Numerical Study on the Collapse of the Morandi Bridge
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34, Issue 4
Abstract
An innovative discontinuum-based micromodeling approach, the Applied Element Method, is used in this work to investigate explicitly potential failure mechanisms that might have contributed to the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, which occurred on August 14, 2018. While, consistently with the findings presented in a previous contribution by the same authors, the initial trigger of the collapse mechanism was assumed as the release of one of the stays, this study investigates, through a sensitivity study, the impact that several parameters and epistemic uncertainties, including reduction of cables’ cross section (potentially induced by corrosion) and various possible configurations of both passive and active reinforcements in the main deck, have on the predicted failure mode. Then, to indicate the structural elements and details in which a potential presence of corrosion should be more carefully explored, the observed debris distribution is compared with its numerical counterparts.
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Data Availability Statement
No data, models, or code were generated or used during the study.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to start by expressing their gratitude to nine anonymous reviewers, whose pertinent and constructive feedback on the initial version of the manuscript helped improving its contents significantly. The authors would also like to acknowledge the assistance and collaboration of the technical support staff from Applied Science International LLC (ASI), on the use of the employed AEM software, Extreme Loading for Structures.
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 34 • Issue 4 • August 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 29, 2019
Accepted: Nov 6, 2019
Published online: Apr 17, 2020
Published in print: Aug 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 17, 2020
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