Experimental and numerical investigations on the effects of radius of curvature and longitudinal slope on the responses of curved bridges subject to seismic pounding

Because of the irregular geometries, earthquake-induced adjacent curved bridge pounding may lead to more complex local damage or even collapse. The relevant research is mainly concentrated on the numerical analysis which lack experimental verification and discussion by changing of structural parameters. In this paper, a scaled three-dimensional numerical model of a curved bridge is established based on 3D contact friction theory for investigating the uneven distribution of pounding forces at the expansion joint of the bridge. Shaking table tests were carried out at first on a curved bridge to validate the numerical model. A series of parametric studies were then conducted to examine the impacts of the radius of curvature and longitudinal slope of the superstructure of the curved bridge on its seismic pounding response. The results show that the maximum pounding force first increases and then decreases as the radius of curvature increases, but that it decreases monotonically with the growth of the longitudinal slope. These results suggest that controlling the radius of curvature and the longitudinal slope of the superstructure of the bridge can reduce the localized high stress that is induced by seismic pounding. Also, the unevenly distributed pounding forces can significantly increase the relative radial displacement of the bridge’s deck corners, although the relative tangential displacement may decrease. It is thus necessary to adopt effective anti-pounding measures to prevent the superstructure of the bridge from being unseated.