Performance of Two Real-Life California Bridges under Regional Natural Hazards
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21, Issue 3
Abstract
The performance of two real-life California bridges is assessed under a possible regional multihazard condition involving floods and earthquakes. For flood events with varied frequency, expected scour depths at bridge piers are calculated and incorporated in finite-element analyses (FEAs) of the bridges under earthquakes that represent regional seismic hazards. Based on FEA results, fragility curves of bridges are developed at component and system levels. Fragility surfaces are generated to acquire comprehensive knowledge on bridge failure probability for the combined effect of earthquake and flood events of varying frequency. Quantified bridge vulnerability is applied to a risk evaluation framework that combines hazard probability with bridge failure consequences. Obtained results depict that the occurrence of flood events can increase the seismic vulnerability and risk of bridges, although the amount of increase depends on bridge attributes. Bigger (large-diameter) foundations tend to reduce the impact of flood hazard on bridge seismic performance. Moreover, the multihazard response of the bridges indicates that the seismic design philosophy used for bridges can play a role in attaining the seismic safety of bridges with flood-induced scour at the foundations.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, Pennsylvania, for providing facilities to conduct the research. This study was supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant No. 1131359. The authors are thankful to the California Dept. of Transportation for providing design drawings of the bridges.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 21 • Issue 3 • March 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 4, 2014
Accepted: Jun 25, 2015
Published online: Dec 14, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2016
Discussion open until: May 14, 2016
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