Title:
Seismic Performance of Unreinforced Concrete Railroad Bridge Piers
Author(s):
Qiang Gui and Zhongguo John Ma
Publication:
Symposium Paper
Volume:
342
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
114-128
Keywords:
continuous rail track, nonlinear link element, railroad bridge, restraining effect, seismic performance, shaking table, video analysis
DOI:
10.14359/51725940
Date:
6/1/2020
Abstract:
Research on the seismic performance of unreinforced concrete railroad bridge substructures is presented.
The restraining effect of a continuous rail track structure, which is considered to contribute to better seismic
performance of railroad bridges compared with highway bridges, was investigated. A numerical modelling scheme
that takes into consideration the nonlinear properties of the ballast and bearings as well as steel and concrete materials
was proposed and validated using previous full-scale field testing. The equivalent spring stiffness of the rail track
system was obtained and used in the subsequent small-scale shaking table experiment, which investigated the dynamic
response of column-shaped rigid body specimens with a spring restraint on the top. Several parameters were
considered in the test matrix such as the stiffness of the restraint spring, the height/breadth ratio, the ground excitation, and single-body or multi-body configurations. Discussion regarding the testing results are also presented.