental results illustrate that the rocking columns in the continuous girder bridge could move synchronously and remain stable under earthquake excitations. Seismic damage of the rocking columns was negligible and no noticeable residual displacement was observed after the shaking table test, which indicates the excellent post-earthquake resilience of the bridge system. In addition, the seismic responses of the continuous girder bridge with rocking columns in the test can be well captured by the proposed analytical model.