• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.379-395
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• 2013

Aim of this paper is to apply to a steel truss bridge a methodology that takes into account the consequences of extreme loads on structures, focusing on the influence that the loss of primary elements has on the structural load bearing capacity. In this context, the topic of structural robustness, intended as the capacity of a structure to withstand damages without suffering disproportionate response to the triggering causes while maintaining an assigned level of performance, becomes relevant. In the first part of this study, a brief literature review of the topics of structural robustness, collapse resistance and progressive collapse takes place, focusing on steel structures. In the second part, a procedure for the evaluation of the structural response and robustness of skeletal structures under impact loads is presented and tested in simple structures. Following that, an application focuses on a case study bridge, the extensively studied I-35W Minneapolis steel truss bridge. The bridge, which had a structural design particularly sensitive to extreme loads, recently collapsed for a series of other reasons, in part still under investigation. The applied method aims, in addition to the robustness assessment, at increasing the collapse resistance of the structure by testing alternative designs.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.422-430
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• 1998

This paper presents the results of a major parametric study on the collapse cause of the Sungsoo Grand Bridge, a Gerber-type continuous truss bridge, which had collapsed just at the 15th year since opening to traffic. Among the various collapse causes such as poor design, poor welding, poor maintenance, and heavy traffic loads, this study focuses on the collapse cause assessment incorporating the effects of braket and H-beam members right below the expansion joint of the suspended truss. A local FEM analysis using fine shell elements is carrided out for the more precise estimation of stress range of the vertical pin-connected hanger whose fatigue fracture triggered the collapse of the bridge. Both the conventional S-N approach and the Ang-Munse's fatigue reliability method are used for the evaluation of the fatigue life and fatigue failure probability for the assessment based on all the available results of various field and labolatory tests. From these observations, It may be affirmatively stated that the effects of bracket and H-beam members accelerated the fatigue failure, and thus should be regarded as one of major causes that triggered the bridge collapse

• Computational Structural Engineering : An International Journal
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2001

Collapse behavior of Mission-Gothic Undercrossing under Northridge earthquake is studied by performing nonlinear time-history analysis and three-dimensional nonlinear finite element method for flared columns. Bridge structural model is characterized as three-dimensional with consideration of columns, superstructures, and abutment conditions. Three components of ground motion, corresponding to bridge's longitudinal, transverse, and vertical direction and their combinations are used to investigate bridge collapse. Studies indicate that bridge collapse is dominantly caused by transverse ground motion and the consideration of three-dimensional ground motion leads to a more accurate assessment. Failure mechanism of flared columns is analyzed applying nonlinear finite element method. Reduction of column capacity is observed due to orientation of flare. Further investigation demonstrates that the effects of flare play an important role in predicting of bridge failure mechanism. Suggestions are offered to improve the performance of bridges during severe earthquake.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.187-192
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• 2016

While structures are designed within elastic range by other designs, plastic behavior of structures should be verified and controlled in order to prevent structural collapse by the earthquake resistant design. No Collapse Requirement for typical bridges is to avoid falling down of superstructure by way of plastic behavior of certain structural elements and to operate emergency vehicles after earthquake. Such plastic behavior is restricted to connections or pier columns and appropriate measures are required for each case. Earthquake Resistant Design part of Roadway Bridge Design Code provides design processes for Ductile Collapse Mechanism by forming plastic hinges at pier columns. Also for bridges with reinforced concrete piers ductility-based design processes are provided as an appendix constructing Brittle Collapse Mechanism with connection yielding. In this study, a typical bridge with steel bearing connections and reinforced concrete piers is selected and No Collapse Design procedure considering both Ductile and Brittle Collapse Mechanism is proposed together with revisions required for the Earthquake Resistant Design part.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.185-189
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• 2017

The purpose of earthquake resistant design for typical bridges is the 'No Collapse Design' allowing emergency vehicles just after earthquakes. The Roadway Bridge Design Code provides design provisions to carry out such 'No Collapse Design' with a ductile mechanism and response modification factors given for connections and substructure play key role in this procedure. In case of response modification factors for substructure, the Roadway Bridge Design Code provides values considering ductility and redundancy. On the other hand, 'AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications' provides values considering additionally an artificial factor according to the bridge importance categories divided into critical, essential and others. In this study, a typical bridge with steel bearing connections and reinforced concrete piers is selected and different response modification factors for substructure are applied with design conditions given in the Roadway Bridge Design Code. Based on the comparison study of the design results, supplementary measures are suggested required by applying different response modification factors for substructure.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.253-261
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• 2018

This article details a bridge-specific fragility method developed to enhance the seismic design and resilience of bridges. Current seismic design processes provide guidance for the design of a bridge that will not collapse during a design hazard event. However, they do not provide performance information of the bridge at different hazard levels or due to design changes. Therefore, there is a need for a supplement to this design process that will provide statistical information on the performance of a bridge, beyond traditional emphases on collapse prevention. This article proposes a bridge-specific parameterized fragility method to enable efficient estimation of various levels of damage probability for alternative bridge design parameters. A multi-parameter demand model is developed to incorporate bridge design details directly in the fragility estimation. Monte Carlo simulation and Logistic regression are used to determine the fragility of the bridge or bridge component. The resulting parameterized fragility model offers a basis for a bridge-specific design tool to explore the influence of design parameter variation on the expected performance of a bridge. When used as part of the design process, these tools can help to transform a prescriptive approach into a more performance-based approach, efficiently providing probabilistic performance information about a new bridge design. An example of the method and resulting fragility estimation is presented.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.663-666
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• 2004

An analysis of the annual frequency of collapse(AF) is performed for each bridge pier exposed to ship collision. AF is computed for each bridge component and vessel classification. The summation of AFs computed over all of the vessel classification intervals for a specific component should equal the annual frequency of collapse of the component. The designer should use judgment in developing a distribution of the vessel frequency data based on discrete groupings or categories of vessel size by DWT. In the present study the effect of vessel classification on the annual frequency of collapse in the ship collision risk assessment is investigated by illustrative numerical examples based on the vessel frequency data of the domestic harbor. The DWT interval for larger vessels has more effect on the ship collision risk. Therefore the expert judgement in determining the larger DWT interval is required because the design impact lateral resistances of bridge components depend on the ship collision risk.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.345-367
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• 2015

Past earthquakes have signaled the increased collapse vulnerability of mainshock-damaged bridge piers and urgent need of repair interventions prior to subsequent cascading hazard events, such as aftershocks, triggered by the mainshock (MS). The overarching goal of this study is to quantify the collapse vulnerability of mainshock-damaged substandard RC bridge piers rehabilitated with different repair jackets (FRP, conventional thick steel and hybrid jacket) under aftershock (AS) attacks of various intensities. The efficacy of repair jackets on post-MS resilience of repaired bridges is quantified for a prototype two-span single-column bridge bent with lap-splice deficiency at column-footing interface. Extensive number of incremental dynamic time history analyses on numerical finite element bridge models with deteriorating properties under back-to-back MS-AS sequences were utilized to evaluate the efficacy of different repair jackets on the post-repair behavior of RC bridges subjected to AS attacks. Results indicate the dramatic impact of repair jacket application on post-MS resilience of damaged bridge piers-up to 45.5 % increase of structural collapse capacity-subjected to aftershocks of multiple intensities. Besides, the efficacy of repair jackets is found to be proportionate to the intensity of AS attacks. Moreover, the steel jacket exhibited to be the most vulnerable repair intervention compared to CFRP, irrespective of the seismic sequence (severe MS-severe or moderate AS) or earthquake type (near-fault or far-fault).

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2007

The purpose of this paper is the assessment of the capacity of the reinforced concrete (RC) elements of an arch bridge when they are subjected to contact and near-contact explosive charges of various amounts, and the estimation of the critical charges for these components. The bridge considered is the Tenza Viaduct, a decommissioned structure south of Naples, Italy. Its primary elements, deck, piers and arches were analyzed. The evaluation was accomplished via numerical analyses that made possible to obtain the elements dynamic response when they are exposed to blast loading conditions. To evaluate the member's capacities, failure criteria for deck, piers and arches were proposed based on concrete damage parameters. Additionally, curves relating the explosive charge to the residual capacity and to damage level of the elements were also developed. The results of this work were taken into account to investigate the progressive collapse of the global structure.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.765-779
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• 2020

Collapse of bridges in recent earthquakes demonstrates the need to deepen the understanding of the behaviour of these structures against seismic actions. This paper presents a highly detailed numerical model of an actual bridge subjected to extreme seismic action which results in its collapse. Normally, nonlinear numerical models have high difficulties to achieve convergence when reinforced concrete is intended to be represented. The main objective of this work is to determine the efficiency of different passive control strategies to prevent the structural collapse of an existing bridge. Metallic dampers and seismic isolation by decoupling the mass were evaluated. The response is evaluated not only in terms of reduction of displacements, but also in increasing of shear force and axial force in key elements, which can be a negative characteristic of the systems studied. It can be concluded that the use of a metallic damper significantly reduces the horizontal displacements and ensures the integrity of the structure from extreme seismic actions. Moreover, the isolation of the deck, which in principle seems to be the most effective solution to protect existing bridges, proves inadequate for the case analysed due to its dynamic characteristics and its particular geometry and an unpredictable type of axial pounding in the columns. This unexpected effect on the isolation system would have been impossible to identify with simplified models.