Impact on Seismic Response of Bridge Columns Due to Seasonal Freezing

Abstract eng:
Several significant seismic events have occurred during the winter months in areas that experience seasonal freezing. In a recent study, it has been shown that freezing temperatures can significantly influence the soil-foundation-structure interaction and structural response of bridge columns due to changes in material properties, especially those of soils. As part of this study, cyclic lateral load testing of identical full-scale column-foundation systems during summer and winter months has revealed the dramatic changes in response created by freezing temperatures. Using the measured material properties from the two tests, analytical models were developed and validated using the cyclic response of the test units. In this process, it was shown that the analytical models satisfactorily captured measured responses of a range of critical parameters, which differed greatly between the warm and frozen conditions. The analytical models were then extended to investigate the response of the column-pile-soil systems under seismic loads. This paper presents the validated analytical models and the expected effects of seasonal freezing on the seismic response of bridge columns subjected to earthquakes of different intensities.

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