Effect of Pier Height on Behavior of Integrated Bridge Under Far and Near-Field Earthquake

The effect of pier flexibility on the responses of the integrated bridge (IB) under two types of earthquakes, namely; far and near-field earthquakes is studied. For the study, three IBs and three conventional bridges (CB) by varying its pier height are analyzed in CSI Bridge. Parameters varied for the analysis are pier height, level of PGA, type of earthquake, and direction of application of earthquake. Major response quantities considered to study the behavior are; the absolute maximum bending moment in the deck girder (deck moment), and the pier as well as absolute maximum deck defection. These response quantities are benchmarked with the corresponding responses of CB. To compare the response quantities, geometric properties of IB and CB are kept the same. It is noted from the study that with the increase in the pier height deck moments are decreased for far-field earthquakes and increased for near-field earthquakes whereas, a reduction in the pier moments and increase in the deck displacement is observed for all three types of earthquakes.