Title: Base Isolation of the Corinth Canal Bridge

Author(s): Agostino Marioni

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 164

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 863-884

Keywords: Bearings; bridge bearings; damping; earthquake-resistant structures; friction, rubber.

DOI: 10.14359/14330

Date: 11/1/1996

Abstract:
The bridge consists of two parallel beams with spans 32 + 110 + 32 m and crosses the Corinth Canal in one of the most suggestive but also seismic area areas of Greece. The beams are continuous and made of prestressed concrete; the total dead load of each beam is 114 MN. Each beam is supported as follows. In correspondence of the two centre columns by two pot bearings with sintered PTFE sliding surfaces; the sintered PTFE shall warrant a friction coefficient within a tight range in order to balance the horizontal load due to the earthquake between the piers and the abutments as required by the designer. In correspondence of the abutments by 6 +6 Very High Damping Base Isolators; their main characteristics are the following: equivalent viscous damping 16% shear strain at design earthquake 120% shear strain at Maximum Credible Earthquake 200% elasticity Modulus of the rubber 1.4 Mpa The author describes the principal aspects of the base isolation of the structures, the main technical characteristics of the bearings and base isolators and the tests performed to verify their performance in the foreseen temperature field and their expected useful life.