Collapse of Baihua Bridge During the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: Finite Element Analysis With a Multi-Scale Model


Abstract eng:
Baihua Bridge, a RC multi-span girder bridge located in the near fault region, collapsed in the curved spans and damaged seriously in the straight spans during the Wenchuan, China earthquake of May 12, 2008. In order to investigate the failure mechanism and reveal the collapse process, the finite element analysis with a multi-scale microstructure model is established for the curved girder segments of Baihua Bridge with consideration of the nonlinear behaviors of piers, bearings and contact impact. A three component accelerogram of ground motion observed only 3 kilometers far from the bridge site in the Wenchuan earthquake is selected as the seismic excitation for the finite element model. The process of damage accumulation and collapse of the bridge structure is analyzed and simulated, and compared with the failure solutions from the post-earthquake investigation. The numerical results show that one side of the girder of the fifth continuous span dropped first from the bracket expansion joint due to excessive movement, and the falling girder hit against the pier. This leads to further damages and final collapse of the pier, then overall progressive collapse of the fifth continuous span. Furthermore, the collapse mechanism of the curved girder bridge are also investigated, they will contribute to explanation why the curved spans rather than the straight spans collapsed during the earthquake.

Contributors:
Conference Title:
Conference Title:
16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Conference Venue:
Santiago (CL)
Conference Dates:
2017-01-09 / 2017-01-13
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Text je chráněný podle autorského zákona č. 121/2000 Sb.



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 Record created 2017-01-18, last modified 2017-01-18


Original version of the author's contribution as presented on USB, paper 926.:
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