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

Abstract

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.

Keywords

tall bridges / higher-order mode effects / incremental dynamic analysis

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Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg