Dynamic Behavior of Rocking Concrete Bridge Piers Subjected to Vehicle Collisions
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 11
Abstract
The nonlinear dynamic behavior of rocking bridge piers with different configurations was numerically investigated in this study when subjected to vehicle collisions using finite-element (FE) simulations in LS-DYNA software. The impact performances of the rocking monolithic and segmental piers were evaluated and compared to a monolithic pier considering the variations of the impact velocity () and the axial load ratio (ALR). The FE simulations revealed that the rocking monolithic and segmental piers experienced lower peak impact forces, mitigated flexural damage, and dissipated more energy compared to the monolithic pier owing to the slippage mechanism at the joint interfaces. In addition, although an increase in the number of segments led to more severe localized concrete spalling damage, it enhanced the energy dissipation in the rocking piers. Furthermore, compared to the total collapses of the monolithic and rocking segmental piers under a high rate of vehicle impact at , the rocking monolithic pier demonstrated superior impact performance by withstanding total collapse owing to the higher structural integrity of the pier and lower stress concentration. Also, an absolute positive effect of the ALR on the impact resistance of the monolithic and rocking piers was obtained when the piers were subjected to medium-velocity impacts leading to relatively low deformations in the piers. However, an ALR of 0.15 was recognized as a sensitivity level of the piers’ impact resistance under a high-velocity vehicle impact with .
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada supported this study through the Discovery Grant. The financial support is greatly appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 11 • November 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 1, 2022
Accepted: Jul 28, 2022
Published online: Aug 27, 2022
Published in print: Nov 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jan 27, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Bridge engineering
- Bridges
- Bridges (by material)
- Concrete bridges
- Engineering fundamentals
- Finite element method
- Highway transportation
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic structures
- Infrastructure
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Methodology (by type)
- Numerical analysis
- Numerical methods
- Piers
- Ports and harbors
- Structural behavior
- Structural engineering
- Traffic accidents
- Traffic engineering
- Traffic management
- Transportation engineering
- Vehicles
- Water and water resources
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