A STUDY ON SEISMIC RESPONSE EVALUATION FOR PC COMPOSITE GIRDER BRIDGES CONSIDERING FAULT DISPLACEMENT

Abstract

 In Japan’s expressway, even if the large scale earthquake of level 2 occurs, it is demanded that emergency vehicles be available expressway within 24 hours after the earthquake occurred. However, due to the characteristics of the earthquake motions and the effects fault displacement, it is difficult to determine the part which should be inspected immediately in the emergency check of the bridge after an earthquake. In 2017, in response to the Kumamoto earthquake that occurred in 2016, specifications for highway bridges was revised to consider active faults. In addition to the earthquake ground motions that have been considered in the conventional seismic design, it is necessary to consider the earthquake resistance of bridges considering fault displacements. In this study, the influence of fault displacements on the safety of bridges are investigated by examining the response of bridges when the ground earthquake fault occurs to bridges near the fault zone.