• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.789-810
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• 2016

Reinforced concrete (RC) bridges with both skew and curvature are pretty common in areas with complex terrains. Existing studies have shown skewed and/or curved bridges exhibit more complicated seismic performance than straight bridges, and yet related seismic risk studies are still rare. These bridges deserve more studies in low-to-moderate seismic regions than those in seismic-prone areas. This is because for bridges with irregular and complex geometric designs, comprehensive seismic analysis is not always required and little knowledge about actual seismic risks for these bridges in low-to-moderate regions is available. To provide more insightful understanding of the seismic risks and the impact from the geometric configurations, analytical fragility studies are carried out on four typical bridge designs with different geometric configurations (i.e., straight, curved, skewed, skewed and curved) in the mountain west region of the United States. The results show the curved and skewed geometries can considerably affect the bridge seismic fragility in a complex manner, underscoring the importance of conducting detailed seismic risk assessment of skewed and curved bridges in low-to-moderate seismic regions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1153-1179
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• 2015

This paper focuses on presenting modeling considerations and insight into the performance of typical straight, curved, and skewed box-girder bridges in California which form the bulk of the bridge inventory in the state. Three case study bridges are chosen: Meloland Road Overpass, Northwest Connector of Interstate 10/215 Interchange, and Painter Street Overpass, having straight, curved, and skewed superstructures, respectively. The efficacy of nonlinear dynamic analysis is established by comparing the response from analytical models to the recorded strong motion data. Finally insights are provided on the component behavioral characteristics and shift in vulnerability for each of the bridge types considered.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.498-501
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• 2006

R.C. Rahmen bridges have been widely constructed in the location of interchange or narrow road crossing. In addition, skewed or curved rahmen bridges are mostly constructed in comparison with normal rahmen bridges for the purpose of maintaining the route of road or considering the beauty of bridge. However, due to the functional characteristics, rahmen bridges are sustained under the direct vehicle loads and the side directional earth pressure so that the stress concentration with respect to the geometrical eccentricity can be occurred if rahmen bridges are constructed in large amount of skew. In this investigation, the behavior of skewed rahmen bridges which is located in curved route has been analysed to investigate the additional effects on the change of stress concentration. As a result, it is judged that the stress of curved rahmen bridges is more concentrated than the stress of straight rahmen bridges in the region of obtuse angle. However, in the middle of slab, the curve does not affect on the stress concentration.