Seismic Fragility of a Highway Bridge in Quebec
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 11
Abstract
The seismic vulnerability of the Chemin des Dalles Bridge over Highway 55 located in Trois-Rivières (Quebec, Canada) was evaluated through fragility analysis using field- and laboratory-validated models. This approach offers an effective means to capture the uncertainties in ground-motion realizations, the demands placed on key structural components, and the capacity of the components to resist various levels of seismic excitation. A series of 180 synthetic ground-motion time histories (GMTHs) compatible with eastern Canada was used to capture the uncertainties related to the hazard. Nonlinear time history analyses were performed with these GMTHs and statistically analyzed to define the probabilistic seismic demand model for the abutments, bearings, and columns, which are the critical components. Data from the literature, coupled with sectional and damage mechanics analyses, were used to define the limit states (LSs) for these components. Bridge component and system fragility curves were used to evaluate the likely failure modes of the bridge and potential targets for retrofit, while accounting for key sources of uncertainty in the performance assessment. The results reveal the seismic vulnerability of this specific bridge and even offer insight into the seismic vulnerability of a typical multispan girder-type concrete bridge in Quebec.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for the Canadian Seismic Research Network (CSRN), the Québec Fonds pour la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT) for the Centre d’études interuniversitaires des structures sous charges extrêmes (CEISCE), and Transports Québec. Computational resources for this work were provided by Compute Canada through the Réseau québécois de calcul de haute performance (RQCHP). Special thanks go to Nathalie Roy and Gustavo Siqueira for their collaboration on various aspects of the project.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 11 • November 2013
Pages: 1131 - 1139
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 2, 2011
Accepted: Jan 23, 2013
Published online: Feb 2, 2013
Published in print: Nov 1, 2013
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