Abstract
Though seismic vulnerability analysis of highway bridges is mature, there is little corresponding research on high-speed railway (HSR) bridges. The seismic vulnerability analysis of HSR bridges is very different to and more difficult than for highway bridges because the multiple components of the track structure are very complex. To fill this research gap, the authors establish a finite element (FE) model of an HSR bridge with the China railway track system II (CRTS II), which includes sliding layers, cement asphalt (CA) layers and fasteners, base plates, track plates and rails. Analytical results show that seismic responses of multiple bridge components have a linear correlation. Thus, the overall track-bridge system can be assumed to operate like a serial system. Here, the seismic response and vulnerability of various bridge components are first analyzed using the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method. Afterwards, the failure sequence is found by comparing the seismic vulnerability of critical bridge components. Finally, the seismic vulnerability of the overall track-bridge system is evaluated according to the upper and lower first-bounds. Results illustrate that the system vulnerability of HSR bridges, which is very different to that of highway bridges, is mainly determined by the sliding layers and fixed bearings. In particular, the serious damage of a sliding layer is caused by the uncoordinated deformation of beam ends, and fixed bearings may break down when they are exposed to strong earthquakes. The overall track-bridge system is prone to severe seismic damage when peak ground acceleration (PGA) is larger than 0.2 g.
Highlights
High-speed railway (HSR) bridges are playing an increasingly important role in modern society [1]
To fill the research gap, taking a typical HSR continuous girder bridge as an example, this study investigates the correlation of diverse component responses, develops seismic fragility curves for bridge components and systems, and uncovers the failure mechanism of the overall track-bridge system
As this study focuses on the seismically induced failure sequence of HSR bridge components, we just focus on simulating major bridge components for the track-bridge system, but the train-track-bridge interaction is temporarily ignored
Summary
High-speed railway (HSR) bridges are playing an increasingly important role in modern society [1]. In earthquake prone countries, such as Japan, Nepal, India, Philippines, Pakistan, Mexico and Turkey, such bridges are vulnerable to seismic damage [2, 3]. Such damage threatens property and human life, and involves significant investment in repair. In mountainous areas of Western China, bridges are exposed to frequent and strong earthquakes, with potential seismic damage posing a great challenge to the development of the region. In order to evaluate bridges’ seismic risk and reduce seismically induced economic loss, it is imperative to find an efficient seismic risk assessment method for HSR bridges. Seismic fragility analysis has become an efficient tool to estimate bridges’ probable damage in terms of four distinct damage levels: slight damage, moderate damage, extensive
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