Seismic Retrofitting of Reinforced Concrete Bridge Bents Utilizing Hysteretic Dampers

Abstract eng:
Typical reinforced concrete bridge bents constructed in the 1950 to mid-1970 in the Pacific Northwest of the United States were designed and built with minimum seismic considerations. As a result of this design practice, bridge bents have numerous deficiencies making them highly susceptible to damage following an earthquake. In this study, the performance assessment of a representative reinforced concrete bridge bent retrofitted using hysteretic dampers is investigated by performing nonlinear time history analysis. A refined numerical model is presented and validated in order to perform the nonlinear analyses. Special attention is put on assessing the bridge bent subjected to subduction zone ground motions. Buckling restrained braces (BRBs) is the main hysteretic damper investigated in this study. Other potential hysteretic devices for retrofitting RC bridge bents are also presented such as eccentrically braced frames (EBFs) and U-shaped dampers. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing hysteretic dampers for achieving high displacement ductility of the retrofitted structure, while also controlling the damage of the existing vulnerable reinforced concrete bridge bent up to the required design performance level. The potential of improving the overall seismic behavior and the design performance levels with hysteretic dampers offers structural design professionals a viable method for performance driven retrofit of reinforced concrete bridge bents.

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