Parametric Study on the Seismic Responses of Simplysupported Bridges Crossing Fault-rupture Zones

Parametric Study on the Seismic Responses of Simplysupported Bridges Crossing Fault-rupture Zones

The main objectives of this paper were to investigate the effect of fault-crossing on the seismic performance of simply supported bridges, and to identify key parameters that may influence the responses. The considered parameters included the friction coefficient of the rubber bearing supports, the distance between the superstructure and the transverse seismic stoppers, and the fault crossing angle with respect to the axis of the bridge. Non-linear time history analyses with multi-support input was adopted to perform this analysis. The ground motion records adopted were the recorded accelerograms collected during Hualien earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2018 in Taiwan. For comparison purposes, the corresponding case without faultcrossing considerations was also analyzed. The analysis results showed that neglecting to consider the effect of fault crossing led to significant underestimation of the torsional forces operating at the column bases and the relative displacement between neighboring girders for simply supported bridges. In addition, different bearing friction coefficients and different gap distances provided by the seismic stoppers was associated with different behaviors by the bridge.