• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.61-69
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• 2021

In this study, scale down model bridge piers were fabricated and non-destructive experiments conducted with an impact load to determine scours in the ground adjacent to the bridge piers using the natural frequency of the bridge piers. Three scale-model bridge piers with different heights were fabricated, and they penetrated the ground at a depth of 0.35 m. The scours around the bridge piers were simulated as a side scour and foundation scour. The experiments were conducted in 13 steps, in which scouring around the model bridge piers was performed in 0.05 m excavation units. To derive the natural frequency, the impact load was measured with three accelerometers attached to the model bridge piers. The impact load was applied with an impact hammer, and the top of the model bridge pier was struck perpendicularly to the bridge axis. The natural frequency according to the scour progress was calculated with a fast Fourier transform. The results demonstrated that the natural frequency of each bridge pier tended to decrease with scour progress. The natural frequency also decreased with increasing pier height. With scour progress, a side scour occurred at 70% or higher of the initial natural frequency, and a foundation scour occurred at less than 70%.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.3 no.3_4
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• pp.365-381
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• 2012

Recent earthquakes have damaged some bridges located on the Pacific Coast of Mexico; these bridges have been retrofitted or rebuilt. Based on the fact that the Pacific Coast is a highly active seismic zone where most of the strong earthquakes in the country occur, one fertile and important area of research is the study of the vulnerability of both new and existent bridges located in this area that can be subjected to strong earthquakes. This work is focused on estimating the contribution of some parameters identified to have major influence on the seismic vulnerability of reinforced concrete bridges. Ten models of typical reinforced concrete (RC) bridges, and two existing bridges located close to the Pacific Coast of Mexico are considered. The group of structures selected for the study is based on two span bridges, two pier heights and two substructure types. The bridges were designed according to recent codes in Mexico. For the vulnerability study, the capacity of the structure was evaluated based on the FEMA recommendations. On the other hand, the demand was evaluated using a group of more than one hundred accelerograms recorded close to the subduction zone of Mexico. The results show that the two existent bridges analyzed show similar trends of behavior of the group of bridge models studied. In spite of the contribution that traditional variables (height and substructure type) had to the bridge seismic response, the bridge length was also found to be one of the parameters that most contributed to the seismic vulnerability of these RC medium-length bridges.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.541-557
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• 2016

Prefabricated bridge substructures provide new possibility for designers in terms of efficiency of creativity, fast construction, geometry control and cost. Even though prefabricated bridge columns are widely adopted as a substructure system in the bridge construction project recently, lack of deeper understanding of the seismic behavior of prefabricated bridge substructures cause much concern on their performance in high seismic zones. In this paper, experimental research works are presented to verify enhanced design concepts of prefabricated bridge piers. Integration of precast segments was done with continuity of axial prestressing tendons and mild reinforcing bars throughout the construction joints. Cyclic tests were conducted to investigate the effects of the design parameters on seismic performance. An analytical method for moment-curvature analysis of prefabricated bridge columns is conducted in this study. The method is validated through comparison with experimental results and the fiber model analysis. A parametric study is conducted to observe the seismic behavior of prefabricated bridge columns using the analytical study based on strain compatibility method. The effects of continuity of axial steel and tendon, and initial prestressing level on the load-displacement response characteristics, i.e., the strain of axial mild steels and posttensioned tendon at fracture and concrete crushing strain at the extreme compression fiber are investigated. The analytical study shows the layout of axial mild steels and posttensioned tendons in this experiment is the optimized arrangement for seismic performance.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.534-537
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• 2006

The jacking of cantilever before key segment closure has been introduced to offset the long term forces caused by creep and shrinkage. In this paper, the behavior of structural system with the jacking force in approach bridge of Incheon Bridge was reviewed. The introduction of jacking force effectively offset the long term horizontal forces and allows economic substructure member design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.109-122
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• 2012

An efficient and accurate algorithm is proposed to evaluate the reliability of cable-stayed bridges accounting for soil-pile interaction. The proposed algorithm integrates the finite-element method and the response surface method. The finite-element method is used to model the cable-stayed bridge including soil-pile interaction. The reliability index is evaluated based on the response surface method. Uncertainties in the superstructure, the substructure and load parameters are incorporated in the proposed algorithm. A long span steel cable-stayed bridge with a main span length of 1088 m built in China is considered as an illustrative example. The reliability of the bridge is evaluated for the strength and serviceability performance functions. Results of the study show that when strength limit states for both girder and tower are considered, soil-pile interaction has significant effects on the reliability of steel cable-stayed bridges. Further, a detailed sensitivity study shows that the modulus of subgrade reaction is the most important soil-pile interaction-related parameter influencing the reliability of steel cable-stayed bridges.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2004.03b
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• pp.561-564
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• 2004

Steel sheet pile can be alternative material for bridge abutment for. The steel sheet pile bridge abutment is new and replacement bridge abutment due to its aesthetically attractive and cost effective. Use of embedded steel sheet piling brings savings in dead load, provides a compliant retaining wall, and permits speedier construction. In addition, for replacement bridge projects, traffic interruption can be minimized. It is hoped that this study will encourage designers and constructors to consider a steel substructure option more frequently during the conceptual and preliminary design phases of projects and thereby to take advantage of the potential to construction more efficiently. In this paper, an analysis of stress and strain for steel sheet pile bridge abutment was conducted. From the analysis results, the stress and strain characteristics of steel sheet pile bridge abutment with variations of steel sheet pile parameters is suggested.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.3A
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• pp.555-563
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• 2006

Recently, many bridges become not only functionally obsolete of bridge deck due to inadequate width but also structurally deficient of substructure due to erosion. In these cases, widening is almost always more economical than complete replacement, and therefore there is a need to make available the results of research and field experience pertaining to the widening of bridge substructure. But, an experimental study for the guarantee of unification between existing and new substructure with adhesive anchor is so insufficient that the development of adhesive anchor system for the unification should be settled promptly. The purpose of the present study is to explore pull out and shear characteristics of adhesive anchor system. For this purpose, several series of concrete specimens have been tested. Major test variables were the bonded length, anchor diameter and anchor slope. The pull out strength, bond stress and shear strength of adhesive faces were measured for the specimens. The present study indicates that the pull out strength increased with more bonded length and more anchor diameter, and that the bond stress decreased with more bonded length and more anchor diameter. The pull out strength and the bond stress increases with more anchor slope and it is considered that the slope of $5^{\circ}$ was more efficient. From the shear tests, it is supposed that anchor diameters more than D19 was proper to the adhesive anchor. Finally, it is expected that both experimental data in these tests and further study including mock-up tests will contribute to the establishment of the unification between existing and new substructure with adhesive anchor.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.94-105
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• 2013

Recently, the construction industry has been changed in such a way that the cost for bridge construction should be optimized or reduced. Therefore, bridges are required be cost-effective in terms of initial construction as well as in the maintenance during service stage. In order to reduce the cost for bridge construction, the Rahmen typed structure, in which the bridge components from superstructure to substructure are integral, has many advantages to reduce the size of structural members including girders, since the loadings from superstructure may be transferred to substructure through the connecting rebars such as stud, etc. This paper studied on the continuous Up and Down Prestressed Concrete (UD PSC) girder bridge in which the reinforced concrete pier cap is integral with the part of girders in superstructure. In previous studies, it is known that the structural behavior of continuous UD PSC girder bridge is quite different compared to the one of the bridges with conventional bearings or shoes to support the loading from girders. Nevertheless, it has hardly been studied about the structural behavior of bridge with UD PSC girder. Therefore, in this study, various dynamic behaviors of continuous UD PSC girder bridge with integral pier cap have been analyzed using numerical method. Furthermore, an equation to evaluate the impact factor is suggested for the UD PSC girder bridge which has two to three continuous spans.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.795-807
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• 2008

A challenging problem in structural damage detection based on vibration data is the requirement of a large number of sensors and the numerical difficulty in obtaining reasonably accurate results when the system is large. To address this issue, the substructure identification approach may be used. Due to practical limitations, the response data are not available at all degrees of freedom of the structure and the external excitations may not be measured (or available). In this paper, an adaptive damage tracking technique, referred to as the sequential nonlinear least-square estimation with unknown inputs and unknown outputs (SNLSE-UI-UO) and the sub-structure approach are used to identify damages at critical locations (hot spots) of the complex structure. In our approach, only a limited number of response data are needed and the external excitations may not be measured, thus significantly reducing the number of sensors required and the corresponding computational efforts. The accuracy of the proposed approach is illustrated using a long-span truss with finite-element formulation and an 8-story nonlinear base-isolated building. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach is capable of tracking the local structural damages without the global information of the entire structure, and it is suitable for local structural health monitoring.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.299-307
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• 2017

High Damping Rubber bearings (HDR bearings) have been used in the seismic design of bridge structures widely in China. In earthquakes, structural natural periods will be extended, seismic energy will be dissipated by this kind of bearing. Previously, cyclic loading method was used mainly for test studies on mechanical properties of HDR bearings, which cannot simulate real seismic responses. In this paper, Real-Time Substructure (RTS) test study on mechanical properties of HDR bearings was conducted and it was found that the loading rate effect was not negligible. Then the influence of peak acceleration of ground motion was studied. At last test results were compared with a numerical simulation in the OpenSees software framework with the Kikuchi model. It is found that the Kikuchi model can simulate real mechanical properties of HDR bearings in earthquakes accurately.