Abstract
This paper presents a seismic response analysis of bridge structures considering the spatial variation of input ground motion. In earthquake analyses of structures, it is usually assumed that the input ground motion is the same at every support. However, this assumption is not justified for long structures like bridges, because observations have shown that the earthquake ground motion can vary considerably within relatively small distances. When the soil under the foundation is relatively soft and deep, an analysis of the foundation-soil interaction must always be performed. To consider the foundation-soil interaction, a soil response analysis is performed first, and after determining the material characteristics of the foundation element obtained by this foundation-soil interaction analysis, the seismic response analysis of a bridge superstructure with equivalent springs and dampers is performed. Finally, the influences of the spatial variation in the input motion, which are affected by different soil characteristics, are considered.