Integral bridges with longer spans experience an increased cyclic interaction with their granular backfills, particularly due to seasonal thermal fluctuations. To accurately model this interaction behaviour under cyclic loading, it is crucial to employ appropriate constitutive models and meticulously calibrate and test them. For this purpose, in this paper two advanced elastoplastic (DeltaSand, Sanisand-MS) and two hypoplastic (Hypo+IGS, Hypo+ISA) constitutive models with focus on small strain and cyclic behaviour are investigated. The soil models are calibrated based on a comprehensive laboratory programme of a representative highly compacted gravel backfill material for bridges. The calibration procedure is shown in detail and the model capabilities and limitations are discussed on the element test level. Additional triaxial tests with repeated un- and reloading reveal significant over- and undershooting effects for the majority of the investigated material models. Finally, cyclic finite element analyses on the soil-structure interaction of an integral bridge are conducted to compare the performance of the soil models. Qualitatively similar cyclic evolution of earth pressures are detected for the soil models at various bridge lengths and test settings. However, a substantially different cyclic settlement behaviour is observed. Additionally, the investigation highlights severe overshooting effects associated with the tested hypoplastic soil models. This phenomenon is studied in detail using a single integration point analysis. Supplementary studies reveal that the foot point deformation of the abutment significantly influences the lateral passive stress mobilisation and the amount of its increase with growing seasonal cycles.

The seismic response of cable-stayed bridges is characterised by complicated interactions between the deck and the towers. These are influenced by the possible damage in the structure, and also by design choices or constraints such as the tower shape, the span, the cable arrangements, the support conditions and the type of foundation soil. The aim of this work is to assess the influence of these effects on the seismic behaviour of a large number of cable-stayed bridge finite element models. The results of the nonlinear dynamic analyses show the importance of the tower geometry. This is especially significant in short-span bridges with abrupt changes in the inclination of the lateral tower legs, which can lead to large levels of damage in the form of concrete cracking, reinforcement yielding and overall energy dissipation. Finally, design recommendations are proposed to improve the seismic response of the towers.

Due to the insufficient burial depth of shallow-buried foundation bridges, foundation voiding easily occurs during floods or rapid water flows. When heavy vehicles pass over these partially voided bridges, the stress state of the foundation deteriorates instantaneously, causing critical components to exceed their load-bearing capacity in a short period, leading to a chain reaction that results in the rapid collapse and overall failure of the bridge structure. Previous numerical simulations of bridge water damage often neglected the strong coupling between water flow, soil, and structure during the scouring process. This paper applies a fluid-solid coupling simulation modeling method for bridge damage behavior under scouring action to study the structural damage behavior of shallow-buried foundation bridges under the combined effects of flood scouring and heavy vehicle load. This method employs point cloud reverse engineering technology to solve the difficult problem of converting the complex scour morphology around the foundation under flood scouring into a structural model, and investigates the multi-hazard damage behavior of shallow-buried foundations by coupling extreme hydraulic effects on the pier surface and placing the most unfavorable heavy vehicle loads on the bridge deck.

Integral abutment bridges (IABs) provide a viable solution to address durability concerns associated with bearings and expansion joints. Yet, they present challenges in optimizing pile foundation design, particularly concerning horizontal stiffness. While previous studies have focused on the behaviour of various piles supporting IABs in non-liquefied soils under cyclic loading, research on their seismic performance in liquefied soils remains limited. This study addresses the gap by systematically comparing the performance of various pile foundations in liquefied soil, focusing on buckling mechanisms and hinge formation. Using the Pyliq1 material model and zero-length elements in OpenSees, soil liquefaction around the piles was simulated, with numerical results validated against experimental centrifuge tests. The findings indicate that IABs supported by reinforced concrete piles with a 0.8 m diameter (RCC8) experience greater displacement at the abutment top, while alternative piles, such as 0.5 m (RCC5), HP piles with weak and strong axis (HPS and HPW), steel pipes (HSST) and concrete-filled steel tubes (CFST), show pronounced rotational displacement at the abutment bottom. Maximum stress, strain and bending moments occurred at the pile tops and at the interface between liquefied and non-liquefied soil. Notably, CFST piles resisted buckling under seismic excitation, suggesting their superiority for supporting IABs in liquefied soil.

This study underscores the critical need to integrate changing climatic conditions into corrosion models for civil engineering infrastructures, particularly highway bridges, given the potential reduction in structural performance post-seismic events. The paper introduces a novel framework for assessing the seismic resilience of deteriorated highway bridges in the context of changing climatic conditions. The framework is demonstrated on a non-seismically designed simply supported highway bridge situated near the sea in a seismically active region of Gujarat, India. An improved corrosion deterioration model is used that considers the impact of climate change and non-uniform pitting corrosion for evaluating the deterioration of RC bridge components. A detailed threedimensional finite-element model of the case-study bridge is developed that can accurately simulate various failure modes of corroding bridge piers. Time-varying seismic fragility curves are developed using damage limit states and probabilistic seismic demand models while considering the influence of climate change. Bridge seismic resilience is estimated by aggregating the seismic vulnerability, losses, and recovery functions. Results show that incorporation of changing climatic factors will considerably reduce the seismic resilience of the 75-year corroded bridge up to 56 %. Finally, a comparison of seismic fragility and resilience is carried out using the proposed and conventional corrosion deterioration model to evaluate the significance of considering the effects of climate change in the seismic resilience assessment framework.

River-crossing bridges in high-intensity seismic regions can be vulnerable to the combined action of earthquake and flood hazards; in particular, flood-induced scour of the substructure can have a notable influence on the seismic behavior of bridge structures. Currently, long-span continuous rigid-frame bridges are widely used to cross large rivers worldwide, yet related studies on their seismic performance under flood-induced scour have been lacking. This paper focuses on the effects of time-varying flood-induced scour on the seismic performance of long-span continuous rigid-frame bridges incorporating complex thin-walled reinforced concrete piers with pile group foundations. A detailed finite element (FE) model for a representative bridge structure is developed and the scour depth risk of the bridge is evaluated under several flood events for different return periods. The influence of flood-induced scour on the pile-soil interaction is examined throughout the bridge service life. Detailed seismic fragility assessment is carried out through nonlinear time-history analyses using a large suite of 100 seismic records. Particular focus is given to evaluate the time-varying scour effects on the pile and soil deformations as well as on the component and system level seismic fragility functions. It is shown that the total flood-induced scour depth exhibits a nonlinear increasing trend with the increase in service time, particularly in the initial 10 years of the bridge service life. The deformations of the scoured piles, within a depth of 20 m, are also shown to increase significantly with the increase in service time. The results indicate that the scour has a pronounced effect on both the component and system level seismic fragility functions. Importantly, although the piles (or pile groups) are typically designed to remain elastic under seismic loading, they are shown to be subjected to significant inelastic demands and governing damage levels as a result of time-varying flood-induced scour effect. Overall, this study provides a methodology to assess the time-varying seismic fragility of the scoured long-span rigid-frame bridges with complex thin-walled reinforced concrete piers, which can enhance the multihazard time-varying seismic resilience assessment for bridge structures with similar configurations.

This research examines the seismic behavior of a cable-stayed bridge featuring concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) pylons, which includes the seesaw system. The objective of the study is to assess the efficacy of the seesaw system in mitigating the seismic response of the bridge across various earthquake scenarios, while also accounting for the implications of soil-structure interaction (SSI). A comprehensive finite element model of the bridge is constructed, incorporating the CFST pylons, cable system, and the novel seesaw energy dissipation system. This model is tested against a range of ground motions that reflect different seismic hazard levels and characteristics. The impact of SSI is analyzed through a series of parametric studies that explore various soil conditions and foundation types. The findings indicate that the implementation of the seesaw system markedly decreases the seismic demands placed on the bridge structure, particularly regarding deck displacements, pylon base shear, and cable forces. Furthermore, the study underscores the significant influence of SSI on the dynamic behavior of the bridge system, emphasizing the necessity of its inclusion in seismic design and analysis. This research enhances the understanding of seismic protection strategies for cable-stayed bridges, providing valuable insights into the advantages of integrating energy dissipation systems and recognizing the importance of SSI effects in evaluating seismic performance.

This study addresses the critical need to understand the seismic behavior of cable-stayed bridges under Multi-Support Excitation (MSE) in order to mitigate earthquake-induced damage to these structures. The primary focus is on the investigation of response amplification phenomena and their seismic implications for cable-stayed bridges. Through a detailed comparative analysis of MSE and Synchronous Excitation (SE) across various structural locations, the study evaluates the impact of site-specific recorded ground motions of different earthquake categories. A pragmatic framework is developed to simulate realistic MSE ground motions for diverse earthquake scenarios, emphasizing the necessity of considering MSE in bridge design. The findings reveal a significant amplification of the design requirements due to antisymmetric mode excitation and increased tower and pier motions. The study also identified the need for in-depth analysis of cable-stayed bridges to address the increased vulnerability of tower-adjacent areas and to devise targeted reinforcement strategies of vulnerable components. These insights are critical for advancing seismic design practices and improving the resilience of cable-stayed bridges, contributing to safer urban infrastructure.

Integral bridges have been proposed as a jointless design alternative to the traditional counterparts, possessing copious potential economic and structural advantages. However, due to the monolithic connection at the girder- abutment interface, longitudinal deformations from the superstructure must now be accommodated by the stiffness of the approach backfill and soil surrounding the foundation. Consequently, in addition to traffic loads, integral bridge approaches are subjected to long-term, cyclic loading due to diurnal and seasonal thermal variations. This has resulted in two progressive geotechnical phenomena: an escalation of lateral passive pressures at the abutment-soil interface and accumulated deformations near the bridge approach. Over the last two decades, several investigations on the approach backfill-abutment interaction have been carried out. However, previous reviews on integral bridges have not comprehensively discussed the theoretical aspects of these two complex geotechnical issues. Hence, this paper presents a discussion on the long-term response of stress ratcheting observed from controlled analyses, along with a comparison to that from field monitoring data. Subsequently, the occurrence of accumulated deformations, along with a correlation to the mechanism of the cyclic interaction is explored. The effects of foundation design choice and skew angle on the passive pressure accumulation and soil deformation behavior are then presented. Subsequently, approaches used to mitigate the effects of the backfillabutment interaction are compared. From this review, it is apparent that outcomes based on available experimental and field investigations are yet inadequate to develop analytical models required to predict the long-term response of integral bridge approach backfills under various loading conditions.

This paper focuses on evaluating the increase in axial pile resistance subjected to both consolidation and aging setups. Consolidation and aging setup models were first developed to estimate the setup parameters based on databases collected from literature, which include 10 instrumented piles for consolidation setup and 26 test piles for long-term aging. The eight top-performing pile cone penetration test (CPT) methods that were evaluated in a previous study were used to estimate the side resistance of soil layers at 14 days after pile driving. The developed consolidation and aging setup models were then used to extrapolate the results to evaluate the side resistance of each soil layer at the end of consolidation and for long-term aging. The estimated side and total resistances were compared with the measurements from pile load tests considering both consolidation and aging setups. The resistances estimated before and after completion of excess pore water pressure dissipation indicates that significant aging takes place after consolidation setup. The value of consolidation setup parameter (Ac) was 0.53, and, for aging, the setup parameter (Ag) was 0.23 in clay and 0.16 in sand. The results show that all pile CPT methods with/without using a consolidation setup model tend to underestimate the unit side resistance of clay soil layers. The use of pile CPT methods in combination with an aging model improved the accuracy of pile CPT methods, and this was verified using load test results for five piles subjected to aging. The Philipponnat and University of Florida (UF) methods showed the best performance on estimating the total resistance of piles subjected to aging.