Safety Assessment of Bridges Under Earthquakes

Abstract eng:
Reports of seismic effects on reinforced concrete bridges, especially those built according to the codes of practice of the seventies, show that a lot of them behave poorly and have an inadequate safety assessment. Some efforts, therefore, must be made to accurately define bridge assessment and hence evaluate the need for reliable solutions to improve safety levels and behaviour during seismic activity in the future. The main purpose of this paper is to present a simple methodology for seismic response evaluation of bridges and a probabilistic methodology for the safety assessment of bridges, which use the results of the first one for the seismic vulnerability calculation. Seismic response is based on a simplified plane model, with easy practical application and involving reduced calculation efforts while maintaining adequate accuracy. The bridge structural modelling is carried out with plane bar elements, maintaining the main characteristics of the 3D response through an appropriate plane structural simulation, and considering the non-linear behaviour concentrated in plastic hinges. The evaluation of seismic vulnerability is carried out through the failure probability quantification involving a non-linear transformation of the seismic action in its structural effects. The applicability of the proposed methodologies is then illustrated in the seismic vulnerability analysis of one reinforced concrete bridge, which has been studied in Ispra, Italy, involving a series of experimental tests and numerical analysis, providing an excellent set of results for comparison and global calibration.

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