Simplified P-y Relationships for Modeling Embankment-Abutment Systems of Typical California Bridges

Abstract eng:
The flexibility οf the embankment-abutment stiffness has been found to drastically effect the seismic response of the entire bridge, typically depending on the intensity of earthquake ground motion, but also on the geometrical and mechanical properties of embankment-abutment system. Consequently, significant effort has been made to incorporate the nonlinear behavior of the lateral support of the deck primarily through inelastic static (pushover) analysis. However, the difficulties in modeling the nonlinear behavior of soil as well as the computationally demanding three-dimensional geometry often lead to the disregard of some sources of nonlinearity such as those associated with the foundation soil and the boundary conditions at bridge abutments. Along these lines, the scope of this paper is to model and study the nonlinear response of six typical Californian abutment-embankment systems to derive specific force-deflection (i.e., P-y) relationships as a function of foundation soil properties, abutment type, and embankment geometry within the framework of an alternative simplified method proposed by Kappos et al. (2007). Comparative assessment of the current Caltrans guidelines is also performed and design recommendations are made.

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