The Development of the FHWA Pushover Analysis Computer Program

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has recently adopted the pushover analysis as one of the methods for design with high seismicity in the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) guidelines. It has also been prescribed in the new Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Seismic Retrofitting Manual as a structural capacity/demand analysis method for the upper level earthquake. These latest developments have made the pushover analysis a necessary capability of all government bridge engineers. A simple and reliable computer program customized for pushover analysis of bridges was developed. This program incorporates four different nonlinear structural stiffness formulation methods, including Bilinear Interaction Axial-Moment, Plastic Hinge Length, Finite Segment-Finite String, and Finite Segment-Moment Curvature methods, covering from the simplest to the most sophisticated stiffness formulation approaches. The program will be provided to bridge designers as a supporting effort in implementing the latest bridge seismic design methodology. Several examples are included in the paper to demonstrate the functions of this program and how it fits into the context of the seismic design and analysis of bridges.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Only the abstract is provided for this paper on the DVD.
• Corporate Authors:

  Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research

  State University of New York, 107 Red Jacket Quadrangle, P.O. Box 610025
  Buffalo, NY  United States  14261-0025
• Authors:
  • Shen, J Jerry
  • Kuo-Lin, Linda
  • Ger, Jeffrey
  • Yen, Phillip W
• Conference:
  • Sixth National Seismic Conference on Bridges and Highways
  • Location: Charleston SC, United States
  • Date: 2008-7-28 to 2008-7-30
• Publication Date: 2008

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 12p
• Monograph Title: Sixth National Seismic Conference on Bridges and Highways: Seismic Technologies for Extreme Loads

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge engineering; Computer programs; Design standards; Earthquake engineering; Load and resistance factor design; Seismicity; Stiffness; Structural analysis
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pushover analysis
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01355094
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 25 2011 11:46AM