Pushover analysis of long span bridge bents

Abstract

Due to continuous changing of the requirements of retrofit techniques, engineers develop new methods of examining and prediction of bridges behavior under earthquakes. Retrofitting methods such as restrainers and column jacketing have proven to be effective in recent years. Despite numerous methods to retrofit bridges, which were constructed in descent times and still in use and play important roles in our transportation systems, one of the most increasingly popular tools is providing a nonlinear static analysis, known as pushover analysis. Goals of the analysis are to predict the possible collapse scheme of a bridge and to define the most vulnerable spots of the bridge where plastic hinges will appear. From examining this parameters the most sufficient and economically effective retrofit model might be developed.