• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.39-54
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• 2010

In this paper, a simple approach is presented for studying the dynamic response of multi-span steel bridges supported by pylons of different heights, subjected to earthquake motions acting along the axis of the bridge with spatial variations. The analysis is carried out using the modal analysis technique, while the solution of the integral-differential equations derived is obtained using the successive approximations technique. It was found that the height of piers and the quality of the foundation soil can affect significantly the dynamical behavior of the bridges studied. Illustrative examples are presented to highlight the points of concern and useful conclusions are gathered.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.81-84
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to investigate the inelastic behavior of hollow reinforced concrete bridge piers under varying axial load. The role of the variable axial load is very important in the ductility, strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation. A computer program, named RCAHEST(Reinforced Concrete Analysis in Higher Evaluation System Technology), for the analysis of reinforced concrete structures was used. Material nonlinearity is taken into account by comprising tensile, compressive and shear models of cracked concrete and a model of reinforcing steel. The proposed numerical method for the inelastic behavior of hollow reinforced concrete bridge piers under varying axial load is verified by comparison with reliable experimental results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.92 no.4
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• pp.341-348
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• 2024

This paper revisits our recent work on rapid and accurate design of reinforced concrete (R/C) columns and bridge piers using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Both rectangular and circular, solid and hollow sections are treated. The new functions for rectangular sections now accommodate a much greater aspect ratio, making them suitable for all sections typically used for bridge piers, without sacrificing performance. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, new design functions for T-beams and singly-reinforced rectangular beams are also derived. The error estimation is presented in detail using extremely extensive test sets, while auxiliary ANNs are employed to screen out improper data input. All design functions are sufficiently accurate, unconditionally stable, and orders of magnitude faster than any iterative section analysis procedure. The forward feed of the final ANNs has been translated into optimized code in all popular programming languages, which can be easily used without the need of specialized software, even on a spreadsheet.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.385-399
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• 2024

Highway bridges usually extend over long distances and are vulnerable to the variation of ground motions. In this paper, a 5-link continuous bridge with a total length of 510 m was selected for seismic vulnerability analyses under consistent and multi-support excitations. Fragility curves for piers and bearings considering both the non-isolated and isolated conditions are generated through incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). The results show that for the non-isolated condition with elastomeric bearings (EBs), the junction piers between adjacent links are more vulnerable than interior piers within links under consistent excitation, whereas it is exactly the opposite for the bearings. Under the multi-support excitation, the fragility of the bearings at junction piers significantly increases due to the unsynchronized movement of adjacent links. For the isolated condition with lead-core rubber bearings (LRBs) and friction pendulum bearings (FPBs), the fragility of piers is effectively reduced compared to EBs, especially for FPBs and under multi-support excitation. The fragility of LRBs is lower than that of EBs under both excitation modes. The fragility of FPBs is apparently higher than that of the piers, controlling the vulnerability of the bridge. This study provides a reference for the seismic design of highway bridges.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.1
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• pp.57-63
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• 2019

During the last two decades, much joint research regarding vibration based methods has been done, leading to developing various algorithms and techniques. These algorithms and techniques can be divided into modal methods and signal methods. Although modal methods have been widely used for health monitoring and damage detection, signal methods due to higher efficiency have received considerable attention in various fields, including aerospace, mechanical and civil engineering. Signal-based methods are derived directly from the recorded responses through signal processing algorithms to detect damage. According to different signal processing techniques, signal-based methods can be divided into three categories including time domain methods, frequency domain methods, and time-frequency domain methods. The frequency domain methods are well-known and interest in using them has increased in recent years. To determine dynamic behaviours, to identify systems and to detect damages of bridges, different methods and algorithms have been proposed by researchers. In this study, a new algorithm to detect seismic damage in the bridge's piers is suggested. To evaluate the algorithm, an analytical model of a bridge with simple spans is used. Based on the algorithm, before and after damage, the bridge is excited by a sine force, and the piers' responses are measured. The dynamic specifications of the bridge are extracted by Power Spectral Density function. In addition, the Least Square Method is used to detect damage in the bridge's piers. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm can identify the seismic damage effectively. The algorithm is output-only method and measuring the excitation force is not needed. Moreover, the proposed approach does not need numerical models.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.431-454
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• 2009

This paper presents a simple model for studying the dynamic response of multi-span bridges resting on piers with different heights and subjected to earthquake forces acting transversely to the bridge, but varying spatially along its length. The analysis is carried out using the modal superposition technique, while the solution of the resulting integral-differential equations is obtained via the Laplace transformation. It has been found that the piers' height and the quality of the foundation soil can affect significantly the dynamic behavior of such bridges. Typical examples showing the effectiveness of the method are presented with useful results listed.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.691-704
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• 2019

This study simulates the responses of large-scale bridge piers under pseudo-dynamic tests to investigate the performance of four types of numerical models that consider the nonlinear behavior of the pier and the rocking behavior of the footing. In the models, beam-column elements with plastic hinges are used for the pier, two types of foundation models (rotational spring and distributed spring models) are adopted for the footing behavior, and two types of viscous damping models (Rayleigh and dashpot models) are applied for energy dissipation. Results show that the nonlinear pier model combined with the distributed spring-dashpot foundation model can reasonably capture the behavior of the piers in the tests. Although the commonly used rotational spring foundation model adopts a nonlinear moment-rotation property that reflects the effect of footing uplift, it cannot suitably simulate the hysteretic moment-rotation response of the footing in the dynamic analysis once the footing uplifts. In addition, the piers are susceptible to cracking damage under strong seismic loading and the induced plastic response can provide contribution to earthquake energy dissipation.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.429-446
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• 2006

Experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the seismic ductility of earthquake-experienced concrete columns with an aspect ratio of 2.5. Eight circular concrete columns with a diameter of 600 mm were constructed with three test parameters: confinement ratio, lap-splice of longitudinal bars, and retrofitting with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials. The objective of this research is to examine the seismic performance of RC bridge piers subjected to a Quasi static test (QST), which were preliminary tested under a series of artificial earthquake motions referred to as a Pseudo dynamic test (PDT). The seismic enhancement effect of FRP wrap was also investigated on these RC bridge piers. Six specimens were loaded to induce probable damage by four series of artificial earthquakes, which were developed to be compatible with earthquakes in the Korean peninsula by the Korea Highway Corporation (KHC). Directly after the PDT, six earthquake-experienced columns were subjected to inelastic cyclic loading under a constant axial load of $0.1{f_c}^{\prime}A_g$. Two other reference specimens without the PDT were also subjected to similar quasi-static loads. Test results showed that specimens pre-damaged by moderate artificial earthquakes generally demonstrated good residual seismic performance, which was similar to the corresponding reference specimen. Moreover, RC bridge specimens retrofitted with wrapping fiber composites in the potential plastic hinge region exhibited enhanced flexural ductility.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.03a
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• pp.250-257
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• 2002

Pseudo dynamic test is an on-line computer control method to achieve the realism of shaking table test with the economy and versatility of the conventional quasi-static approach Pseudo dynamic tests of six full-size RC bridge piers have been carried out to investigate their seismic performance. For the purpose of precise evaluation, the experimental investigation was conducted to study the seismic performance of the real size specimen, which is constructed for highway bridge piers in Korean peninsula. Since it is believed that Korea belongs to the moderate seismicity region, five test specimens were designed in accordance with limited ductility design concept. Another one test specimen was nonseismically designed according to a conventional code. Important test parameters were transverse reinforcement and lap splicing. Lap splicing was frequently used in the plastic hinge region of many bridge columns. Furthermore, the seismic design code is not present about lap splice in Korean Roadway Bridge Design Code. The results show that specimens designed according to the limited ductility design concept exhibit higher seismic resistance. Specimens with longitudinal steel lap splice in the plastic hinge region appeared to significantly fail at low ductility level.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.13-21
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• 2002

A new method called S-SRICOS is proposed to predict the local scour depth around bridge piers. The S-SRICOS method is a simplified version of the SRICOS method which was developed to predict the scour depth versus time curve around bridge piers. The SRICOS method which considers the time effect based on the soil properties and the hydraulic parameters can handle a multi-flood hydrograph and multi-layer soil systems with the SRICOS program. An attempt was made to simplify the method to the point where only hand calculations would be required. The concept of the equivalent time was developed leer this purpose. The S-SROICOS method requires only 4 parameters such as pier width, design bridge life, design velocity corresponding to the design bridge life, and initial scour rate of the soil. The S-SRICOS method was verified against 55 cases of the scour depth results using the SRICOS method.