Abstract
This paper describes the damage to RC rigid frame viaducts caused by the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. In this study, a three-dimensional dynamic nonlinear analysis is carried out to investigate the extent of seismic damage of Daiichi Nakasone Viaduct columns with the scenario earthquake. The mechanism of the damage to each column members (side part of columns and middle part of ones) and the dynamic behaviour of the structure are also studied. Inparticular, the reason of the different degrees of damage in side and middle columns is considered in detail. The analytical results show that the greater rotational mode of deformation caused by the acceleration and displacement response in the perpendicular direction in the side columns is the main reason of the greater degree of damage in them as compared with the middle columns.
