Collapse Potential of an Existing Reinforced Concrete Bridge Structure

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study conducted to obtain the fragility curves of an existing reinforced concrete highway bridge in Kocaeli, Turkey, to investigate the collapse potential. Bridges are key components of transportation systems, providing convenient and efficient access to different locations. However, these structures are susceptible to forces that can cause significant damage in the event of seismic activity. Thus, the fundamental target of designing earthquake-resistant bridges is to ensure that they can remain functional at an acceptable level during seismic activity. At least, they are expected to survive strong earthquakes without collapse. Turkey is a country located on active fault lines and has experienced devastating earthquakes in the past. This high earthquake risk requires the design and construction of bridges that are a critical part of the transportation infrastructure having adequate safety levels so that the collapse risk can be minimized. Therefore, damage estimation of bridges is an important part of earthquake preparedness and the response plans that will be followed immediately after earthquakes. In this study, the fragility curves of an existing reinforced concrete highway were obtained to investigate the collapse potential. The interstory drift limits related to the performance levels defined by the Turkish Bridge Seismic Design Code 2020 were determined by the incremental dynamic analysis method, and fragility curves were obtained using 10 different earthquake records based on these determined limits. The results showed that the target performance level Uninterrupted Occupancy and Collapse Prevention performance level requirements, as defined by the Turkish Bridge Seismic Design, were not met, and the Collapse Probability is %100.