Earthquakes are among the most dangerous natural hazards that pose significant threat to the functioning and integrity of civil infrastructures. The fact that many buildings and bridges around the world continue to fail due to earthquakes demonstrates that there is still a need of improving current tools and technologies for seismic risk evaluation and mitigation. This Thesis aims to advance current procedures for the seismic assessment and design of
bridges, with a particular focus on three areas: the performance under repeated shocks during the bridge design lifetime, the performance under aftershock events following the occurrence of a mainshock, and the optimal design of the bridge pier properties to achieve target seismic reliability levels. With regards to the first area of research, a study to compare different methodologies for
predicting damage accumulation in structures exposed to multiple earthquakes has been carried out. Global and local Engineering Demand Parameters (EDPs) have been used to describe the damage. The accuracy of these methodologies has been evaluated and improvements to the models have been proposed. A Bayesian network-based probabilistic framework has been developed for updating the aftershock risk in bridges. The framework integrates information about mainshock earthquake intensity, structural response, and damage to critical components, reducing uncertainty in assessing the risk of bridge failure. The Bayesian network considers various random variables related to seismic damage assessment, incorporating data from seismic stations, structural health monitoring sensors, and visual inspections. The Thesis also addresses the development of a risk-targeted design approach to assess the seismic structural safety of newly-designed bridges. This approach involves a probabilistic optimization procedure to minimize the design resisting moment at the pier base, with a surrogate model to reduce the computational effort. The tools and analyses presented in this Thesis provide important guidance in the area of seismic analysis and design of bridges, ultimately contributing to the development of more resilient and earthquake-resistant infrastructure.
| Date of Award | 4 Jun 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Sponsors | University of Strathclyde |
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| Supervisor | Enrico Tubaldi (Supervisor) & John Douglas (Supervisor) |
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