Performance-based Concept on Seismic Evaluation of Existing Bridges

Conventional seismic evaluation of existing bridges explores the ability of a bridge to survive under significant earthquake excitations. This approach has several major drawbacks, such as only a single structural performance of near collapse is considered, and the simplified approach of adopting strength-based concept to indirectly estimate the nonlinear behavior of a structure lacks accuracy. As a result, performance-based concepts that include a wider variety of structural performance states of a given bridge excited by different levels of earthquake intensity is needed by the engineering community. This paper introduces an improved process for seismic evaluation of existing bridges. The relationship between the overall structural performance and earthquakes with varying levels of peak ground acceleration can successfully be linked. A universal perspective on the seismic evaluation of bridges over their entire life-cycle can be easily obtained to investigate multiple performance objectives. The accuracy of the proposed method, based on pushover analysis, is proven in a case study that compares the results from the proposed procedure with additional nonlinear time history analyses.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/16713664
• Authors:
  • Sung, Yu-Chi
  • Liao, Wen-I
  • Yen, W Phillip
• Publication Date: 2009-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 127-135
• Serial:
  • Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration
  • Volume: 8
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Springer
  • ISSN: 1671-3664
  • EISSN: 1993-503X
  • Serial URL: http://link.springer.com/journal/11803

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge engineering; Earthquake resistant structures; Seismicity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pushover analysis
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01130567
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 22 2009 2:01PM