| Abstract: | This paper presents the results of a shaking table study conducted on the seismic behaviour of curved reinforced concrete bridge structures of the type used in highway interchanges. A series of representational 1/30th scale models was constructed in microconcrete to study the effects of both linear and non-linear dynamic behaviour, the non-linearity including sliding and impacting at the expansion joints and ductility in the columns. Each model was subjected to a series of increasingly severe simulated earthquakes in the longitudinal and transverse directions, both with and without the vertical component. Response data were recorded in the form of selected displacement time-histories which were subsequently used as control data in a companion theoretical study. Each model was eventually taken to failure which consisted primarily of extensive damage at the expansion joints. The paper concludes with general observations on the seismic behaviour of long-span long-period curved bridges, and emphasizes the sensitivity of this behaviour to the location and design of the joints. |
