2025 Volume 81 Issue 13 Article ID: 24-13477
When bridge abutments are constructed on soft ground, EPS embankments are installed behind the abutments as a countermeasure against soft ground. In this study, a full-scale bridge with EPS embankment applied to the back of a rigid-frame abutment was modeled and its seismic behavior was verified analytically. The bridge was modeled in accordance with the specifications for highway bridges, using the same procedure as in actual design. As a result, it was confirmed that the application of EPS embankment to the back of the rigid-frame abutment causes more significant seismic earth pressure than the normal backfill soil at the location of the reinforced concrete slab, similar to the results of previous studies of inverted-T abutments. It was confirmed that the seismic earth pressure at the location where the concrete slab was installed could be reduced by replacing a part of the concrete slab with EPS blocks.
