Xu Chen

More than 40% of the bridges in mountainous areas of Southwest China are constructed with piers having a height of over 40 m. Such piers are characterized by large structural flexibility and distributed mass. To investigate the effects of higher modes on the seismic performance of this class of bridges, shake table tests on two 1/7-scale, tall-pier models were conducted at Tongji University, Shanghai. This paper describes the design, instrumentation, and loading protocols for the tests and discu

Numerous bridges with piers over 40 m are constructed in Southwest China, which is known as a region of high seismicity. In current research, this type of bridge is commonly simplified as a single-column system, and researchers mainly focused on how seismic performance is affected by the higher modes of columns. This study aims to investigate the seismic behavior of the entire system of tall-pier bridges subjected to near-fault ground motions, using probability-based fragility analysis. A numeri

Abstract Seismic performance of double‐column tall pier bents has to date scarcely been investigated. The deployment of link beams between columns, including numbers and locations, is generally designed according to the experience of engineers, without any sophisticated procedure. This paper proposes a response surface‐based optimization procedure that searches for optimal configurations of link beams of double‐column tall pier bents, considering multiple performance objectives. The response sur

More than 40% of bridges in Southwest China have piers over 40 m height. The seismic behaviour of these bridges is critical, especially exposed to near-fault pulse-like ground motions. This paper conducts fragility analyses to assess the seismic vulnerability of tall pier bridges under near-fault motions. Fragility curves are developed for a typical 50-m tall pier and a 10 m conventional pier with probabilistic seismic demand models (PSDMs). When developing the PSDMs, curvature ductility at pier

While conventional seismic isolation bearings are usually inefficient for bridges with tall piers, rocking foundation is a promising approach mitigating their seismic demands and improving post-earthquake resilience. However, excessive tilt angle might occur at rocking interface and lead to overturning during strong earthquake excitations. This paper investigates the efficiency of various energy dissipation devices in improving the seismic performance of rocking foundations employed in tall pier