Computational studies on the seismic response of the State Route 99 bridge in Seattle with SMA/ECC plastic hinges

This paper reports a computational study on the seismic response of a three-span highway bridge system incorporating conventional and novel substructure details for improved seismic performance. The bridge has three continuous spans supported by two single-column piers and integral abutments founded on drilled shafts. It will be the first full-scale highway bridge to use superelastic shape memory alloy bars (SMA) and engineered cementitious composite (ECC) to mitigate column plastic hinge damage and minimize residual displacements after a strong earthquake. A three-dimensional computational model capturing the nonlinear constitutive response of the novel materials and the effects of dynamic soil-structure interaction was developed to assess the seismic response of the bridge in finite-element software OpenSees. Two versions of the same bridge were analyzed and compared, one with conventional cast-in-place reinforced concrete columns, and the other with top plastic hinges incorporating Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) SMA reinforcing bars and ECC. The novel SMA/ECC plastic hinges were found to substantially reduce damage and post-earthquake residual displacements in the bridge substructure, but led to larger maximum drifts relative to the bridge with conventional reinforced concrete plastic hinges. The analysis results suggested that the novel plastic hinges could lead to improved post-earthquake serviceability of bridges after intense earthquakes.     

Seismic energy dissipation and local concentration of damage in bridge bents

Seismic damage on bridge systems is basically concentrated on the piers. Hence, it is necessary to develop comprehensive studies oriented to improve our understanding of the bridge bents seismic response. Accordingly, the seismic behaviour and local concentration of damage within a typical bridge bent were analysed, considering different rotational restrictions of the foundation-soil system and different steel ratio arrangements. The contributions to structural damage of both, maximum deformation and cumulative damage, were assessed for records with different characteristics. The results showed that the amount of damage dissipated by the bent and the distribution of damage were strongly affected by the flexural strength variation along the columns. In models with non-uniform strength distribution, the inelastic demands were concentrated on few plastic hinges and bent degradation and failure were reached before the energy dissipation capacity of all potential hinges occurred. The analyses results also showed that the rotational restriction imposed by the foundation had a notable influence on the energy dissipation capacity and location of damage. Finally, the determination of damage indices in plastic hinge regions showed that most of the damage is produced by the cumulative effect of plastic energy dissipation, independently of the ground motion characteristics.     

Buckling restrained braces as structural fuses for the seismic retrofit of reinforced concrete bridge bents

A structural fuse concept is proposed in which easily replaceable ductile structural steel elements are added to an RC bridge bent to increase its strength and stiffness, and also designed to sustain the seismic demand and dissipate all the seismic energy through hysteretic behavior of the fuses, while keeping the RC bridge piers elastic. While this concept could be implemented in both new and existing bridges, the focus here is on the retrofit of non-ductile reinforced concrete bridge bents. Several types of structural fuses can be used and implemented in bridges; the focus in this paper is on using Buckling Restrained Braces (BRB) for the retrofit of RC bridge bents. The results of a parametric formulation conducted introducing key parameters for the design procedure of the fuse system, validated by nonlinear time history analyses are presented. A proposed design procedure, using BRBs as metallic structural fuses, is found to be sufficiently reliable to design structural fuse systems with satisfactory seismic performance. A graphical representation to help find admissible solutions is used, and shows that the region of admissible solution decreases when the frame strength ratio increases as a larger fuse element is required to achieve an effective structural fuse concept.     

Higher-order mode effects on the seismic performance of tall piers

A comprehensive analysis was conducted to investigate the seismic performance of a typical tall bridge pier through incremental dynamical analysis (IDA). The effect of higher-order modes was studied specifically. The results showed that higher-order modes significantly contributed to the structural seismic response and should not be neglected. Including these modes resulted in an additional hinge midway up the pier. No plastic hinge would occur at this location for conventional bridge piers. Higher-order modes also led to an out-of-phase response between the hinge rotation at the pier bottom and the displacement at the top. This means that the displacement-based seismic design method cannot correctly predict the mechanical state of the critical hinge and therefore is not suitable for use in the seismic design of tall piers. Mistakenly using the displacement-based seismic design method for tall piers may result in a seriously unsafe condition.     

浅论强震动下钢筋混凝土桥墩的残余抗剪强度

讨论了钢筋混凝土桥墩在强震动作用下的剪切机理 ,提出强震动作用下混凝土桥墩塑性铰区截面残余抗剪强度的概念。在评述了国外主要地震国家现行的规范公式的基础上 ,提出对国内现行规范关于强震动作用下钢筋混凝土桥墩抗剪验算的改进建议。     

塑性铰区埋入高阻尼隔震橡胶层厚度的数值模拟分析

钢筋混凝土(RC)桥墩一旦出现塑性铰后,混凝土的破坏主要集中在塑性铰区域,而且塑性铰区混凝土的损伤及破坏程度在较大程度上影响RC桥墩的抗震性能。本文希望通过在RC桥墩塑性铰区域埋入橡胶层来提高其变形能力、增强延性和耗能能力,改善传统RC桥墩的抗震性能。基于橡胶、混凝土和钢筋的本构模型及承载力—变形理论,采用条带法,本文提出了不同轴压比、不同层间位移角所需要橡胶层厚度的计算方法,并编制了计算程序;分析得到了不同轴压比、不同层间位移角的RC柱中所需埋入的橡胶层的最小厚度,为确定RC柱塑性铰区所埋入橡胶层厚度提供参考。     

氯离子侵蚀效应对RC桥墩抗震性能的影响

为研究混凝土桥梁结构在服役期内由于环境氯离子侵蚀效应引起钢筋、混凝土锈蚀退化等导致结构抗震性能退化的规律,以某多跨钢筋混凝土连续梁桥为例,采用OpenSees软件建立非线性动力分析模型,根据已有研究成果并基于概率方法研究了墩柱截面主筋和箍筋锈蚀的开始时间和锈蚀率大小,进而建立了钢筋的直径及屈服强度退化模型;针对考虑纵筋锈蚀、考虑箍筋锈蚀、同时考虑纵筋和箍筋锈蚀3种情况,分别分析了材料退化对桥墩抗震性能的影响。结果表明:同等条件下箍筋锈蚀比纵筋锈蚀更早;随着时间的推移,氯离子侵蚀效应会导致桥墩抗震能力下降,结构的抗震需求明显增加;与以往只考虑纵筋锈蚀的情况相比,同时考虑箍筋和纵筋锈蚀时桥墩抗震性能退化更严重。     

碳纤维增强复合材料约束矩形空心墩抗震性能试验研究

为了研究纤维增强复合材料(FRP)约束钢筋混凝土(RC)空心截面桥墩的抗震性能,对水平单向和双向荷载作用下,剪跨比分别为4和8的CFRP约束RC矩形空心墩进行拟静力试验。分析不同试件的破坏形态、滞回曲线、水平力和位移延性。结果表明:通过CFRP布环包约束试验空心墩的塑性铰区,可降低墩柱的破坏位置、减轻损伤程度,并改变剪跨比较小墩柱的破坏形态;明显改善水平双向荷载作用下剪跨比较大矩形空心墩的滞回性能和延性,但是对水平力的提高小于20%。     

延性桥墩塑性铰区最低约束箍筋用量

依据 3次不同试验的研究成果和非线性回归分析 ,建立了计算延性桥墩塑性铰区范围最低约束箍筋用量的计算公式 ,并与公路工程抗震设计规范 (JTJ 0 0 4 - 89)有关规定和国外规范计算公式进行了比较。本文所建立的计算公式 ,可供新修订的桥梁抗震设计规范参考采用     

多点激励下高墩大跨桥梁抗震性能分析

基于OpenSEES平台,建立高墩大跨桥梁的弹塑性结构模型,对比分析在一致地震激励及行波输入下桥梁结构的地震反应特性,并对行波输入下高墩桥梁的破坏过程进行详细研究。分析结果表明,地震波频谱特性及地震动输入方式对桥墩的出铰位置和破坏顺序有较大影响;高墩的破坏主要表现为弯曲破坏,单墩墩顶截面出铰或达到极限状态往往先于墩底截面,设计时应引起重视。     

Predetermination of potential plastic hinges on reinforced concrete frames using GFRP reinforcement

In the past, glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP)-reinforcement has been successfully applied in reinforced concrete (RC) structures where corrosion resistance, electromagnetic neutrality, or cuttability were required. Previous investigations suggest that the application of GFRP in RC structures could be advantageous in areas with seismic activity due to their high deformability and strength. However, especially the low modulus of elasticity of GFRP limited its wide application as GFRP-reinforced members usually exhibit considerably larger deformations under service loads than comparable steel-reinforced elements. To overcome the aforementioned issues, the combination of steel and GFRP reinforcement in hybrid RC sections has been investigated in the past. Based on this idea, this paper presents a novel concept for the predetermination of potential plastic hinges in RC frames using GFRP reinforcement. To analyze the efficiency of the concept, nonlinear finite element simulations were performed. The results underscore the high efficiency of hybrid steel-GFRP RC sections for predetermining potential plastic hinges on RC frames. The results also indicate that the overall seismic behavior of RC structures could be improved by means of GFRP as both the column base shear force during the seismic activity as well as the plastic deformations after the earthquake were considerably less pronounced than in the steel-reinforced reference structure.     

Plastic hinge length of reinforced concrete columns subjected to both far‐fault and near‐fault ground motions having forward directivity

In a strong earthquake, a standard reinforced concrete (RC) column may develop plastic deformations in regions often termed as plastic hinge regions. A plastic hinge is basically an energy dampening device that dampens energy through the plastic rotation of a rigid column connection, which triggers redistribution of bending moments. The formation of a plastic hinge in an RC column in regions that experience inelastic actions depends on the characteristics of the earthquakes as well as the column details. Recordings from recent earthquakes have provided evidence that ground motions in the near field of a rupturing fault can contain a large energy or ‘directivity’ pulse. A directivity pulse occurs when the propagation of the fault proceeds at nearly the same rate as the shear wave velocity. This pulse is seen in the forward direction of the rupture and can cause considerable damage during an earthquake, especially to structures with natural periods that are close to those of the pulse. In the present paper, 1316 inelastic time‐history analyses have been performed to predict the nonlinear behaviour of RC columns under both far‐fault and near‐fault ground motions. The effects of axial load, height over depth ratio and amount of longitudinal reinforcement, as well as different characteristics of earthquakes, were evaluated analytically by finite element methods and the results were compared with corresponding experimental data. Based on the results, simple expressions were proposed that can be used to estimate plastic hinge length of RC columns subjected to both far‐fault and near‐fault earthquakes that contain a forward‐directivity effect. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

钢筋混凝土桥墩基于位移的抗震设计方法

通过改进能力谱法,给出了一个可以实现“小震不坏、中震可修和大震不倒”多级性能目标的钢筋混凝土桥墩直接基于位移的抗震设计方法。首先以钢筋和混凝土的应变幅值建立了钢筋混凝土桥墩不同破损极限状态的量化准则,并基于曲率延性系数和位移延性系数关系转化为墩顶位移的表述形式。再以屈服位移和位移延性系数作为设计参考变量,采用屈服谱加速度和屈服位移(Ay-Dy)格式的地震需求谱求解系统在不同风险水平地震作用下的反应。最后以能力设计原理保证桥墩截面的抗剪强度需求。通过一个具体设计算例说明了建议方法的可行性。     

Seismic assessment of concrete buildings reinforced with shape memory alloy materials in different stories

Shape memory alloy (SMA) is a unique material with many beneficial characteristics such as superelasticity and excellent resistance against corrosion. However, the high expenses related to the material costs and difficulties associated with implementation of SMAs in reinforced concrete (RC) structures may limit their usage. To decrease the costs related to SMA installation, this paper investigates the seismic performance of RC moment‐resisting frames with the intention of specifying the optimal stories for SMA utilization. To this end, RC frames with 3, 5, 7, and 9 stories are modeled and various cases are considered for SMA locations in different story levels. For each building, 4 different cases are considered including a frame with regular steel reinforcement (Steel), a frame with SMAs in all story levels (full SMA), and 2 remaining cases consist of frames with SMAs in bottom and middle story levels only. In the first part, nonlinear dynamic time history analyses are conducted to evaluate the base shear, roof displacement, interstory, and residual drift demands of the structures using 10 ground‐motion records. In the second part, the incremental dynamic analysis is employed to assess the entire range of structural dynamic behavior. By using the generated data from incremental dynamic analysis procedure, fragility evaluation is conducted on multiple limit states to provide a comprehensive performance assessment for each case. The results indicate that frames with SMA in their lower story levels performed similar to frames equipped with SMA in all story levels. However, the fragility assessments show the better performance of frames with SMA in their bottom stories versus other cases. On this basis, the costs associated with SMA fabrication could be reduced noticeably (nearly two‐thirds) without sacrificing the overall performance of the frame and its post‐earthquake serviceability.     

矩形截面混凝土空心墩塑性铰长度分析

在延性抗震设计中,等效塑性铰长度直接影响到桥墩位移能力的估算,其计算的准确性对于桥墩抗震性能的评估至关重要。现有规范中等效塑性铰长度公式大多是由实心墩试验得到的,鉴于空心墩与实心墩的性能差异,这些公式对空心墩的适用性尚有待深入研究。通过7个不同设计参数的矩形截面空心墩拟静力试验,观测并分析不同构件塑性铰区损伤演化及变化趋势,研究剪跨比、纵筋率、配箍率对墩底塑性铰分布形态的影响。基于国内外等效塑性铰长度计算公式与试验结果的对比分析,发现：塑性铰长度随墩身计算长度的增大而增大,配箍率、纵筋配筋率对其有一定影响;在现有规范及文献中,Telemachos、Eurocode8、高振世的塑性铰长度计算值与实测值较为接近,适于估算矩形空心墩的塑性变形能力。     

局部外包钢管钢筋混凝土桥墩力学性能分析

运用大型有限元软件ABAQUS对局部钢管约束钢筋混凝土桥墩的有限元计算模型进行低周反复荷载作用下全过程的非线性有限元分析,通过分析滞回曲线、骨架曲线及等效刚度退化曲线的特点发现,局部钢管约束钢筋混凝土高桥墩具有很好的延性性能,可以作为桥墩延性抗震设计的一种备选方案。     

纤维增强复合材料提高圆形桥柱延展性的修复设计

建筑物中柱和桥墩的修复设计要求对结构变形能力进行精确预测。本文提出分析模型近似计算经纤维增强聚合物修复的钢筋混凝土柱的潜在塑性关键区的延展性。提出能够代表纤维增强聚合物混凝土响应的双线性应力一应变模型，该模型在低压下混凝土响应降低，在高压下混凝土响应增强。对于承受轴力和弯矩的圆柱，模型采用近似形式的组合分析，根据无量纲柱参数和纤维增强聚合物提供的约束压力来计算经纤维增强聚合物修复的截面延展性。通过比较组合分析的模型估计结果和试验结果，验证纤维增强聚合物修复柱延展性模型的精确性。随后，建立了循环桥柱纤维增强聚合物简单非重复抗震修复设计程序。最后，对不同轴向荷载、含筋率、纤维增强聚合物数量进行典型桥柱参数研究，计算结果以无量纲形式给出，有助于工程师采用纤维增强聚合物进行提高柱延展性的抗震修复设计。     

螺纹钢法兰连接预制装配桥墩抗震性能研究

为研究在水平荷载作用下螺纹钢法兰连接预制装配桥墩的抗震性能,设计制作一个整体现浇桥墩、两个分别采用承插式和非承插式方案的螺纹钢法兰连接预制桥墩.通过开展拟静力加载试验,对比研究螺纹钢法兰连接预制装配桥墩与整体现浇桥墩的破坏模式、荷载-位移曲线特征.基于试验,建立三个桥墩的有限元数值模型与试验进行对比,两者结果吻合较好....     

罕遇地震作用下高架桥抗震性能评估与加固

为了评估罕遇地震作用下高架桥的抗震性能,提出了一套抗震性能评估流程并对一座在役高架桥进行评估。首先建立了高架桥非线性动力时程分析模型;然后进行了模态分析,在综合考虑了有效质量系数和振型图后,选取了用于计算Rayleigh系数的参考振型;最后对动力时程分析结果中各墩的弯曲变形能力和抗剪强度进行评估,并根据评估结果提出了加固方法。结果发现:罕遇地震作用下,各墩变形能力沿横桥向均能满足需求;但在顺桥向上,部分墩的塑性铰区变形能力不足,且各墩的非塑性区均存在变形能力不足的截面。各墩抗剪强度沿顺、横桥向均能满足需求。采用增大截面法对各墩进行加固,首先制定了增大截面内的混凝土和钢筋配置方案,然后确定了能够同时满足各墩沿顺桥向的变形能力和经济性的最优加固高度,为高架桥抗震性能评估和加固工程提供一定的借鉴。     

组合式消能减震墩柱试验与设计方法研究

对采用Q345GJ钢的可更换剪切型消能连梁展开循环加载试验研究。结果表明这种连梁具有稳定的滞回耗能特性和较好的变形能力,同级荷载下多次滞回加载基本不产生循环强化;极限超强系数大致在1.35~1.5之间,符合预期设计要求。基于这种消能连梁,提出并设计一种由消能件和钢管混凝土组成的组合式消能减震墩柱,并对其开展了试验研究。试验结果表明,本文所采用的设计方法可以保证墩柱实现预期的破坏模式,即连梁剪切变形与柱脚集中塑性铰;墩柱具有很强的耗能能力、延性和变形能力;柱脚屈服时墩顶位移角约为1/80,可以保证中等地震荷载作用下柱脚处于弹性状态。